How I keep myself accountable as I work toward my goals

In my last post I described how I’ve been formatting my quarterly business plans in an attempt to stay on task with my projects. I thought I’d share what I do to track my progress during the month while I’m working on projects. This has been a WIP on its own as I figure out what works and what doesn’t, but the following is an example about how I try to keep myself accountable: 

Weekly

I use my weekly planner to track my word count, weekly focus, status of projects, scheduled promotions, social media and blogging content and anything else I feel I should note down.

Here’s an idea with samples of some of my recent notes:

Monday – formatting font, spacing, page breaks and chapter starts & caps – morning pages completed

Tuesday – formatted size – cover created – issues with options – changed title name again – began review and possible new cover idea for BKS

Wednesday – proofs of new book ordered – reviewing BKS with new margins and basic editing updates – will reduce by 50 pages? – unpublish & republish as vol. 2 with new cover & edits

Thursday – signed up for women’s business conference – need to schedule doggy daycare - further revisions on BKS

Friday – morning pages completed – didn’t stick with them as well this week – updated business plan to include new projects and marketing ideas – signed up for upcoming author webinar

Monthly

My calendar is set to remind me to do a monthly check in and I use a check list to answer questions, starting with how the previous month went. I add up my word count, make note of the status/next step for ongoing projects, list any events, conferences or webinars I took part in, track stats for my blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and whether engagements are up or down, and schedule in any blog post ideas based on the previous month.

After reviewing the previous month, I have a check list for ongoing tasks, as well. I make note of any marketing or writing books I’m reading, how I might market the series or a current project, update my series Bible if needed, list any monthly challenges I took part in, review my editorial calendar (still a WIP) and plan blog posts. I review the status of my current WIP at that time and where I’m at in the development of the project (idea, currently writing, editing, formatting, launch), and what my monthly focus will be beyond the current WIP. The monthly focus may be a new book idea, developing new ways to reach readers, planning a promotion, attending a conference or event, a monthly challenge, researching the competition or updating my business plan if it’s time.

Quarterly

My calendar is then set to remind me to check in quarterly, before I update my business plan. My quarterly review is also based on a check list and ongoing tasks so that I can track my progress after I review my notes from the previous three months. Did I promote at least one book? More? How will I promote again during the next quarter? Did I take part in any monthly challenges? How did I do? Did I attend an event, conference or webinar? How did the event go? I update the editorial calendar for my blog. I check my stats, ranking and sales. I make note of any spikes and compare them to any promotions, thereby making further note what promotions work better than others. Will I be taking part in an event or attending an upcoming conference? If so, I make note of deadlines for specific tasks related to the coming event. Are there any contests I might want to check out? I review my yearly marketing calendar and make note of any holidays or other specific date-related tasks I need to add to my quarterly plan.

And the list could just go on and on, especially when I get around to what’s involved with sending out regular newsletters.

As noted before, this has been a WIP and will likely keep changing based on what does or doesn’t work, but this process keeps me constantly on my toes because regular reviews keep me “in the know” rather than getting away with burying my head in the sand. If I’m not making progress on a project, that’s on me and I can adjust accordingly if I know where the problem lies. If I don’t know the problem, then I know I need to figure it out. I believe a regular review of my status not only keeps me accountable, but is the best way to set myself up to achieve my goals and therefore, to set myself up for success.

To end this post, here’s a quote I feel is fitting:

“Keep steadily before you the fact that all true success depends at last upon yourself.” 

~Theodore T. Hunger~

Have a great week!