Before I start, I want to thank Delilah for hosting me again. I’m excited to be here, and I’ve got something to give away later.
This is the time of year a lot of people are thinking about goals, new and old. Did they make all their goals for the current year? What goals to set for the next year? Other people are simply thinking about their plans for the season: meals, parties, gifts, vacations. And some of us (like me!) whose day-jobs revolve around making sure other people’s lists are accomplished only want to make it through this month so the new year can begin.
Still others just go with the flow, taking everything as it comes along.
I admit to being a goal-setter. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I can check something off my to-do list. For example, I was very pleased with myself when I finished this blog post. Then panicked when my email program ate it. Gone. Poof, into the ether. Picture a frantic author still in her pajamas muttering and wailing in her office, digging through every nook and cranny of her computer she could think of to try to retrieve the file and failing. Rewriting it wasn’t in the plans, but a necessary deviation from the to-do list.
I’m not a strict by-the-list sort of goal-setter. I tend to leave myself some leeway and extra time to reach the goals I’ve set for myself. I’ve actually set my writing and life goals for next year already, thanks to a terrific class Delilah and her sister did earlier this month. Now, thanks to an unexpected development this week, I have to make some adjustments to those writing goals. Good thing I leave myself a little breathing space. Having to adjust my timeline for that first goal means I need to tweak all the ones that come after it, but even with a few more wrenches thrown in during the course of the new year, my goals are still achievable, and if I’m lucky, I’ll still have some time to just catch my breath.
Andi, the heroine in Hunting Medusa, has a short list of life goals: make a steady living; keep her head down to keep off the radar of the men hunting her; and to stay alive. Easy, right? Until Kallan, one of those hunters finds her. Then she’s forced to improvise, and it turns out she’s better at that than she expected. Kallan’s plan is also simple: find the Medusa, kill her, and steal a protective amulet. Piece of cake. But he had no idea that doing one of those things would make another impossible. Kallan is careful, so having his plan in ruins might send another man into panic mode. He simply comes up with a new plan. And then another when the second one goes to hell, too.
Are you a planner, a careful goal-setter? Or do you just go with the flow, letting things happen as they will? Something in between? I’d love to hear, since I’m always looking for tips to improve my own planning. Plus, for everyone who posts their tendencies, I’ll be doing a drawing on Wednesday, Dec. 24 for a copy of Hunting Medusa in the ebook format of your choice.
Author bio: Elizabeth Andrews has been a book lover since she was able to read. Almost as long as she’s been enjoying great books, she’s been attempting to write her own. When she found her mother’s romance stash as a teenager, it was a natural progression to write romances. Along with her enormous book stash, she lives with her husband of twenty years, two young adult sons, and belongs to two cats. When she’s not buried in her personal library, writing, or at the day-job, there’s a garden outside with flowers, herbs and vegetables that requires occasional attention.
www.ElizabethAndrewsWrites.com
Hunting Medusa, The Medusa Trilogy, Book 1
One murderous mission. One killer case of PMS. Who said “the curse” was a myth?
When Kallan Tassos tracks down the current Medusa, he expects to find a monster. Instead he finds a wary, beautiful woman, shielded by a complicated web of spells that foils his plans for a quick kill and retrieval of her protective amulet.
Andrea Rosakis expects the handsome Harvester to go for the kill. Instead, his attempt to take the amulet imprinted on her skin without harming her takes her completely by surprise. And ends with the two of them in a magical bind–together. But Kallan isn’t the only Harvester on Andi’s trail…
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Merry Christmas Elizabeth & Delilah 🙂
I’m kind of a middle of the road planner, I have the goal & a flexible plan to achieve it. As I plan I tend to gather as much information as possible to minimize the changes.
Hunting Medusa looks like an awesome read 🙂
Mind 🙂
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I wish I could be more of a planner. Since I retired a few years ago I seem to have lost my organization skills. It kinds of drives me nuts at time not to be good at planning anymore but I guess it doesn’t bother me enough to do anything about it! LOL
Your book sounds interesting. It’s not the type I usually go for but I’d certainly give it a try if I’m lucky enough to win.
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays
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I am a list maker. I make them and then I check them off. Now I will admit that I don’t do them in the order listed. I have eased up some since I retired. I used to make sure I always had a watch on also so I could make good use of the time I had. Well I have stopped wearing one and guess what I still get it all done!!!!! LOL 😛
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I am a list maker. I make lists for everything. If I am planning a trip, I make a complete list of everything that I am taking. I make a list at the beginning of the year of what I want to accomplish. Yes, I mark the items off .
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So the planners are in the majority so far, I see. Interesting. 😀
Elizabeth
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I am a middle of the road, I make my lists but go with the flow and adjust as life happens. Merry Christmas! Hunting Medusa was a great read on kindle and I am looking forward to the hard copy becoming available!
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Thank you, Traci! Soon!
Elizabeth
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I plan, but the fates always seem to have other plans for me.
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Hi Elizabeth,
I enjoyed your post. I’m a major planner, and love finding out-of-the box huge goals, which I break down and tackle. Like you, I leave breathing room. And, your comment about enjoying crossing a goal off your list made me smile. That’s me. Each day I update my ‘to do’ list and move forward. Enjoy your holidays, and I wish you every success!
Sincerely,
Diana
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I’m still working on breaking down the goals for the new year, Diana. The big ones are set, but I still need to fine-tune once I settle on new deadlines for the big ones. 😀 And thank you!
Elizabeth
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I’m not a goal planner, but I’m definitely a planner (I have 3 calendars…a big wall one, a thick day player and my iphone calendar…and I NEED them all) as well, I’m a list maker. I need calendars and lists because I’m organized (overly so?) and I’d hate to forget something, but when it comes to goals, I figure I’ll just go with the flow.
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Wow. I really thought there’d be a few more ‘wing-it’ types. Planners all the way, huh? 😉
Elizabeth
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Thanks, guys, for playing along. 🙂 For some reason, I really expected there’d be more people winging it, so all of the planners surprised me.
Sorry for the delay, but my time at the EDJ today went extra-long, but I just paid a visit to RandomResult.com to do our drawing a few minutes ago, and the second comment via ButtonsMom2003 is the winner! Please contact me at elizabethandrewswrites @ gmail . com (without the spaces!) so we can figure out which ebook format you need and then I can get that off to you. 🙂 Congrats!
And to everyone, happy, happy holidays, no matter which ones you celebrate!
Elizabeth