Set more realistic goals.

I’m working on writing a book, and I had a goal to get through my current draft and then complete another draft before the end of the year. In my head, I have all this time to write.

In reality, there is a lot of my life that takes up more time than I realize: being a mother, renovating my home, and the simple fact that I am not capable of being productive for 16 hours a day. I need down time too, and I’m not a particularly high-energy person.

So I changed my goal: I’ll finish one draft by the end of the year (I have 2.5 chapters left to edit), and then I’ll start on another draft in January. And my brain is telling me, “No, Heather! You can do more! You can work on this faster!”

But right now, writing is down the priority list behind taking care of my family, renovating my home, volunteering at the school, and more. And that’s okay.

So I’m trying to make my goal a little bit more manageable, with the hope that when it is more realistic, I’ll be more motivated to work on it more often, since I won’t be constantly behind.