If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with goal setting. Not only am I obsessed with my own goals, but I’m obsessed with your goals too! Today I want to share my 2024 goals and show you, step by step, how I chose each one.

My 2024 Word for the Year

Before settling on my goals for the year, I like to choose a word for the year. This can even guide the goals I decide to make my top priorities. For example, if PEACE is your word for the year, you’ll want to avoid goals that you know might make your life feel chaotic.

My word for 2024 is LEAP – and, no, I didn’t pick that word simply because this is a leap year. This year, I’m believing God for a quantum leap in my personal and professional life. Therefore, I’m setting goals that I believe will help me get there.

Write the Vision and Make It Plain

One of my favorite Bible verses is Habakkuk 2:2 which reads, “Write the vision and make it plain.” Even if you’re not the Bible reading type, I think we can all agree that there is power in putting your vision on paper.

So before setting my 2024 goals, I took time to craft a long-term vision for myself. Here are some questions to consider as you write your vision:

  • What kind of writer are you 15 years from now?
  • What do you hope to have written and to be writing over the next one to three years?
  • Make a list of all the things you want to have, do, and be in the next 3 to 15 years. Consider all areas of life – personal, professional, creative, spiritual, health, community service, finances, home, possessions, relationships, fun, etc.
  • Describe your ideal day.

Making My List and Checking It Twice

After this, I did a brain dump of everything I could do in 2024 to bring my vision to fruition.

The old me would have stopped there and made this ridiculously long list my goals for the year. But present-day me knows better. I know that where focus goes, energy flows. There is freedom – and power — in focus. I can do anything but not everything – at least not all at once.

Instead, I settled on 4 life goals and 4 writing goals. To select my life goals, I chose things related to area of my life that need the most attention right now. For example, last year I had A LOT OF FUN – expensive fun. So fun is not a priority this year but getting my finances in order is.

To be clear, this doesn’t mean I’m not going to do anything fun in all of 2024. This simply means that fun isn’t a top priority.

Choosing priorities is important because inevitably there will be a time this year when you can’t do all the things you want to do in a certain month, week, or day and you’ll have to choose what to put on the back burner. If you’ve set goals based on your priorities, you’ll know to set aside things that aren’t on your 2024 goals list.

Choosing 2024 Goals for Your Writing Life

In the See Jane Write Collective, we use The 12-Week Year for Writers to guide our goal setting and goal getting. That means we focus more on setting writing goals for the quarter as opposed the year. Yet, your aspirations for this year and your long-term vision will, of course, inform this 12-week goal. Your next writing project should be the most important step you can take toward your near-term vision and ultimately toward your long-term vision.

Here are some possible goals for your writing life:

  • Develop a writing routine that you stick to for 90 days.
  • Complete a poem, essay, or short story that’s haunting you.
  • Complete a book, chapbook, or book proposal.
  • Start a blog, Substack, podcast, or YouTube channel.
  • Submit to 3-5 literary journals.
  • Pitch article ideas to 3-5 of your favorite media outlets.

All of these are goals that, I believe, could be completed in 12 weeks. Thus, you can pick 4 writing goals — one for each quarter.

My 2024 Goals

Here are my 2024 goals:

Writing Goals

  • Write for ESSENCE.
  • Complete book proposal and submit to at least 3 agents.
  • Land a national column.
  • Generate $12,500 monthly revenue by December 31.

Personal Goals

  • Pay off credit card debt.
  • Book 2025 Dubai trip.
  • Complete 100 Club Pilates classes.
  • Walk 1000 miles by December 31.

After settling on these goals, I then decided which ones I’d focus on in each quarter. I also broke down each goal into steps and assigned a deadline for each step. Some goals, however, can be achieved through habits. For example, I will walk 1000 miles by the end of the year if I walk 20 miles per week.  I will complete 100 Pilates classes if I go to class twice a week.

Having a list of the steps and habits it will take to achieve each goal (along with deadlines) tells me what my monthly goals will be too.

Breaking My Own Rules

Typically, I don’t set goals whose outcome I can’t actually control. So instead of “Write for ESSENCE” or “Land a national column” my goals would be “Pitch an idea to ESSENCE” and “Pitch a column idea to a national publication.” Of course, those action-oriented goals are my focus. Faith without works is dead, right? But I’m breaking my own rules this year and boldly declaring I will write for ESSENCE and I will land a national column because this is my LEAP YEAR!

Let’s do this, 2024!

If you need help with your 2024 writing goals perhaps my coaching program is for you. Learn more here.

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