Episode 58: How To Set Goals to Fit Your Writing Life

This week on the podcast, we talk about our experience setting goals for our writing inspired by working through Amanda McKinney's PATH course. 

We do not make this recommendation lightly. Anything that we ourselves promote on the podcast (outside of providing a space for guests to share their services, books, and products) is heavily vetted. 

Here's what's in this week's episode: 

• how the goal setting strategy designed by Amanda works so well for planning your writing time
• how we've applied what we learned to our writing lives and you can too
• feeling inspired by the process because it feels simple and attainable
• the incredible benefit of the course for women entrepreneurs

Click here to access Amanda's PATH course to set your goals. Use code INSPIRED to get your 20% discount. 

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We hope you've found guidance and inspiration for your own writing.

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Transcript

Elizabeth: 0:01

Hello listeners, welcome to the Inspired Writer Collective podcast. am your co host Elizabeth and I'm joined this week by your other co host Stephanie and we are going to be talking about goal setting. Now, goal setting is such a familiar topic, um, especially in writing and we have taken a sort of different approach and we've both set these 90 day milestones that we're going to talk about today. This is sort of our in progress episode about it. And then we're going to recap it again at the end of the quarter and the end of March to share about how it worked, what worked for us, whether we got to where we wanted to, but these are goals really centered around, um, our books, our business, that sort of thing. And we have partnered with Amanda McKinney. I've spoken about her a little bit on the podcast already and she's going to be a guest later this season. She has created a phenomenal program that is designed for completion within just a few hours. Thank you Sarge for joining us. And this is the program that Stephanie and I have used and that we are explaining today and really encouraging you to consider. Before we dig into that too much, I do want to say that we are going to be doing a book club again this month and this time we are choosing First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston. Now this is a Reese's book club book as well. It's already been optioned as being adapted to a TV show. So get in on this. We'll have a link where you can purchase the book through Amazon if you want to, if you are a, you know, book in your hands kind of reader like I am and look forward to that upcoming episode. All right, Stephanie, let's jump into the PATH program. When you got in there and you saw the layout of the program, what were your initial thoughts?

Stephanie: 2:06

Well, what I really appreciated about it, especially in the initial sort of introductory video that Amanda has is just how easy it was to follow, very tangible. She was relating it to the idea of like, we're going to take a trip and what are all the things that, you know, you need to pack up and the steps that you need to take and the things that you need to think of. And when you think about it in that, context, it's like, Oh yeah, you know, if I'm wanting to get from point A to point B, what are all the things that I need to do? And just like preparing to take a trip, there are things you need to get organized and then the steps to take and how to get there and all of those pieces. So I really appreciated the simplicity of it. The videos are all short. They're easy to digest. Um, you can even speed it up or slow it down depending upon. How fast you want to listen to her talk, which I appreciated because towards the end, I was like, okay, you know, I see where she's going, so I'm going to speed it up a little bit or, oops, I missed that. I'm going to go back. Um, so, uh, so yeah, so I feel like it's a really great program and I just appreciated the simplicity of it. And that. Is, you know, something that, I mean, simplifying is kind of my word for the year I, this, my word of the year is simplify. Simplify. Um, and just having that in my framework, it just makes it digestible and easy to apply.

