When I first became a freelance writer, I had no idea which direction I was going to take or what my path would be. This is typical because we really don't know what we're qualified for in the beginning, plus we don't know what will (for sure) hold our interest. Therefore, creating goals was very difficult for me.

Now that I've been established for a number of years, writing goals on a month-to-month basis has been the backbone of my career. I really don't believe I'd be able to function successfully without the use of some sort of goal making method.

Here's what I do:

1. write out goals each month
2. break goals down into weekly and daily tasks
3. move goals that are long term from month to month
4. rework unachieved goals and move them to the following month
5. re-examine goals that continuously don't work to find out why

Everyone has his or her own methods and one is not necessarily better than another's. The trick is to find what works best for you and then follow that method to the letter. Yes, discipline plays a huge role in setting and keeping goals. If you feel you're not disciplined enough to do this yet, figure out why and how that could be resolved.

What's interesting about this is a lot of writers don't think they're setting or keeping goals, but they really are. Just because a list (be it in a notebook or in a word processor) doesn't exist somewhere, that doesn't mean the goals aren't very real. For example, if you send out six queries per month and finish all the assignments that result from those efforts . . . then you have achieved the goal of querying, and following through.

It's as simple as that. I've gathered a number of resources to help you with your goal making plans. If you have any that you would like to share, please feel free to do so in the comments section.