I’m not going to lie, my March slump continued a little bit into an April slump. I ended up having about a six week break but it did mean by end of April I was feeling relaxed and ready to dive back into work.

It does mean a few of my goals were not met and the overriding factor is that I didn’t have a specific task set for those goals. This is goal setting 101 really and when fatigue hits it’s difficult to be focused with no clear tasks.

After telling someone I was in a bit of a slump they replied with, ‘I hope you give this time the dignity it deserves’. This really resonated with me and every time I wanted to jump back into work and ‘get things done’ I reminded myself to give the time some dignity. It really pulled me up and allowed me to let go.

So, looking back on April, here she is….

Annual Goal: Read 6 x non-fiction books.
April Goal: Read Hal Elrod’s The Miracle Morning
This goal was already completed in March but I did pick up How To Change by Katy Milkman which I’m looking forward to getting stuck into.

Annual Goal: Write two books using my new schedule.
April Goal: Work through notes on Developmental Edit for Awaiting Annie Jones and book a Copy Editor. Start second drafting Saving Sally Jenkins.
The developmental edit was completed and I had to work through some plot points which I wasn’t 100% expecting but perhaps I should have been. Booking the Copy Editor felt like an effort when really it wasn’t, it’s just about making a decision and moving forward. I have done this now and can happily relax on Awaiting Annie Jones as my Copy Editor goes through it.

While I was having some downtime through April I didn’t get as much written for Sally as I would have liked but I did have enough free headspace that the whole plot of the story came to me easily. I was able to fill out an outline and I’m looking forward to diving into it through May. I have also decided to enter the Queensland Writers Centre Publishable competition which will push me to have the first 50 pages done by 9th May. Yikes!

Annual Goal: Develop my understanding further of beat writing.
April Goal: Nil
I’m not going to lie, nothing happened in this space and probably because I didn’t set a firm goal for it. I will need a clearer plan going forward and will open up this goal to have further learning and development opportunities not just beat writing. This month I’m going back to some videos the Romantic Novelist Association released about all things writing and publishing.

Annual Goal: Nail social media.
April Goal: Set up my next three months of social media
Because I didn’t get this done in March it had to be done in April but I was able to schedule all of my social media up to the end of June.

Annual Goal: Give more in my newsletter
April Goal: Nil
I’m gutted that I ran out of time to do a blog post this month. While I enjoy doing the posts I haven’t mapped out a clear plan of what I’m doing for this or set clear tasks and goals and therefore it’s not happening. I think the fact that I’m doing a lot of writing about how to be productive and then I’ve missed my own deadline is making me second guess myself (yes, it’s honesty hour right here) but I know I need to not spiral into negative thinking and just see it for what it is. A funk. I’ve been in a bit of a funk which is a learning experience in itself and I can already feel my old productive self coming back.

Annual Goal: Take small steps on a new project.
April Goal: Make a phone call
As my confidence dipped in March and April so did my thoughts on this project. And perhaps it’s time to share my idea so I will say it out loud. At the start of the year I had the idea that I could do some local library talks about goal setting and making the time to write. This seemed like a fabulous bright and shiny idea at the start of 2023 and then like all things as the year grinds on, my confidence and enthusiasm for it dipped. I’m not ready to push this idea to the back of the line but I think I do need to put a bit more thought and planning into it. So for now, I am going to change this goal to ‘Do Something Brave Once A Month’ and perhaps this will help get my confidence back.

Goals for May will be:

• Read How to Change by Katy Mildman
• Second drafting of Saving Sally Jenkins
• Submit to QLD Publishable by 9th May.
• Watch Romantic Novelist Association Video on What Makes A Bestselling Novel.
• Check in on my social media and add any extra posts required.
• Make a task card for how I get my newsletter and posting done with due dates to start writing earlier and a big picture map of what I’m wanting to achieve.
• Do Something Brave. This one is going to be to go out to my local newspaper and see if they will put an article in.

Have a great May!