2025 Goals Series: Finish Book + Enjoy the Process!

I don’t think I ever made an official announcement here, but I’ve shared in numerous spaces and have left many hints that I’m working on a book! I am still waiting on my final contract (in process!), but my editor said it was fine to share in a non-specific way. Once everyone has signed on the dotted line, the book will be ‘announced’ in a more public and formal way and I can give more details, but YES there is a book being written that will be traditionally published, currently slated for early 2026!

The writing timeline was a bit tighter than I would have chosen, but at the same time a 2026 release is incredibly exciting and I was highly motivated to get it done! SO, most of it is done, though it needs editing and refining and cleaning up, and I have 3 major sections to complete in draft form as of now: the intro, the conclusion, and one chapter that is a bit of an “applications/examples” chapter. The book is based on the planning systems that I teach on BLP and in BLPA — and I have to say I don’t think I could have written it without the incredibly valuable experience I have had teaching this course and learning what really helps and resonates with others, so THANK YOU to anyone who has participated!

All that said, I am not done, editing is going to be challenging (or so I have heard!), and there’s also the months leading up to publication that are daunting and intimidating, since there is significant onus on authors these days to promote their work. In theory, that actually sounds kind of fun, since I love podcasting and tend to enjoy being interviewed, but a recent guest told me he had something like 27 interviews in one week leading up to his publication — that is A LOT of interviews! Plus, it’s not like my calendar looks particularly empty this fall — I still have my clinical job 3 days per week, I plan to do BLP Live again (how can I not!? it was so much fun!), and there are the podcasts and other regular activities to keep up with not to mention parenting. (At least I won’t be marathon training. Or writing a book, I guess!)

So what is my goal here?

To enjoy it. To remember that this was my dream for a long time, and it’s amazing that I’m getting to write an actual book that will be officially published! I’m thrilled to add my own voice to the canon of personal development and productivity works that I’ve read for so many years. I do not want to let deadlines and pressure take away from this joy and appreciation. So I made it a goal!

But admittedly, that sounds a bit vague. Thus, here are some ideas for translating this idea into actual action.

PROJECT BOOK 2025: A MANIFESTO

• I will continue to use my own goal setting system to break the rest of my book-writing tasks into manageable steps.

• Each week, I will set specific writing goals/tasks and I will block off/identify time to get them done. This will be done in my planner on the weekly spread.

• I will take one editing retreat (including an overnight somewhere!) and make editing its own event. I will try as best as I can to enjoy it!

• I will decide how many hours per week I can dedicate to promotional activities, and try to stick to it. Similar to the writing time, I will block off these chunks of time in my planner in advance.

• I will remember how much I wanted this! When things feel stressful, I will gently remind myself that this has been a dream for a long time. I can always decide this will be the last book (though I hope it won’t be!) but I want to see it through strong to the finish!

• I will celebrate when it is done! I’m throwing a party of some kind. A fun one!

So, there you have it: the first WORK category goal for 2025; it’s a big one! Here’s where I would share the cover, but it’s definitely not done yet. But I will when it is!!