It's All About the Follow-Through by Steph Beth Nickel

Follow-through is important even for those of us who aren't golfers.

Distractions are part of everyday life. But if we want to achieve our writing goals, we must first make a plan and then follow through with that plan.

Of course, there are times when life happens and we must revise our plan. That doesn't mean, however, that we should set aside our goals and dreams indefinitely.

At this stage of my life, I have to seriously consider all the things I'd like to accomplish and prayerfully determine which I'm going to focus on. I can set lofty goals of pursuing a plethora of my eclectic interests, but I know full well I'll only be able to follow through on a relatively small number of them.

I need a plan. And so do you.

What steps can you take to increase the likelihood that you will achieve your goals?

• Determine what your ultimate goals are and then break them down into tasks you can achieve in relatively short increments of time.
• Schedule writing sessions in your planner and treat these sessions like you would any other appointment. (You can make amazing progress in even 15-30 minutes three to five times a week.)
• Set a word count or time goal. When you achieve the goal, you can call it a win. If your situation allows and you're on a roll, you can keep going. (Word of Warning: Resist the temptation to write for countless hours for a day or two if it will leave you drained, reluctant to get back to writing for day, weeks, or longer.)
• Identify what keeps you from achieving your writing goals and determine how you can minimize distractions. (I'm thinking more of social media and those seemingly urgent household chores, not playing with your children, going for a walk with your spouse, or meeting a friend for coffee.)
• Speaking of social media... Some people install programs on their computer that won't allow them to surf the Web for specified periods of time. Others have a different computer for writing on, one they don't use to access the Internet. 
• Do you need music playing in the background? Go for it.
• Silence? Hang a Do Not Disturb sign on the door and shut yourself away in your room for half an hour ... after you've explained to your family how important your writing time is to you.
• Give yourself permission to write a messy first draft. If you take the time to edit as you go, it will be hard to get to the point where the words are flowing.

So, set your goals. Formulate a doable plan. And remember the importance of follow-through.