Let’s face it. There are a few people in the world who internally drive themselves toward their desired goals. The rest of us just aren’t wired that way. If we don’t have a deadline, chances are we won’t finish the project.

Repeat after me: Deadlines are my friends. They will keep you with your patooty in the seat and your fingers on the keyboard. You have so many distractions in today’s world, without deadlines, you’ll never get where you want to be.

Think about it. Your rent or mortgage payment is due on the 1st. Because you know that, your purchases throughout the month are made with that in mind. You can’t afford to not have a roof over your head so you are diligent with your finances. The same is true with your writing. If you have deadlines, you’ll be more diligent with your word count.

Meeting deadlines earns you the reputation as a dependable author, something that is essential if you want a career in the publishing industry. Even if you don’t have an editor expecting your completed manuscript on the 15th, you still need deadlines. Otherwise, you’ll just be tempted to play board games or go shopping for the seventy-third pair of stilettos.

Here are a few reasons why it is so important to set self-imposed deadlines and to take external deadlines seriously.

Deadlines jump start your creativity. It’s true. If someone is in a cave and the entrance collapses, they automatically set this deadline for getting out of the cave: before they run out of oxygen. Their mind kicks into overdrive and they figure out a way to get through the stone wall. If you self-impose a deadline, it flips on the creativity switch and your story flows.

Deadlines are effort gauges. Let’s face it. Sometimes life gets in the way of our writing. That’s just how it is. What’s more, some days we can’t muster the physical or mental energy to sit at the computer and pound out prose. Sometimes we can push through. Other times we can’t. With the deadline circled in red on our calendars, we have a daily reminder that we need to pick up the slack from yesterday or last weekend.

So how do you set effective deadlines? Here are some suggestions.

Be Realistic. No one ever wrote an 85,000 word novel in a weekend. So don’t sit down with your Book Buddy on Friday night to plot out your novel with a deadline of typing The End by the time Sunday night Football starts. Ain’t gonna happen.

Set internal deadlines earlier than external ones. If you’ve been given a deadline by your agent or editor, make sure to set your own deadline for at least two weeks before that. That way, you’ll stay on track to meet the publisher deadline even if life throws punches.

Remind yourself daily of the deadline. This keeps the sense of urgency alive and causes you to make wise decisions with the twenty-four hours you have in today. Remember, you don’t have tomorrow. All you have is today. Make the best use of it.

Taking the time to set goals, chopping them up into daily tasks and assignments will put you well on your way to making 2012 count. You owe it to yourself and to your future readers to take the time to map out your year.

Here’s to a prosperous and fulfilling 2012! Make it count!

Reba J. Hoffman, Ph.D.
Member Care Coach

So what goals have you set for 2012? Have you plotted out your year? I’d love to see your goals. Email me at reba@mybooktherapy.com. Also, if you are having difficulty doing this, let me know that as well. I’ll be glad to help you.

Reba J. Hoffman is the MBT Member Care Coach. She has a PhD in clinical counseling and is the founder and president of New Hope Institute of Counseling. Reba uses her gift of encouragement to help writers overcome negative emotions so they can live their dream of being a writer. Her works appear in publications such as Running for the Woman’s Soul by Road Runner Sports and The Good Fight by Donna Hicken. She is the author of My Book Therapy’s Dare to Dream, a Writer’s Journal. Contact her at reba@mybooktherapy.com.

Want more like this?  Try:

Make 2012 Count, Part 1: Take Time to Set Goals!

Make 2012 Count,  Part Two: On the Chopping Block