Elizabeth: 3:43

for sure. When I hear about any sort of goal setting program, I honestly roll my eyes, right? Like how many times have I been told how to set goals and it needs to be attainable and, you know, time restricted or whatever the different acronyms are for the goal setting. And so, I mean, I was already exposed to Amanda's podcast So I had already heard some of her. You know, podcast episodes that talk on a number of these aspects. So I knew it was going to be a little bit different, but I was Pleasantly surprised about how integrated the goal setting process is to my actual day to day realistic life I think she guides any course participants so easily through Those steps of making sure and really encouraging you to be honest about what kind of time you have what kind of feelings you want To have around your goal, and that's one of the early modules is not set the goal It's how do you want to feel as you're working towards something like what kind of feelings? Do you want to have in your day to day life as you're working towards any goal? Whatever you end up setting it to be and she walks you me through the steps of looking at some words or some feelings and what those mean to me and, and how I want to feel as I'm achieving those things. So my word of the year is curiosity. And so that was one of my words that I used towards this goal, meaning I want to be focused on the process. I don't want to be so focused on the outcome that I hold myself back, that I'm trying to, you know, extrapolate whether this is going to be successful or not, quote unquote, whatever that metric is. I really want to just be immersed in the process, immersed in the play, the experimentation, and the fact that I know I'm going to evolve as a writer, as a person, I work towards any goal. And, and really just removing that focus on the outcome and really just living in the process of it. Um, so that was one of the words I chose. And then another word I chose was, Discipline, because I have this sort of belief about myself, which I am really starting to question, um, that I'm, I'm not disciplined. Like I, I have this understanding that like, oh, I can't stick to something. And I, I think that that is actually coming from a place of not creating goals and structures and routines that are actually adapted to my sort of up and down availability of time. Because of. work obligations because of the co parenting custody schedule. I just haven't been able to build a structure that's really conducive to my life. so that's why I think that was, you know, a false belief I've had about myself. But discipline was one of the words I chose because I want to see myself showing up when I say I'm going to show up. So when I have it marked on my calendar that this is an hour for writing, I'm I want to see myself at this desk, at the coffee shop, whatever, writing. What

Stephanie: 6:54

Well,

Elizabeth: 6:54

words that you chose, Stephanie, or maybe you have some comments about mine?

Stephanie: 6:58

well, I was just going to say about, um, you know, you choosing the word discipline that, I mean, I have to say that I feel you're very disciplined, but I think what it sounds like to me is that is that you've chosen the word because It's like, it's like wanting to break that glass ceiling for yourself. You're just, you want to break through and say like, okay, this is a part of who I am and I'm going to, you know, see that happen over time. And that's one of the things that I really appreciate about the first early module talking about feelings, because we were talking before we hopped on here to record that. That's not something you often hear about when it comes to goal setting. It's always like, it has to be something very, you know, measured, and there's a, you know, you have to be able to just have it be so specific, and then if you don't meet it, like, you're going to beat yourself up. But really, like, this whole idea of thinking about starting with a feeling, then it takes it into your body more. It's more like owning it. Like, how do I want to feel? Well, you know, I, I of course, you know, simplification, you know, simplify. Well, I mean, that's not really a feeling, but it's that feeling of like ease and calm. And let me approach this with, without feeling like I have so many things weighing me down that I feel like all these other things deserve my attention before my writing. And this morning I was thinking about how one of the pieces were, you know, speaking of discipline, where I'm very disciplined is My, you know, workout routines and showing up for those. And so this morning, as I was doing my calendar for this upcoming week, and I was putting my post it notes on and all this stuff, I was like, okay, I need to really focus on the writing piece as part of that. And then another piece, another word that came up for me was that feeling proud of like feeling a sense of pride and feeling proud of myself. In my work, because if you've been listening for a while, or you know me, you know that part of my, you know, sort of family narrative is that I was never considered the writer in my family, you know, and so taking on that identity has been huge for me because I'm breaking that piece down and, and I'm writing in, uh, A sort of genre specific, you know, more mainstream. It's not literary focused. And, and it's interesting cause I was watching a, uh, video this morning by an author, uh, who was saying, you know, why is it that we take away from this sense of enjoyment of these. Books that people love that, you know, where they're saying, well, that's not really reading. Well, you know, that's where I want to continue to embrace this sense of pride. And yes, I am writing romance books and I'm going to feel proud of that because I'm giving stories.

