It’s a Plan by Kait Carson

Do you make resolutions? How does that work out for you? For years I would open my journal in December and think about all the areas of my life. Then I would make a resolution for every segment. You know the stuff. Go to the gym three times a week. Eat healthy. Write 2,000 words a day. Can you see where this is going? Yep. By January 15th, all that’s left of the resolutions are the memories.

It didn’t take too long to realize that resolutions were not my thing. I confess, I kept flogging that dead horse for a few more years and thinking I understood the futility of the act. There is something in the human psyche that demands an acknowledgement of new beginnings. The clean slate demands to be filled. The trick is filling it meaningfully. For me, that’s not a resolution. It’s a plan.

I keep two planners. The Quo Vadis Minister is one of my favorites. It’s a regular old desk calendar and yes, I record appointments, the daily weather, and what I’ve cooked for supper, but I really use it to keep track of how I spend my time. Entries include what I’m working on, how many words I’ve written and how long it took me. I also keep track of how much time I spend marketing, and the tchotchkes of daily life. The time spent reading/responding to emails, journaling, reading blogs, and the like. A nice, big column on the right side lets me write my aspirations and cross them off when I accomplish them. At the end of the week, I transfer those hours into a spreadsheet. If I find I’m tchotchke heavy, I know I need to revamp my days. It allows me to give myself grace for those accidents of life that take time but can’t be planned. I also look at the aspirations with a critical eye. If something appears on several consecutive weeks, I need to figure out why, and fix it if it’s important.

The Happy Planner is my second planner. It’s huge. Much bigger than anyone needs on their desk. It’s eleven by twelve inches. This is my true planner. I’m still in the process of figuring out my writing time so I can set realistic deadlines. This book allows me to plan a writing week. I’m gradually learning that plotting takes me ten days, writing a novel takes sixty, and editing takes another thirty—and that’s for the first draft. With the Happy Planner, I can map all of those events out in big blocks and decorate it with stickers and colored pens. It’s not the time-waster it sounds like, and it makes me happy. 

So what’s my plan for 2025? First to keep learning and refining my style. Second, to indie publish a new book in the Hayden Kent series. Third, to explore small presses for my new Maine series. 

Oh, and all those failed resolutions? Well, I recently read my old journals. Oddly enough, I accomplished many of them. Turns out they weren’t resolutions. They were goals.

What about you? How do you plan your time and production?

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries set in the Fabulous Florida Keys and is at work on a new mystery set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in True Romance, True Confessions, True Story, True Experience, and Woman’s World magazines. Her short story, Gutted, Filleted, and Fried, appeared in the Falchion Finalist nominated Seventh Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Sisters in Crime, Guppies, and of Sisters in Crime New England. Visit her website at www.kaitcarson.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter and receive a yummy, authentic, key lime pie recipe.