Video

Did you know that January 19th is also called Quitting Day? It’s the day when all those New Years resolutions, goals, and dreams go right out the window. And people give up.

That sounds TERRIBLE to me.

Since I’m not up to brining you a 90-minute workshop to set your writing goals, like I usually do in January, I recorded you a 9-minute training that will help you keep going in the face of Quitting Day.

And Little Bean makes a cameo!

Here’s the transcript of the video so you can be sure to understand what I’m conveying to you.

Welcome to Quitting Day. That’s right. January 19th is known as Quitting Day. This is the day where you decide to give up all of your happy resolutions and goals, like going out for a jog every day, or having this be the year that where you FINALLY write your book in favor of not… doing it.

I have to tell you, I’m not immune to this myself. I had this goal already this year, 2021, that I was going to listen a personally important podcast, three days a week. And here it is, January 19th, and guess how many times I’ve listened to it?

Big fat I haven’t.

Kind of makes you want to quit, right?

Why on earth do we want to give up nineteen days into the year? Why do we want to write off 2021 because the first nineteen days didn’t go the way you would thought? So what do you want to do? Don’t quit, right?

Here’s what I want you to do.

#1 forgive yourself and let it go.

Yes, the first nineteen days of the year, maybe you did great writing your book for a week, two, and you’ve gotten off track. Guess what? I don’t care. There’s so much left in the year that you shouldn’t care either. So forgive yourself and let it go. Maybe you’re still hung up on the goals you set for yourself in 2020, but didn’t do, or just what you wanted to do already this year. Let it go.

#2 I want you to set an amazing impossible goal for yourself.

Are you ready? Write seven days a week.

Yes, this is an impossible goal.

You’re not going to be able to write seven days a week from now until the end of the year. But here’s the importance of this “impossible” goal. Number one, it really gets you into motion. It really allows you to see what you can do if you tell yourself you’re going to write every day. Are you going to write every day? Of course, you’re not going to write every day. You’re not. But it gives you the opportunity to circle back to number one, forgive yourself, let it go, and start again. Now, if you followed me for any length of time, you know I have talked about the importance of mini goals.

So what’s a mini goal? A mini goal very simply is deciding that you’re going to rate every single day.

And here’s the way I like to break it down, that you’re either going to write 15 minutes a day at a minimum or a half a page at a minimum. And then you do it every single day because I’m not asking you to write pages and pages and hours and hours, it’s just something that can slot in. Everybody can find 15 minutes, even busy moms like me. But here’s the thing. What happens when you miss a day? Let it go and do it again the next day. A mini goal is not, and I’m going to repeat this for those in the back, a mini goal is not, “Oh, I missed a day. Tomorrow, I have to write half an hour instead of 15 minutes.” No, it isn’t. You don’t catch up, you just let it go and start again. I’ll pop a link in the comments on this video, in the description on this video for a whole article that I wrote about the power of mini goals. And I talk about these all the time.

#3 tools in order to be successful.

To make 2021 the year you finally write your book, and to give you some strength and space to get past Quitting Day, you need some tools.

Tool number one… shocking, pens, right? You don’t have to have fancy software. You don’t even have to use your computer. Don’t overcomplicate this, my friends. Grab your phone and do notes on your phone. I don’t typically recommend that one, but if that’s the one that works for you, go for it. Pen and paper is always my go-to. Use your computer. You don’t need fancy software, and you don’t need a fancy ritual.

Tool number two… my handy-dandy 15 minutes sand timer. Why do I prefer a sand timer as opposed to the timer on your phone? Here’s the awesome thing about a sand timer. When this runs out, it doesn’t make a noise. So when you are in the flow and you look up, you have no clue how much is really left on the sand timer, and you keep writing. And then you get into this writing flow when you’re writing and writing and writing, and you look up and the sand timer is empty.

Now, the only time I prefer a noisy timer over a silent timer is if you’re running up against the bookend like, “Oh, I have to stop in 17 minutes because I have a call. OR I’ve got to go pick up my kids from school. OR I have an appointment.” That’s the time when you need a noisy timer to click you on out, right?

Tool number three… The Writer’s Goal Setting Workbook, A Step-By-Step Process to Getting Your Writing Done. And this workbook, which is in full color, my loves, and these are tracking sheets for your mini goals. I wrote this by the way, and I wrote it just for you.

This is not a, “Write your book in this workbook,” type of workbook. This is a, “How do we release all of that history of letting yourself down, of not doing it, of saying that you were going to do it, and you didn’t, specifically around your writing?” And then looking at what are your writing goals? How much do you want to accomplish? Why? Why is this so important? Plus, you have all of this tracking for the mini goals, releasing any past writing trauma. And here’s the most amazing thing.

When you do not give in to Quitting Day, then it makes this the year that you finally write your book.

Happy January 19th. Don’t be a quitter.