Elizabeth: 10:05

I love that. Um, and I really do think This is a very like feminine energy approach to goal setting and it makes total sense because Amanda specializes in working with women entrepreneurs, right? And so the kind of other advice I've seen with other goal setting programs about like Set that really big goal, set that hard thing, and then put all your time towards it and really go for it. Like that's a very masculine approach and it just does not work for me for the way that I need to balance my energy for the responsibilities that I have as You know the primary caretaker of the home as a mother and you know all those different aspects And so while it may seem odd to people to like start with feelings. I think this makes sense especially for women and even the next part. I want to talk about that. She goes into with Identifying those roadblocks that you're going to encounter and the limiting beliefs Which we've already each shared a little bit about some of our own limiting beliefs She has you address those back right after you create what your big goal is going to be. Um, so you create a goal that's kind of like by the end of the year, I want to do X, right? And then you're going to break it down into like 90 day increments as her recommendation, but you may find your schedule is needs to be something slightly different. But once you've identified what that is. She has you ask yourself, what are the roadblocks I'm going to hit? What are the detours I'm going to need to take for me? I know summertime and the demands on me for childcare in the summertime so different. Than the rest of the school year. I have tried for two summers now to create all these kind of goals of like that i'm gonna do my writing and everything and they have not happened And so I have now faced that reality and know that that is not the time for me to write That is the time for me to do something different. Maybe I can do some editing. Maybe I can do some Reading maybe that's when For me, that's my plan of when I focus on Front loading a lot of our podcast stuff As you may know, listeners, I have gotten to the point where I'm batch recording with our guests much towards the beginning of each season. And then I have it all lined up and we release those episodes. So that's something that's more conducive to my summer and I know that going into it. So when I look ahead at how I'm going to get my rewrites and my edits done by the end of the year, know that summer is not going to be a prime time. I can use that to my advantage because at some point I'm going to need to have beta readers look over my book, I'm going to need to have an editor look over my manuscript. So if I can it such that that quote unquote downtime where I'm not writing is actually when my book is in the hands of other people to receive feedback, that I can then address in the fall. That's sort of how I'm looking at that detour for me. Yeah.

Stephanie: 13:20

Well, and I love that piece in, in this, uh, course with Amanda about setting the vision and where you're going and then stepping back for a moment and saying, okay, the reality is, is that life throws things at us. We can't anticipate, we can't anticipate when, you know, a kid is going to be sick or a family member, something happens with a family member or we're needed in some other space or something comes up or plans change. There are just so many things that we can't anticipate and predict and I love that she structures it this way to think about those things because most of the goal setting pieces that I've read about or thought about Or heard, like you said, it's so very often that like set that big goal, you're, you're going to get it. And then when you don't, it just creates that sort of shame spiral of you just continuously feel like you're not meeting your goals. And by predicting those potential roadblocks. You're already in this space of like, okay, I have this goal and I know there are gonna be things in my way. And so for me, you know, there are things like, you know, travel or I know there's time, you know, a big chunk of time with my boys coming up and what that's going to look like, especially around spring break time. And so I know when that happens, it's like, okay, that there's not going to. be much happening. But even this last time over the holidays, I'm like, okay, I got 15 minutes in a day. Like, okay, that, that was good. You know, I just sprinted, gave myself little mini sprints. And so just little things, um, like that. And, and also I think too, just that piece of knowing that I can take the space because we'll talk about in a little bit about how she structures Um the time around really measuring your 90 days

Elizabeth: 15:20

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, so like the roadblocks are the things you can predict up front, right? Like the, the spring break or travel or for me the summertime, like, shift in, in routine. And so that those you predict up front, you come up with a game plan for when they happen, and you work them in. And then the next step you move to in the PATH program is calculating your capacity. And like you referenced, so many other programs, I think really encourage you to, all your other priorities on the back burner for the sake of achieving this big goal Like they'll say like your family will be fine, you know, it's just for a season You know do this do that Don't do the family thing cancel this cancel that put all your energy and effort on this one big goal If it really means that much to you Then you know and it's just like you said there's a lot of shame around that and a lot of Like really negative pressuring that I don't think is Intrinsically motivating as we've talked about in our, you know, first episode of the season with intrinsic motivation. I love about the capacity calculator is you're using real life that you have, and you're not neglecting the other areas of your life that still need to function. You're not giving up your gym time in order to have more writing time. You're not giving up your weekends. that are family focused in order to have more writing time. You are being just really honest about what time you have you do, you figure that out before you decide what you can accomplish within a 90 day period or whatever timeframe that you're looking at. And so this is one of the rare programs, I think that doesn't encourage excessive pursuit of your goal. I think that's why so many people are seeing. success with this program. I think that's why you and I will ultimately see that we are meeting these goals that we've set for ourselves because they're realistic. she has built a calculator and it's built into the program and you can put in your different metrics. She walks you through exactly how to do it. And so what it essentially does is it breaks down, um, Yeah, you say you have 90 days or it's over the course of a 90 day period, but how many days do you actually have? How many hours do you actually have? me, I didn't even calculate it by day because I don't have whole days. Um, I have between when I get done at the preschool and when I have to pick my daughter up from school a couple of days a week. Depending on whether it's a weekend where I have custody, custody or not, I may have a couple of hours. But some of that kid free time also share space with recording and other business things I need to take care of. I can't just our business. I can't neglect the podcast for the sake of writing my book. So it really helps you look at how much time do you actually have for this particular goal without having to neglect the rest of your life. Stephanie, how did you approach this capacity calculator? And were you surprised at the results?

