Deadlines, Word Counts and Goals... Oh My!

Because I recently... well always find myself floundering on making time to write, I decided to beat myself into somewhat of a dealine.  I pains me to say that word.  So I came up with a number of words I must type on a daily basis in order to hit my word count.  How will I stay on track, you ask? Well, it seems I have committed to do this with a few people, two of which I have given permission to harrass and torment me with guilt if I fail.  You see, it's easy to say you're going to do this and mentally promise yourself it will happen but until you do the math and share your plan with someone who will hold you accountable, it just won't happen.  I'm not saying there aren't self-motivaters out there with enough dicipline to succeed, I just don't happen to be one of those people, yet.  Here is my problem:  Full time job and two kids, one is a hyper six year old whom I should have named Dennis as in "the menace" and the other is a fifteen year old who thinks he knows everything and has a problem speaking to me in a normal tone.  These are just a couple of "life" events that "divert" my attention and focus. Therefore, I have to set some boundries and goals. The following is the plan I have in motion as I type this:

• Choose a co-worker who will ask me daily if I have achieved my goal.
• Said co-worker will track and post my progress and send me text messages to encourage or berate me accordingly.
• Choose evening buddy to make sure I am following my routine and not making unecessary appearances on Facebook.

This may sound silly but having a network who will encourage and push you is not a bad thing.  For me, this will be a great motivator and something to be proud of when I finally get there.  I've tried just about everything to find time to write but if you don't have a plan and you have the kind of lifestyle I do, I can't see it happening.  So set your goals and hit your word counts, it's the only way to make it to your self-imposed deadline.