Each month I stay accountable to my goals by reviewing the goal, the strategies, and progress.
2022 Goals

Overarching theme: “Promotion”
2022 Goals
Goal 1: Who am I as a writer?
Obstacles
- A track record of success in the real estate niche
- Hard to break into new industries
- Not sure what will ignite my spark
Strategies
- Make time to “write for fun” and explore new topic niches
Progress: I haven’t had time to write for fun or explore new niches. My workload increased quite a bit this month. Grade: F
Goal 2: Increase my knowledge base and writing skills.
Obstacles
- Balancing the need to generate income and acquiring new skills.
- Classes cost money, which eats into revenue.
- Finding the time
Strategies
- Read the free resources that come into my inbox
- Create a “learning” budget I can use on courses
- Dedicate a set time for industry reading and learning.
- Create themes for the month to focus the learning
Progress: I did read some industry articles this month, mostly in the first few weeks. I did set a $500 budget for professional development. I did not spend it yet. Grade: C because I could do more reading
Goal 3: Promote me.
Obstacles
- Time spent prospecting for new work
- Competition may be fierce
- I’m a shy person who doesn’t like to talk about myself
- Finding the byline writing opportunities on the immense World Wide Web
Strategies
- Launch a “how I edit” series on my website blog
- Find byline opportunities
- Make my website even easier to see my writing
- Dedicate a time to job hunt
Progress: I did upload the first “how I edit video” and I made two other practice videos. I found one byline opportunity but it hasn’t published yet. I cannot take on new work; too busy. So no job hunting! Grade: A
Goal 4: Maintain income stream of [confidential) through 2021. That’s an average of [confidential] per month.
Obstacles
- Limited time to work
- Reduced need in the market for writers
- Managing my time wisely
Strategies
- Reduce Upwork dependance so more money comes to my pocket.
- Charge the rates I’m worth..
- Work at least 5 hrs on my working days.
- Track each month how much time is spent writing on projects versus time invested and rate earned.
Progress: I’ve had a few 5-hour days but I seem locked in around 4.5 hours. I’m still working on squeezing more minutes from the day. Less of my work is on Upwork. I raised my rates on Upwork. I haven’t done a time tracking assessment yet. My January income was 71% above the target. Grade: A