Stephanie: 18:40

well Like you I really appreciate number one that she already has it set up for you in the program You don't have to figure out how to, you know, set up the spreadsheet to calculate it for you. It's just plug and play, which makes it so easy. And I really appreciate, like I've said before, that she's realistic about the fact that, yes, it's a 90 day chunk of time, but you're not going to be working towards your goal every single day for that 90 days. Now, maybe there are people out there who can work that way, But I really highly doubt if you have any other responsibilities in your life, and especially if you're, you know, responsible for your kids, for yourself, for your family, whatever it might be, that if you have any other responsibilities, there's no way that you can realistically push yourself that hard without reaching a burnout level. Of work and ultimately not reaching where you want to go. But one of the words that came to mind for me was balance that really what I appreciate about this program, especially with the capacity calculator, is it really emphasizes creating that balance for yourself of being realistic about what time am I taking off? And I was just sharing with Elizabeth before this, we hopped on here that. I sat down today, it's a Sunday, we're recording this, and I was working on my calendar for the week, and it just gave me much more peace of mind to know that, like, okay, Monday to Thursday are my writing days, and then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are my weekend times, and, you know, set aside for family and other things that need to get done. And, um, And yeah, if I get writing done on those days, great, but I'm not putting the pressure on myself to do that. And so doing this capacity calculator was like, okay, I have this many hours. What do I want to accomplish in that time? And I felt, I felt like it was so manageable. And like you said, it just really accounts for, you know, applying to your life in a realistic way that doesn't feel like you're burdening yourself. Like, I feel calm about it. That's what I really, I think that that was one thing when I was going through the program is, I don't know, I mean, like, I've done lots of different things over the years, you know, and sometimes I just feel stressed out when I'm done going through, you know, an online, but really after this, it was like, Ah, okay. Like this is realistic. This is attainable.

Elizabeth: 21:20

there are people in my life who tell me they refuse to set goals because of those kind of feelings, right? That it creates that anxiety, it just, you know, and then the potential for you not meeting that goal and all of that. Now, I had a really cool realization last night, so this is one of those time periods where I'm kid free, I'm boyfriend free. You know, I have the whole weekend to myself, so I'm doing a lot more in regards to, you know, Both the podcast stuff, but also in the writing and in our last week's episode, we talked about data, and this is where a place where data can really come in to help you be realistic with the capacity calculator, because especially if your goal is in regards to writing, you may be wondering, well, what's my like average? you know that I write in a writing session or or whatnot What can I how much can I really expect to get this done? Is this chunk of drafting actually reasonable for the actual hours I have if you use a program Like Scrivener, which is what Stephanie and I both use it has this fantastic tool where it's keeping track for you So if you go into your Scrivener, you know You and you go to programs, then you can look at your writing history. And for me, this was really eyeopening. I don't check it all the time. If I feel like I've done a lot of writing, sometimes I'll look and be like, Oh, how many words did I end up writing? Especially if it's across different, you know, areas of the book. It's not all within one particular scene for me to easily see. And so yesterday I ended up doing almost 1500 words. at the top it tells you what your average is. know, so you can look at average on by month, or you can look at just overall. So I can quickly see that overall, when I sit down to do a writing session of any length, it doesn't, it isn't length specific, I'm usually writing, I think it was like 675 words. And that was really good information and data to know. And another piece of data that is, I want to share because I think it speaks to the viability of this program, is that I looked back, now I only started this program and created my goal in mid January. So I, I lost two weeks, right? Like I didn't start at the beginning of January. But that's okay, um, because I calculated my actual time that I had available. what I saw is that I have already done seven days of writing in since the middle of January. I looked back at the last four months, guys. I looked from September, October, November, and December. I wrote none in December, one day in November, one day in October, and a handful of days in September. I have written I've sat down to write more times in the last two and a half weeks than I did the entire last four months. So if that's not a good enough, you know, example of why this, how this course is working for me and a clear example and evidence through data that this is something that I'm sticking to, that discipline piece is coming in. I'm actually seeing the progress. I can look at the word count numbers. Because my 90 day milestone the big picture of getting my book done is to get all my rewrites done And I've been sitting on those rewrites for a while I've been chipping away at them little by little but now i'm really intentionally focusing on it And so I just wanted to share that because that brings in our data piece from last week's episode Um, if you missed that, please go back stephanie has so much great information about data Both the qualitative and quantitative data, but that's something for me, especially in looking at my capacity, that was really helpful for me to see what's, what I'm capable of and am I doing it? It was both an accountability check and also, um, helping me to plan moving forward.

