January 2023 Chapter Challenge

New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year! To kick off our first Chapter Challenge, I challenge YOU to create an achievable goal that you want to complete in January and a reward for yourself once you've achieved it.

Your Challenge

1. Create an achievable goal for January.
2. Decide how you want to reward yourself for achieving your goal.
3. Share your goal with others to keep you accountable.
4. Go achieve that goal!

Where Can I Share My Goal?

Share your goal with us by either leaving a comment on this page or by replying to the thread below! This is a great way to let other people know what you're doing so they can help cheer you on. Not a member of Articles Anonymous? No worries! This is an open challenge for anyone who wants to participate.

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Challenges & Events

Sun, Jan 7th 2024 11:15

Check here for current and past chapter events and challenges!

New Year Challenge 2024

Started by Alishahr, Mon, Jan 1st 2024 05:28

Last Update Sun, Jan 14th 2024 11:40

New Year, new challenges

Started by Tynen_TM, Sun, Jan 7th 2024 11:15

How Do I Write a Goal?

Writing good goals can be hard! It's easy to think of big and lofty goals, and actually getting there can require a lot of steps. Maybe you want to start monetizing your world or are preparing for a long tabletop campaign or you're working on an epic novel series. It's important to be able to break down large goals into more concrete steps. These smaller goals not only help you work towards bigger ones, but they also help drive motivation by giving you a series of wins that feel challenging and doable. The SMART and CLARITY goal frameworks presented below are designed to help guide you on how to make a goal for this January challenge. You are welcome to use other frameworks, or your own system if you have something that works.
SMART and CLARITY goals focus on making the goal quantifiable so that you can know when you've achieved your goal and give you a way to track your progress. They also focus on making sure that your goal is relevant to any bigger goals or plans you have. They also emphasize achievability. No matter what your month looks like, the best goals are ones that you can reach! Finally, they add in time restraints. The time frames should generally be small, in this case, it'll be for a month. This adds another dimension to help you track your progress as you can see what you're doing each day to work towards achieving your goal.

S	Specific: Firstly, choose something specific you want to do whether that's write more articles, read other people's works, or work on a specific region in your world. Having goals that are too vague can make it difficult to figure out what you're striving towards.
M	Measurable: Next, make sure that you quantify your goal. This allows you to track progress and know when you've achieved it. Your goal might be to "read 10 articles written by other people" or "write 10,000 words".
A	Achievable: When creating goals, make sure that it's something you can realistically achieve. It'll help you stay motivated and build up momentum for more challenging goals in the future. Focus on what you can do this month while keeping any other obligations in mind. If you want to give yourself more of a challenge, consider adding in stretch goals!
R	Relevant: Take a look at what your bigger and long term goals are for your world and the year. Your goal this month should be related to helping you achieve one of those. If you're running a DnD game, developing the next big city your players would be relevant. If your goal is to have fun, then pick areas you enjoy writing about for your goal this month.
T	Time-bound: Finally, make sure that your goal has a time limit. Whether you like to plan or do things at the last minute, having a set time to complete your goals gives it a sense of urgency and allows you to measure progress. For this challenge, your time limit is "by the end of January".

C	Clear: Make sure to clearly define your goal. What do you want to achieve this month? Your goal should be specific and quantifiable so that you can track your progress and have something clear to work towards.
L	Linked: Take a look at what your bigger and long term goals are for your world and the year. Your goal this month should be related to helping you achieve one of those. If you're running a DnD game, developing the next big city your players would be relevant. If your goal is to have fun, then pick areas you enjoy writing about for your goal this month.
A	Action-oriented: This is your game plan for how you plan to achieve your goal. For a writing goal, this may look like writing a set number of words each day. A reading goal may include steps to find new articles to read and then like and comment on them. You may consider setting aside time in your day specifically to work towards your goal.
R	Realistic: When creating goals, make sure that it's something you can realistically achieve. It'll help you stay motivated and build up momentum for more challenging goals in the future. Focus on what you can do this month while keeping any other obligations in mind. If you want to give yourself more of a challenge, consider adding in stretch goals!
I	Important: Creating and achieving the goal should be important to you. You should feel invested in reaching the goal which will help with motivation. Consider how this goal ties into other resolutions or into your worldbuilding project.
T	Time-bound: Set a time limit for your goal. Whether you like to plan or do things at the last minute, having a set time to complete your goals gives it a sense of urgency and allows you to measure progress. For this challenge, your time limit is "by the end of January".
Y	Your-why: Consider your reason for creating this goal. How does it contribute to your current projects and plans? Perhaps this goal is a first step in being able to publish a module in your world or you have a lot of ideas for a new area of your world that you're excited to explore. If you're ever stuck in the slog, come back to your why for motivation about why you set this goal to begin with.

Stretch Goals!

Sometimes when we set goals, they end up being much easier or taking way less time than expected. Make sure to reward yourself for achieving that goal! Here is where stretch goals come in. These can be great ways to push yourself to do more and stay motivated once your initial goal has been achieved. You might just want to set yourself a few extra challenges such as World Ember offering badges for reaching 25,000 and 50,000 words.
Or, you might want to create a tier list like Get Your Words Out uses for their writing pledges with eight different levels of increasing difficulty. For example, a Light goal may be something you know you can achieve easily just in case everything goes wrong this month and you don't have as much time as you thought to work towards your goal. A Moderate goal may be achievable, but you need to push yourself a little to reach it. A Difficult goal requires your to put in more effort, but so long as you stay consistent, you can reach it. A Ludicrous goal may be something you're not sure if you can achieve, and it really pushes you hard to reach it.

Reward Yourself!

Once you've reached your goal, sit back for a moment and congratulate yourself! Tell your friends that you reached it so we can congratulate you, too! Your reward can be anything from a day dedicated to playing video games, a long hot bath, or going out to get a treat! Maybe there are some new dice you've had your eye on, or you really like cookies. Your reward should be special to you. It gives you something to concrete to work towards and acts as a clear marker that you've achieved what you set out to do.

Sources
How to write SMART Goals
7 Proved Alternatives to SMART Goals
Get Your Words Out