ANATOMY OF A MONTHLY GOAL
Monthly Goals are meant to be broad enough to be obtainable and challenging enough that you aren’t tempted to procrastinate.
In our Monthly Goals section, we want to include the following:
- Goal
- Challenges or roadblocks to obtaining the goal
- Reward
Goals are short and sweet.
“Write 10 chapters”
“Write 30,000 words”
“Edit second arc”
When choosing a goal, you want something that is both challenging enough for you not to get discouraged and focused enough to keep you on track.
It is important to identify the things that may keep you from achieving you monthly goal, such as your day job, child schedules, and time management. By identifying your roadblocks you’ll be better equipped to conquer them!
I debated requiring a reward, but I think in the end it’s best to include it. Rewards don’t have to be big. They can be something as simple as a slice of your favorite cake, or going to see that movie you’ve wanted to see, or even allowing yourself a day of vegging out binging on Netflix. But if you meet your monthly goal, you should reward yourself somehow because it is an accomplishment!
THE ARTISTIC SPREAD
STRUCTURE
- 8 dots wide, with 1 dot in between each banner. 1 dot leeway from side of page. Height is 39 dots.
- For “high cut” banners, cut is made 4 dots from bottom
- For “short cut” banners, cut is made 3 dots from bottom (November)
- 5 dots are available for decoration on top of banner
- 2 dots for name of month
- 2 dot height available for header or footer
- Divisions:
- Goals:
- 1 dot title height
- 8 dots for writing room
- Roadblocks:
- 1 dot title height
- 11 dots for writing room
- Reward:
- 1 dot title height
- 4 dots writing room
- Goals:
- Three months, or 6 banners, can fit on one page.
DESIGN
The artistic spread features banners that are 8 pixels wide. This is wide enough to ensure you can write a short phrase and not get too long winded. Remember, this is a snapshot, not a movie!
The way this is designed, you can fit three months per page. If you want a header, there is room on the top or bottom, depending on where you position your banners.
There is also a space allocated at the top of the banner for decor! I made bows because they’re simple and quick. Can you catch the reference with the colors? 😉
Admittedly, the spread does look sparse because there aren’t a full six months available when I started this Noveling Note, however, with the full six months it will look a lot fuller!
THE MINIMALISTIC SPREAD
STRUCTURE
- 6 dot header
- Each month is housed in a box that fills the entire width of the page and stands 11 dots tall.
- 2 dot individual monthly header
- The divisions of each box are as follows:
- Goal: 3 dots
- Roadblocks: 6 dots
- Reward: 2 dots
The Minimalistic Spread is designed to be done with as few tools as possible and end up with a “clean” look. All you need are three items – a highlighter (I prefer Zebra Mildliner) and two pens of contrasting colors.
USING MONTHLY GOALS
These snapshot pages are perfect for flipping back and checking out as the month goes on. There will be more writing space in the minimalistic spread, so if you’re particularly wordy, it might be best to go with that versus the artistic.
Let me know what you think and be sure to subscribe to get the rest of the series!
happy writing,