Stephanie: 25:21

Well, and I love that for you and celebrating that for sure. And I think that that, what it makes me think of is that important piece about celebrating when you're reaching even small little pieces along the way, because you know, to somebody else that might not feel huge, but I mean, that is incredible because in. You know, two weeks span of time, seven days when looking back, you didn't have hardly any days per month is just so worthy of celebration. And then just, it gives you that little boost of adrenaline, like we talked about. Or in an earlier episode this season on intrinsic motivation. There's, there's this realistic goal setting program of path that Amanda has created that has in essence created an amount of intrinsic motivation within you and within both of us to be like, you know what? I can do this and it doesn't feel overwhelming. And again, that capacity piece of like, You know, you're, you've expanded your capacity within a short amount of time, and I just feel like that just naturally leaks into other areas of your life and other areas and spaces, and It's like reprogramming your brain to be like, Oh, hell yes. Like, this is awesome. Like I can show up for this. I can do this. And you're just more likely to get there. And I think too, I think too, like the piece of like just having each other with the accountability partner piece. And Amanda touches upon that in one of her podcast episodes about, you know, how are you going to keep yourself accountable? And that just having that piece too makes you that much more likely to reach the goal.

Elizabeth: 27:23

The other thing I want to say about like calculating your capacity, it has this like protective. aspect on both sides. So not only do I see how little time I have so that I'm really making the most of it. And I'm being really intentional in the hour I have today because it's only one hour out of 50 hours for my entire 90 day period that I have to work on it. So I got to make it count. also because you create your action plan with each week, don't have to stress that I'm going to. Like run out of time that I'm going to get to the end and not have finished anything because and I are both using the post it note method Which I would love for you to share a little bit about but I essentially have written down which stories I need to Write each week and that matches with the time that I have So I don't have to stress once I get done with that story for the week Say it is, you know I complete it faster than I thought or whatever I don't have to then put that pressure on myself or feel that stress of like oh Oh, let me keep working because what if I get behind and you know, like all of that's built in. And so I'm not overly pushing myself. I'm taking advantage of the time I have, but I'm not overdoing it either.

Stephanie: 28:37

Well, and just to touch upon the post it note strategy, Um, it actually is, comes from a workshop I did years ago with Entrepreneur coach, uh, Steph Crowder, and she does it every year and she continues to do it every year. And it's called year on the wall and I've adapted it to work for me. She has very specific ways that she goes through it, but basically what it involves is, and I'm, if you're watching this on YouTube, I have my calendar here with my different color post its. And right now, So I have four different colored post it notes for different aspects of my life. So one, the yellow is, you know, my workouts. The pink is my writing. The green is related to business. And then the orange is like anything else, you know, all the other extra things I need to do.

Elizabeth: 29:28

and

Stephanie: 29:28

Appointments. Yeah, exactly. And so, um, it's, It's very helpful, one, from a visual standpoint, but it also allows you to move the post its around, if necessary, because life does happen. And it, um, but then you can also decide if you want to remove the post its when you feel like you accomplished it, or you just leave it because it looks pretty, um, however you want to apply, apply it to your life, but I feel that it's really helpful to Is the camera's being wonky? Um, uh,

Elizabeth: 30:09

Keep going.

