What are your poetry writing goals?
And how to keep them heart-centred...
I am always in two minds about goal setting.
In my 20’s I went years without and so bumbled my way through life with no real dirction (or maybe that was just my 20’s!) Then came a career shift into corporate HR and with that months spent designing and implementing appraisal processes - gear change into goal setting so driven and rigid I missed out on plenty along the way (not to mention feeling weirdly deflated as I ticked them off with barely a cursory cheer). Not only that, but half of these I’m sure were actually my employers goals. Or goals I felt I should be chasing. There were some issues for sure.
Finally, about five years ago I read Atomic Habits by James Clear and it changed my goal setting for good. There’s a line in the book which has never left me, you might have heard it, it’s been pretty widely shared:
- “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
The book talks about how goals are great for setting direction but it is our systems (our daily habits) that actually lead to change. It’s a pretty powerful book - the focus on getting 1% better each day brings a fresh perspective and has worked for me, as has habit stacking, where you insert any new habits you want to build next to your current established ones. Anyone else read it? I probably need to re-read it!
Hence why in recent years I’ve moved to more ‘progress focused goals’ and aimed to write 100 poems over the year - a gradual process whereby ‘doing the writing’ along the way kinda IS the goal. Supported by habits like reading poetry every day, hanging out with other poets on here, having a morning writing ritual.
And yet, whether you call it a ‘goal’ or not, having an idea of what you want to achieve can be helpful
The term ‘goals’ still makes me feel weird. A hangover from my HR days and the fact it’s good mates with, ‘new year resolutions’ - which have become so heavily out of fashion. And when twinned with ‘art’ or ‘creativity’ the term brings to mind pressure and formality - the opposite direction to where I want my brain to be heading.
And yet without having them I find myself aimlessly making another cup of tea or chasing every shiny new project that catches my eye. Nothing wrong with that, you might say. Well, true, unless you actually want to publish a book or write something beyond a shopping list for the weekend.
Which for a good chunk of time I didn’t. And I didn’t have any real writing goals.
I was just having fun. Having a play. Writing was just something I did occasionally. Sometimes our creativity doesn’t need to be boxed up neatly with an address label stuck on the front. If that feels like where you’re at, I’m not suggesting that everyone needs writing goals. Not at all.
But the problem for me was that as an adult, ‘having a play’ was less of a priority than having something in for dinner (apparently!?) And so my writing didn’t happen as much as I would have liked.
Also, writing for ‘fun’ doesn’t mean that you don’t still enjoy seeing your writing develop. Learning and growth and celebrating progress can bring a lot of pleasure. Without a clear focus I ended up staggering left and right. I needed a bit of structure, some encouragement and having some sense of a goal can help with that. Goals don’t have to be restrictive and heavy, they can be light and playful. They can be heartfelt and inspire passion. In fact, I’d say that they’re more likely to be achieved if they do lean this way.
I’m also interested in the process of setting goals as a powerful thing in it’s own right. It can help crystalise and add texture to our desires. Get the motivation firing up. The inspiration flowing. Bring us back to ourselves for a minute in this crazily busy world.
A goal can provide direction on the days (months?) when you forget what you’re doing or where you’re going. A pin point on a map, a reminder of what fills us up, a simplified next step. Not to mention that being able to articulate them out loud does help with accountability and clarity of intent.
Whether we choose to have goals or slide more towards intentions, I do think they’re quite helpful if you want to make shit happen.
Setting goals for your poetry writing (or any writing):
But what if you’re not sure what they are?
Or you want to update them. How do we set ourselves goals that inspire us to reach for the edges of what might be possible without feeling overwhelming. Goals that encourage progress and for us to be the best we can be without tipping us into a capitalist productivity hamster wheel. Tricky isn’t it?
Here are a few questions I’ve found helpful:
More, less, the same. Consider where you are currently with your writing and ask what you’d want to change, if anything.
Once you have a list of potential goals, force yourself to narrow it down to one. I’m not saying you can only have one, but I find this process helps me drill down to ‘the thing’ that is setting my heart racing.
Take a goal that you are considering, ask yourself why and keep on asking. Why, why, why. I like to free-write on this but you could talk it through with someone else, just request that they only say the word ‘why’ and don’t interject so that you can keep in your flow. This is a good one for checking that the goal is yours and feels connected to you deeply. Sometimes this one might actually lead you in new directions.
