Setting Goals That Bend Pt. 1

A personal look at how I use priorities and flexible targets to create a foundation for success.

It’s hard to believe 2026 is more than half over! It seems like just a few days ago, I was finalizing the edits of Not My Hero, and now it’s three weeks past launch! It has been several years since I published a new book, and I’d nearly forgotten all the things that have to be done to have a successful release.

I thought I was well prepared, but things still caught me off guard, and as I’m reviewing the months leading up to this launch, I’m taking note of how I could have planned things differently.

Looking Back

I knew going into this year that I wanted to publish Not My Hero, and I set myself a target publication date of August or September. I held off as long as possible before announcing a final release date. Being self-published means I can set my own timelines, but it also means I have to be on top of the planning so nothing falls through the cracks. Coordinating all the pieces means building in some flexibility while still making progress toward the anticipated release date.

But getting the book ready for publication was only half of the process. I also needed to think about marketing, branding, and social media. Those definitely took up the lion’s share of my time, to the point that I had to hire a brand strategist to help me manage and prioritize the tasks. She sets goals, makes her task list, and gets things done. Me, on the other hand, I have a vague idea of how I want things to look and feel, coupled with the motivation and focus of a goldfish.

Setting a Rhythm

She helped me devise a consistent rhythm that has set me up to accomplish it all without being overwhelmed. A big part of that rhythm is working in one quarter while preparing the next.

I’m already preparing for not just the fourth quarter of this year, but I’m starting to lay the foundation for 2027. I know my schedule will fill up fast, and if I don’t prepare ahead of time, I’ll find myself stressed, overbooked, and without a clear strategy to accomplish all I want to do.

Focus On What’s Important

Planning is less about having a tidy to-do list and a perfectly aligned calendar, and more about making sure the things I add to my list and calendar align with my priorities. Because I spent so much time last year defining what my priorities are, planning ahead keeps me from losing sight of them. My top three personal priorities are spiritual growth, taking care of my health, and spending time with family. On the business side, my priorities include making sure I am focused on writing and publishing, managing my business responsibilities, and sharing the gospel though my work.

Saying yes to the things that align with those priorities means saying no to the things that don’t. And that’s why having a plan is so important. I know my own weaknesses, and I am very aware of my tendency to get distracted. Building flexibility into my schedule and planning mirrors the kind of grace God gives me. It’s the kind of grace that keeps me from feeling like I’ve failed, the kind of grace that knows I will make mistakes and, when I do, gives me the freedom to evaluate what went wrong and keep going without shame or guilt.

Giving and Receiving Grace

I take great comfort in knowing that God Himself knows I’m weak. He knows I’ll make mistakes, I’ll do the wrong thing, and I’ll make bad choices. But He built forgiveness and grace into life’s equation from the very beginning, and I need to do the same for myself. This is why any planning I do has to leave room for adjustments.

One of the biggest ways I build grace into my planning is by setting targets, not goals. Just like a target sets the direction a marksman aims their weapon, a target sets the direction of my focus. Some people call them goals, but goals feel like hard deadlines that can’t be changed. Targets move, shift, and adjust to the environment, yet you can still keep your aim focused on the bullseye.

Think about the difference between a target date and an end date. An end date is final. You either make it or you don’t. A target date allows for delays or setbacks. It implies that the plan is already in place to keep trying if you miss. Knowing I have the freedom to keep trying encourages me when I feel like I’m behind. But if I don’t have a defined target at all, I will have wasted effort on things that don’t match my priorities. Targets keep me focused without creating anxiety or fear of failure.

Let’s Get Practical

Here’s a quick overview of what my personal planning targets look like:

Spiritual growth is my number one priority because it sets the tone and direction for everything else—personal and business. My target is to read the entire Bible through and take notes on what I’m learning or questions I have as I read.

To accomplish this, every day I open my Bible and my Daily Pages Notebook. I pray and ask the Lord to show me what He most wants me to know about Him that day. I don’t try to read the Bible in a year or pray for a specific length of time. I simply make engaging meaningfully and intentionally with the Word of God a priority every morning.

Next on my priority list is my health. As I am getting older, I need to make sure I am moving my body and getting the right nutrition. I make it a point to walk the dog, stretch, and eat nutritious meals. I don’t set time or distance limits for the walk, and I don’t make detailed meal plans. We tend to eat the same 7–10 meals on repeat, so I always have the same ingredients in the house from week to week. And having the dog has done wonders for getting me out of the house for a daily walk. Knowing he will eat my furniture if I don’t give him some exercise is great motivation!

When planning time with family, those events go on the calendar first, and everything else gets worked around them. I want to be available to attend family functions, spend time daily connecting with Robert, and have a weekly date night. Over the years of our marriage, Robert and I have developed a consistent rhythm for our time together. We usually end up on the couch at the end of the day to talk through whatever is on our minds, and we go out to eat on Sunday afternoons after church as our date day.

Our families don’t get together often outside of holidays, and our grandkids live out of state, so the holiday seasons tend to be the busiest. Because the holiday season is also festival and event season for selling my books, I have to carefully select the events that have the largest impact yet require the least time commitment.

This is Just The Beginning

By first defining my personal priorities, I can use them to shape the natural boundaries for my business planning. Making a plan and setting targets is less about control and more about keeping focused to ensure I don’t get pulled in a direction that doesn’t align with my priorities. Staying ahead in the planning reduces the chance of last minute changes and surprises throwing everything out of balance. And that kind of pre-planning is especially important to the business side of my life. In the next post, I’ll share what it looks like as I plan my next quarter of writing, business planning, and plans for my artwork.

Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter so you don’t miss part two, and stay tuned for sneak peeks into the upcoming projects I’m doing all this planning for!

Phoenix logo, Always Hope, Michelle Bolanger

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