Stephanie: 30:11

so anyways, the, uh, the post its are a really great strategy. And again, um, just a way to also, with talking about setting these goals, is taking the capacity calculator and, you know, I calculated that, you know, I have 96 hours in the timeframe that I, Calculated. And so then I'm able to see, like Elizabeth said, that I do have the time because I've calculated it based on, well, you know, how many days and what are the hours in those days and what are the days that I know for sure I'm not going to have any, you know, capacity for it. And so again, it doesn't add to stress and for. And for me, like, I'm not, you know, I don't have an official diagnosis of ADHD, but there's certainly, as I watch things and read things, you know, give myself a self diagnosis of it. And so for someone like me, where my mind can be easily, like, I can be easily distracted, or I have a lot going on, um, it's very helpful to, one, have the visual on my calendar, but two, to know, okay, I've very specifically calculated this. And again, I keep going back to like, it's so nice to think like, okay, it's not all 90 days because sometimes, because especially like in my mind, it's like, okay, 90 days is a long time. But then when it's broken down into like, what is my true capacity? What do I truly, how am I truly filling my time? And it's like, okay, this is manageable. I can do this.

Elizabeth: 31:58

Yeah.

Stephanie: 31:59

adds to the motivation.

Elizabeth: 32:01

What have you set as your 90 day milestone?

Stephanie: 32:04

Um, I have set that I am going to be done with act one completely of my book. Um, because I really, I'm breaking it up into the different acts so that it just feels like a completion point for me. And it feels manageable in terms of the volume of writing. And so that is my 90 day piece is that. You know, at that time, I'll be done, and, you know, my goal is about a thousand words a day, which will take me to more than that amount, but I also know that a thousand words a day may not always happen, so, um, it, yeah, it feels, it feels like a goal that I can achieve.

Elizabeth: 32:53

Nice. And I'm using the same kind of post it method that, that you shared with me, except I just have my writing goals on there. But what gives me peace of mind is because the post it note is movable. So I essentially have like a, just a standard wall calendar, you know, like a monthly calendar. And then at the beginning of each week, like each Monday, I've got a post it note that has What section I need to do my rewrites for and so it lives on the Monday but I move it as I go through the week and as I work through the like Individual scenes within that chapter and I make notes on there and break it down But I don't stress about doing any sort of planning of that ahead of time until like the week of Right just kind of like you reference like this morning you sat down and figured out what your week would look like I do the same thing. So from the capacity calculator I had written Or looked at my calendar specifically and wrote how many hours I had on each day And then I use that and I love the ability to move the post it note So even you know, whether it's going to plan or even if something comes up unexpectedly which the capacity calculator does have you account for I can just easily move the post it note and it's not like oh, I have to x this off and you know reschedule it I just easily, you know move it to a different day of the week that I am going to have time again to to work on it. Um, so I love that piece of Mm-hmm just a mental flexibility, um, aspect. One of the other words I had chosen for a feeling was adaptable and being able to really pivot when I need to and not