How would you feel if the goal was achieved? What would it lead to? Why would it matter? What might change? Would it give you what you’re craving? Maybe you don’t know but it’s still worth an ask.
Am I playing too big, too small or just right? Three years ago I set myself the goal of having 10,000 subscribers on my original Substack in twelve months. Any guesses what my tendency is? Ha. Other times we limit our own capabilities. Do you know whether you have a tendency to fall one way or the other? I like to ask, ‘what is the most outrageous goal I can imagine?’ AND, what is a goal that I could achieve really quickly and easily that is a sort of ‘stepping stone’ goal. Then (try) to play around a little with that balance.
With my goals I also check if they make me feel giddy.
Does thinking about it make me feel excited or warm inside? I actually imagine it, visualise all the details (write them down if it helps). Now how do I feel? I normally know if it feels right. And if it doesn’t, you don’t necessarily need to know why, just acknowledge that too.
Ask, am I being led by hope or by fear? Bit of a deeper one this but it has helped me in the past to realise where scarcity or fear of failure or whatever is calling the shots.
Is my goal ‘achievable,’ by which I mean, in my hands? Sounds obvious but if I’d written, - “get a publisher for my next poetry book” that isn’t exactly in my hands. I can write a list of actions to work towards it, but ultimately I won’t be the one making that decision. What I’ve written instead is, “research and approach 10 publishers with my second poetry book.” That I can do.
And finally, am I willing to try and do the work?
This can also be an indicator for me on whether the goal is right. Perhaps the timing is wrong or it’s just too far out of my comfort zone. I’m not into setting myself writing goals that feel like ‘work’ but more that I recognise there might be perseverance required, it might feel a bit daunting, there will likely be a learning curve. I need to be committed to that work.
A few other things I’ve learnt about goal setting:
Incase any of these help…
If thinking about the whole year is too hard, go shorter. What would you like to achieve this month? Even this week? Today? Literally just start with that. For some people starting longer term and working back works well. For others, it’s the other way around.
You might need to approach your creative goals differently to other areas of your life. Maybe not? But I do. Are they like a favourite child? Yes they are indeed. A favourite, sensitive, often complicated child. My exercise goals are highly structured and fairly inflexible but I have to be more fluid and patient with my creative goals. I see them like the vintage car of the goal setting world - sooo beautiful and worthy of preservation and care but also requiring constant tinkering, love and attention.
Put something in NOW which demonstrates your belief that the goal will happen. This serves as the ultimate deadline / reward / message to the universe that you are serious with you intent. I am about to book a night away with two writerly friends when I will do the final edits on my finished book. True fact.
Figure out what’s getting in your way and sort it out the way you would a broken tap. Note: some of the stuff holding you back might well be in your own head. Limiting beliefs are real and often major blockers. Investigate the cause. Try some easy wins. If necessary, call in some help….
Ask for help - whatever that needs to look like. Figure out what it needs to look like! Sometimes the bit that is getting in our way is a lack of knowledge and we think we’ll have to figure that out ourselves. I don’t think we have to. I am all for lifting each other up. Accountability - we can do that on here. Feedback on a certain poem you really want to get right - share it here and we’ll do our best.
Keep your goals somewhere REALLY visible and front of mind. Not as a stick to hit yourself with but rather so that they can change and evolve and remain heart-centred and relevant. I have mine written in my journal (I keep re-writing them in my journal but not everyday, just on the days I feel like it) and also on post-it notes that I read every time I open my cupboard where I keep my notebooks.
And of course, once you’ve figured out what they are, you might want to circle back to James Clear - consider those marginal gains and set up some ‘atomic habits’ to help on your way.
I think life’s far too short for goals that make us feel shit. That make us groan. I sometimes even rename my creative goals as ‘projects’ because that seems to change the vibe. Plus, you’d never start a project without thinking through what sits beneath and a goal without any commitment to what sits beneath is literally some words on a paper that you end up feeling a bit crap about ignoring months down the line. Who needs that?!
I want goals/projects to feel spongey and delicious, like a cake you know you’ll enjoy eating (I have a tendency to bring most things back to cake). The sort of cake you can’t wait to talk to about with friends and fellow writers.
I want to hear people tell me about writing goals that are audacious, that are pure, that are ultimately nourishing. Goals that are entirely personal, progress-focused and full of joy potential.
Maybe we could chat about this a little more together? I’d like that.
Shall we support each other with our writing goals?
I mentioned a few weeks ago that it might be nice to support each other with our writing goals for 2025.