How a Halloween costume made me think about writing goals

Time to plan your last quarter with this fool-proof get sh*t done paper and pen method!

Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash

Happy Friday!

It’s October on Sunday.

Can you believe it? It’s time for all the autumn vibes, woolly jumpers, pumpkins, prep-tober for those who are getting ready for NanoWrimo, and, as my daughter pointed out, getting ready for all the Halloween events.

I don’t quite know when Halloween became so popular. When I was a kid I can vaguely remember going out to a couple of parties. When my son (now 20) was a kid, we went out dressed up and knocked on a few neighbours doors as well as visiting my parents. But now! This girl has a wild social calendar planned.

It could be that my daughter is just the organised type when it comes to this, but she has arranged a big night out with her friends, wandering the streets, dressed up in full costume.
She then has a party with a sporting club that we must go to, and of course, she wants a private Halloween party at home when her brother is home, where I have to cook a particularly spooky meal and…I’m exhausted just telling you about it.

‘Mum,’ she told me when I told her it was just Halloween, ‘it’s not just anything. I need a costume. I need makeup. You need to get organised. I’m not being the kid with an old bed sheet with eyes cut out.’ And then she delivered a line at me that I often tell her: ‘fail to prepare? Prepare to fail.’

I agreed. Not being in a position to argue at my own logic, and got around to ordering some stuff online and it got me thinking. We have three months left of this year. The final quarter. What planning have you done for that?

I can tell you what planning, I’ve done: zero. Nada. I seem to plan at the start of the year, some time around summer, but the final quarter? I’m all on the countdown toward Christmas. But not this year! This year, I’m planning so I can start 2024 strong.

You up for it? Ready to nail down these last three months? If so, grab a pen and paper and I’ll take you through my planning that I do whenever I need a reset.

First job is to…

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