Stephanie: 34:31

Mm-hmm

Elizabeth: 34:31

sort of like shame or guilt when, when life happens and I need to be adaptable. Um, so I love that. And then the last portion of of the PATH program as well as the entirety of the episode we are recording with Amanda for our podcast is on accountability. And there are three levels of accountability. So there's, you know, the self accountability, there's peer accountability, and then there's paid accountability. So as you look at the 90 day milestone, what you're looking to achieve, you then do this final assessment of what level of accountability do you need in order to, you know, this goal. So for me, because my action is so simple, I just have to put my butt in the chair and write. I have, I'm using a blend of self accountability and peer accountability. So what that looks like for me is I have set a reminder in my phone for every Sunday and, because that's sort of the end of my writing week, um, and I get an alert and I do a self assessment. How did I do that week? Did I reach? All the writing, is there something that I need to reschedule and work into the next week, you know, so that I'm staying on track. And so it's that check in for myself, and also because I'm doing it in the Google Calendar, I can add notes directly to that event and save it. And so then I get to see even how I achieved the previous weeks. as I'm reflecting on how I did this week. So that's how I'm holding myself accountable with that weekly check in with myself. But also, as we've talked about a number of times on this podcast, regular listeners know that you and I really get a lot out of writing together. So we will schedule, especially for me, one of my most vulnerable times of potentially disruption or, um, yeah, I guess disruption is really the best word. is that hour that I have some days between when I leave my job and when I have to pick up my daughter from school. It's a small window of time and there's a lot of things that can come up and interrupt that time. So for me, when you and I can schedule a writing time for that hour, where I know that I'm going to come in here, I'm going to hop on Zoom with you, we're going to set some writing intentions, black out our screens, and then I'm going to write for usually about 40 minutes is the actual time I have to write within that. You know, then then that peer accountability is really helpful when that window of time is a little bit more vulnerable for me Um, I have an easier time on the weekends because i'm planning those hours To be you know disruptive free. I already know that I don't have my kid that weekend All right, she's got a playdater, you know, she's got her own thing going on But it's that hour that i'm trying to get in midweek Some of those days that is particularly vulnerable for me and that's where I really lean on the peer accountability. I can definitely see needing to use some paid accountability. Once I get to a point where I've gone through the rewrites, I've done the edits, and now I'm just trying to do all the multitude of Book cover, formatting, marketing, all of those pieces because it's a lot more things to juggle than just the single action of sitting down to write or sitting down to edit.

Stephanie: 37:55

Well, yeah, and I think the accountability piece is huge, and it's important to be realistic about how much you can be accountable to yourself and having the supportive peers and then the paid piece. And I've, I've done a combination of, you know, all three over time, and I definitely would say that like leaning on the peer accountability is probably the strongest. element for me is just, you know, when you and I have that time together, it's like, well, he's doing this at the same time that I'm doing it. And it just naturally drives that motivation for me. And, and I agree with you that when there are those vulnerable times that that is a good time to call upon yourself to say, okay, I need to have, you know, someone else to write with, or even if it's not that you're writing at the same time, it can even be like a, you know, Text message communication of like, Hey, I'm going to write right now and just checking in with you to let you know, or, uh, whatever, or,

Elizabeth: 38:55

me

Stephanie: 38:55

uh, right, exactly. Like, you know, check in with me, make sure, you know, I made it through or, or whatever it might be. Um, and, and again, I think the, you know, setting up on the calendar leads to that self accountability. And like you talked about, you know, the whole idea of moving the post it note. Um, allows for you to recognize, you know, life needs some flexibility, and I think it's so common, you know, as creatives and writers that, you know, we tend to be really hard on ourselves and really critical, and that allows for giving yourself grace in the process, um, and, you know, it takes time, and I think the challenge is, is that, you know, we live in a world where it seems like somebody was an overnight success or everything happened overnight for someone or it's so fast, but really if you take the time and step back and look at someone's story and look at where they are, um, it wasn't something that happened overnight. Um, even the book we've chosen, uh, for our book club, you know, the author, it's her seventh book and Now it's getting all of this recognition. And so I think that it's really important to remember that, especially with writing, that there is the element of time and that it takes time and that it can be hard for people. Potentially in your circle to understand that if they're not doing it themselves. And so that's where allowing yourself to find people who are within writing circles, who are doing this work to hold yourself accountable, um, is really, is really a powerful place to put yourself, especially if keeping yourself out of You know, accountable is challenge. And then, you know, paid accountability is great too. If you get a book coach and or somebody to work with, or if you have an editor or whatever it might be, um, that keeps you on, you know, a much more strict timeframe and then you're like, oh, well they're expecting, you know, and sometimes that can be a little bit of pressure. But, um, it also depends on, you know, who you're working with. So, again, just think about what is going to be the best for yourself.

