The Weekly R.A.P #7
Writing Goals Check-In for July 9, 2023
Reminder: The Weekly RAP is a gentle tool for staying accountable to your writing goals. If you set a goal with us in the comments of last week’s newsletter, check in about how it went by adding a comment! If you’re just joining us this week, ignore the first two questions of the RAP sheet and just set a goal for next week.
Welcome to the 7th Weekly RAP of the HIBOU’s 100 Days of Summer!
I don’t know about you all but with the holiday mid week and a puppy that’s sucking up more time than I thought humanly possible, I felt like I was holding on by the hairs of my chinny chin chin this week. How was your week?
THE WEEKLY R.A.P #7 — July 9, 2023
RECKONING—If you set a writing goal in the comment section of HIBOU’s July 2nd post for The Weekly RAP #6,1 did you achieve your goal? Yes? No? Partially?
ANALYSIS–What went well this week? What was a challenge? What insights did you learn about your writing this week? Looking ahead to next week, can you repeat what went well? If the coming week has similar challenges to last week, how might you adjust your writing schedule or your goal? Are there any new challenges to take into account this week?
PLAN–What is your writing goal for the coming week (7/10 - 7/16)? What’s your plan to get it done? How will you reward yourself for the work you complete? A friendly reminder that smart goals are (s)pecific, (m)easurable, (a)chievable, (r)ealistic, and (t)ime-bound.2
Copy and paste the template above into the comments, replace the questions with your answers, then hit post and check out what other HIBOU subscribers are up to and cheer them on!3
Remember to be kind to yourself if you didn’t make your goal!
Today is the start of a fresh, new week!
Click the link if you need to refresh your memory!
For example, while I have to get cracking because how the hairy heck is it already JULY? may capture your urgency perfectly, a smart goal makes the action more concrete. : By July 16, I will finish editing the essay I’m working on by writing every afternoon on my lunch break and three evenings for at least an hour.
Because this is about us not me, my weekly RAP response is posted in the comments. And not that I’m fishing for compliments or anything, but I’d like to point out the complete lack of Shiloh content in this weekly RAP. And, no, I don’t see how the fact I devoted an entire newsletter to Shiloh a couple days ago is at all relevant (though, in case you’re missing Shiloh content, you can read it under “Shiloh is here to stay”).
CATHY'S WEEKLY R.A.P. for July 9, 2023
RECKONING—I broke the chapter into ten units and got through nine of them.
ANALYSIS–While I might have been able to rush through that final section, the end of a pivotal chapter so close to the end of a novel deserves more than a rushed job. To be fair to myself, there was no window today when I could have done even a rush job because once my early pre-puppy hours are spent, there's no guarantee I'll get more. Which is just to say that puppy training has been... intense.
PLAN–Given that I make plans and Shiloh laughs, I'm going to be more strategic. I will finish chapter 27, this week I will for real launch my Wonderbook series, and I'll read my notes for the last two chapters and epilogue. I'm also getting Shiloh temperament tested at a doggy day care so I can maybe start sending her out to play a day or two a week and have a day or two where I can concentrate.
I did not set goals last week. On my return trip from Paris on Sunday July 2 I came down with a nasty case of food poisoning. Lost last week to it, though I did 2 1/2 hours of fun research on my next newsletter during my few hours of comfort last Thursday morning. Still recovering. BRAT diet for the win.
In uplifting news from last week, I blew an eyelash and wished for an easy newsletter topic. Thursday morning a reporter reached out to me for comment on a marketing situation. Though the article was quickly nixed, the subject is fun and easy. I feel the universe answered.
Reckoning: Between last Thursday morning and reading over the weekend, I've done 4 hours of research on this newsletter. Yesterday I hit the point where I could see it all come together.
Analysis: In the past I've massively over-researched and thus overcomplicated newsletters, only to wrestle them into fighting weight later. I know I am ready to write, so my challenge is NO MORE RESEARCH. Just write.
Plan: Self-care to health. Write to done. Get the newsletter out on time Friday.