Hi fiction lover! Now that we’re more than halfway done with the year, you might see your productivity going up and down. Maybe you’re speeding up! Maybe you’re close to burnout. I totally feel you. I would like to share with you a model of goal setting that helped me greatly in 2024: The 12 Week Year. It works so well for me that I’ve been seeing an increase in all three areas of my passions—writing, blogging, and editing. So, what even is this thing? Don’t worry, I’ll give you my 12 Week Year example.
First of all, one year is just too long for an individual to stay motivated all the time. Annual goals are also too stressful and “big.” Big goals can sometimes feel impossible. In addition, most people will procrastinate until it’s December and nothing much has been accomplished. Let’s break it down! First off, we need to reduce our years to “semesters” that are more manageable—that’s where we start with treating our next 12 weeks as a “year.”
My 12 Week Year Example
First, we have to get started talking about The 12 Week Year book. It was written by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington. Quick disclaimer—I actually read The 12 Week Year for Writers written by A. Trevor Thrall. I highly recommend it for all kinds of writers. It includes all you need to know about the 12 Week Year system, and applying it to my goals as an author has made it all the more exciting.
So, first thing in my 12 Week Year example? You need to write down your vision and goals. Picture where you would like to be one year later, then three, then five. Write everything down! Don’t limit yourself. Dream big, and if you’re scared to write it, that may be a sign that it’s something you truly are meant for. For example, my vision statement has a line about making a full-time income from blogging, writing, and editing. There’s more to it of course (and even scarier things that seem impossible), but that’s just one line.
After these goals are done, write down the immediate steps needed to get there. Try to get as specific as possible. Break it down further into little pieces called tactics, or the actions you need to do to achieve your goals. An example of one of my tactics? Heading to a nearby cafe and drafting my next manuscript for two hours. Each week should have its own tactics. Also, keep in mind your lag and lead indicators. The authors of the 12 Week Year teach you to keep your end in mind. Lag indicators are your end results, while lead indicators are how you’re going to get there.
Then, we’re moving on to our model week. Write down the perfect scenario of how your week will go. For example: wake up, work on an editing project for 3 hours, take a break, work for another 2 hours on drafting your manuscript at the coffee shop…. Of course, all your weeks will end up different, with life happening. But the model week will be something for you to look at for reference. It will help you keep on track when you stray and end up doing a ton of unrelated tasks.
We come to my favorite part of the 12 Week Year: strategic blocks. Strategic blocks are times you block out on your schedule to really get deep work done. It’s best to focus on just one thing in this block. For example, drafting your latest novel, or writing a long form blog post. In addition to strategic blocks, you also need some blocks to rest: these are called breakout blocks. We also have buffer blocks: blocks to deal with unplanned things in the day, such as a barrage of emails that come in about writing deadlines.
More About the 12 Week Year
An important note here is that you want to have some sort of accountability. For me, I have a writers group that I go to. Ideally, you will meet with your accountability partners regularly and discuss what’s going well for you and what you need to do to improve. With this community, your productivity will skyrocket. Not only will you not want to “let them down,” you’ll also be inspired and try new things in the process.
Another thing—you’ll want to score yourself each week. Track how well you’re doing and the tactics you’re completing. Have you written only 2 chapters instead of 3? Record that, give yourself a grade on that week, and make notes on how you’re going to improve.
Want to get a succinct understanding in an audio and visual form? Look here at Deya’s video. Her channel is great for freelancers and aspiring entrepreneurs. Thank you Deya for breaking it down! She also mentions some other great related books. Deya mentions the amazing tip of breaking down your tactics into 15 minute tasks that you can complete in one sitting. Also, systems are so important. We can control our systems and enjoy the process while in the system, rather than just putting everything into one goal.
Thanks for spending time on fictiondipity and for reading my 12 Week Year example. Keep enjoying and creating fiction, and catch me on my blog for more posts like this one!
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