Elizabeth: 41:33

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Um, I had a thought and now I suddenly lost it, so I hope it'll come back to me. Um, oh, yeah, so there's been kind of this underlying theme for me in the episodes I've been recording with guests this season, and even in this conversation, of really, I've, I've struggled in the past to find a writing routine that works for me. I don't feel like my schedule works super well with, you know, Writing every day at the same time or even getting an Airbnb and disappearing for a while and doing a massive like writing session And so it's a conversation. I continue to have with guests throughout this season And this program the path program has really helped me to figure out what is actually true My writing routine what actually works with my life because I think I kept trying to borrow and ask and find out Well, how did you get that done? Oh, that doesn't work for me. How did you do that? Oh, that's not gonna work for me either and really like looking outside of myself for the way that I'm gonna be able to balance my writing with the rest of my values and obligations and commitments in my life and So this program has really helped me tap into what do I want? What do I, how do I want to feel when I'm writing? What is actually like realistic for me? What's going to work for me? Um, I'm, this program is yours for the entire, like, for on and on and on. So this is going to be something that I come back to at each 90 day period, at least doing the capacity calculator again for each, um, segment of months, um, maybe even looking back at, you know, what kind of roadblocks is that portion of time going to have, and then setting those weekly action steps that I need to get done. So when you purchase this program, you have access to it forever. And it really is built. Amanda's done such a great job. Um, she says it takes three to four hours. So this is not something that you have to sit and commit a lot of time to. For me it took about two and a half because I was already exposed to her podcast. So I was familiar with her methods and had already thought through some of the steps. I knew what my goal was going to be. For example, I knew some of the words I wanted to have regards to my feelings. my goal achievement and so Amanda has been so gracious in order to give all of our listeners a discount on this course guys This course is only 97 even normally like that's the full price for you to always have a way to set a goal that is realistic to the life that you are currently living is achievable and Helps you think through all of these steps But for our listeners, for people that use our link and our code, you get 20 percent off. So that means your total cost is 77. That is such a, that's such a deal. So use the code inspired. You will find the link within the show notes. I just can't say enough great things about this course. Stephanie and I don't take this lightly as far as something that we actually want to promote and put out there. You see us often, we'll let the guests promote their things and we're happy to do that. This is something that we are actively telling you is working for us. Um, as I gave the examples from the data, this is working for me and we are going to have another episode at the end of this quarter where we check in with you and tell you, show you what we've been able to do with these goals. So, um, Stephanie, I don't know if you have anything else you want to add about your own kind of testimonial of the program. or how strongly you feel about it. But listener, the link is in the show description. Um, as well as that code, you have to use that code inspired in order to get that 20 percent off.

Stephanie: 45:25

Well, yeah, I just echo exactly what you've already said with respect to the course. And I, And behind it 100%. And I really appreciate what Amanda has put together for, you know, women, entrepreneurs, women, writers, women, creatives, you know, whatever space you're in. I really think that this is sorry. I'm gonna have to cut that part out. Um, I'll come back to that. But anyways, um, but I really feel that, uh, this is a course that is so worthwhile and to have access to it forever and to be able to go back to it and like I said earlier in the podcast, you know, she's created These spreadsheet templates already prepared for you to access, to use, um, to help you with your goal setting. And I think it's just powerful to go from thinking about how do I want to feel to what's realistic for my life. To what's actually going to work and then to hear how Elizabeth has already seen it working for her and I literally just finished the course the other day. So it's very, I'm at the very beginning stages of my goal setting. So certainly when we check back in with each other, I'll have more data. To share with you. And I'm excited for what that's going to look like. Um, just based on hearing what Elizabeth's experienced and again, listener use the code inspired, get this course. It is so worth it. It's a worthwhile investment and yeah, go for it.

Elizabeth: 47:06

I love it. Well, thank you, Stephanie. And thank you, listeners. We appreciate you leaving comments on our videos, subscribing, if you're listening on, watching us on YouTube, or, or following and leaving five star reviews if you're listening on one of the podcast platforms. We are working really hard to bring you value and to help you achieve those writing goals. I know that's a lot of places where people get really stuck and really down on themselves. And so this is, um, I think this is going to be a gateway for a lot of people to really reach into that next level to achieve those things that have been on the back burner and really figure out what you can do. And based off of how much time you have, it may be significantly smaller. You may not be writing a whole, you know, act one like Stephanie, or you may not be at a point where you can fit all of your rewrites into a 90 day period, but whatever that is, you are still. moving that needle forward and getting your book published or getting your book marketed or brainstorming ideas or reading more in your genre, whatever that goal is and that's all important and you deserve to carve out that time for yourself to to achieve those goals and we know you can do it and we're over here cheering you on and I know Amanda's gonna cheer you on and Just keep going I just want to say thank you to everyone for your support, and we're here for you, and we want to see you do amazing things.