by Susan U. Neal RN, MBA, MHS @SusanNealYoga

The dawn of a new year fosters time for reflection and planning. It is a time to look back on last year, evaluate what you did, and plan for the next year. The new year motivates one to meet with the Lord and meditate upon his will for a person’s writing ministry. Have you taken the time to plan for 2020?

Begin your planning session with prayer. Ask God to guide you during this session. Select a scripture verse as your theme for the new year. My 2020 verse is Proverbs 3:5–6 (NLT):

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

I write my new year’s theme verse on the first page of my new calendar. I document each year’s planning session in the first few pages of my calendar, so it is easily accessible. In the writing business, we receive much rejection. Focusing on our divine purpose and God’s Word keeps us grounded and motivated to pursue the Lord’s will for our lives.

Next, I listed all the 2019 accomplishments in my life (work, health, spiritual, family). I was amazed at how much I accomplished when I recorded everything. Life is so busy that it is beneficial to stop, appraise, and celebrate.

Evaluate what worked well and what did not. Determine what you need to purge from your life—maybe a negative relationship or an author event that is not working well. For me it was my online writing group. I was in two other groups, and I didn’t need the third one anymore. Also, assess if you accomplished all of your previous year’s goals; if not, you may want to add it to this year’s list.

Plan your goals for 2020. As you do, ask God to help you determine what he wants you to accomplish. What is his priority? In different seasons of our lives, perhaps we should focus more on family and less on work. Our children grow quicker than we think. For my 2020 goals, I created a list for work, home/family, and relationships. 

Prioritize your goals and schedule them in your calendar based upon segments of time such as monthly or quarterly. For example, this week I am finally publishing the large print version of 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates as this was one of my 2019 goals. There is nothing like an old goal that you wanted to accomplish by the end of the year to motivate you. This month, I am also publishing the Audible version of Solving the Gluten Puzzle.

Next, I am moving the 2019 goal of creating an online course to my 2020 list. Next year, I plan to write my next book, “How to Heal Food Sensitivities and Leaky Gut.” Also, I will query numerous podcasts and magazines for marketing. I am also mapping out which writing conferences I will attend.

Lastly, I focus on what I can do to improve myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The first week in January I am doing the Clean 7 detox program to improve my physical health. When a writer focuses on their well-being, they can accomplish their 2020 divine goals better. Monica Schmelter and I discuss “New Year New Healthy You” on the Bridges show that aired January 1, 2020. May God give you wisdom and bless you as you work for him.

Portions of this annual planning session were adapted from Shelley Hitz’s, “Plan It Day.”

Susan Neal RN, MBA, MHS, lives her life with a passion to help others improve their health. She is a Certified Advanced Writer and Speaker Coach and inspires writers to get their words before more readers. She wrote seven healthy living books. Her best-seller 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates, a Selah award winner, sold 5000 copies in its first fourteen months. Her latest release is Solving the Gluten Puzzle. Check out Susan’s free,“Do We Fit,” author coaching session at http://susanuneal.com/authorcoaching.