Members of the Script Hive are welcome to submit their own articles for publication.
I never set goals anymore. That’s just my own personal philosophy, and perhaps it’s just a matter of semantics, but “goals” are no longer my thing. They are often set with the right intention, but from my experience they are seldom achieved. I cannot express the number of times my goal has been to lose 30 pounds, to learn to play the guitar or to write 10 script pages a day (in 12 days I have a movie!). They never happened — at least not by making them goals.
While goals might be fine for others to help mark achievements and milestones, the concept of a goal became unproductive for me. If broken or unachieved, goals do the opposite of what was intended. Instead of motivating, unachieved goals become an anchor that pulls me down. Often, goals sent me in the opposite direction I wanted to go in, pushing me into a vicious cycle of procrastination, “what-if” thinking and despair.
I had to break free from the cycle.
Systems
About eight years ago, I shifted to a systems approach, and I have never looked back.
Instead of a goal, a “system” of behavior can make the journey itself complete and worthwhile. Setting goals and clawing along through willpower alone often let me down. My track record for New Year’s resolution “goals” were a mess, but a system helped me stay on course. All I had to do was stop putting up artificial goals or timetables and start putting together a system of behavior that would, ultimately, help give me the final outcome I desire. The key is to get into some sort of regular routine.
At the beginning of the week, I don’t make it a goal to write 20 pages in those 7 days. Instead, I set up a system where I have a chance to write. When it’s time to actually write a script, my system is to write three days a week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
For three hours during those three days, I’m sitting at my desk with my computer on and Final Draft 12 open. (Please use whatever screenwriting software you prefer or forgo the software and computer and grab a pencil and legal pad. Sometimes actually writing out the words on paper to think about them is better!)
If inspiration does strike and I write for more than three hours, I’m fine with that. If no words come at all, I’m also fine with that. I must let myself become comfortable with the system.
By “comfortable” I mean that I trigger a different part of my brain to begin to write, and that part of my brain is more influential than the part that makes up goals. For instance, when Monday rolls around I no longer think, “I need to write 10 pages.” Instead, I think, “It’s Monday. Time for me to write.” Just being at my desk and writing is a win.
With this system of regular writing sessions, I am able to feel the accomplishment and satisfaction of making progress every time I sit down at the keyboard. I completed my task that will help me achieve the final outcome that I desire. Again, unachieved goals tend to make me upset, but a system helps motivate and can be used in all areas of life.
The Ongoing Reward
Even if a goal is achieved, like losing 20 pounds, some people will slip back into old habits and old ways of thinking and then regain those 20 pounds if not more. A system, on the other hand, is an ongoing effort and more rewarding. Set a schedule and a routine where you exercise and do not set any goals. Walk, run, skip rope — do whatever you see fit. You will eventually see results, and that will be the ongoing reward.
A system is also a lot more flexible. If something comes up and I go on a vacation with my family for a week, it’s fine. Instead of that breaking a goal, all it does is monetarily interrupt my system. Once back home, I simply return to the routine.
If I am not feeling well or if some sort of emergency comes up on Wednesday, I know that I will be in my usual place on Friday in order to write. In fact, if I miss a day, I am anxious to write and to keep going because writing makes me feel good. An unachieved goal is the evil twin who does not help motivate.
The Perfection Trap
One last thing about goals. Sometimes writers get caught up in the trappings to help achieve the goal and never end up actually starting. I know one potential screenwriter who waited to get the “right” (expensive) laptop, waited to buy the “best” screenwriting books, waited to get the “right” screenplay software, researched into just the “right” Spotify playlist to invoke the mood they were after, and set a goal of completing a screenplay by the end of two months.
It never happened.
It’s the doing that matters, and for me a system is what helps get me there.
How you structure your system is up to you. It depends on what you want to accomplish and it depends on if it is an ongoing situation (eating right/exercising to lose weight), or if it is a shifting one (screenplay researching and worldbuilding phase to actually writing the script).
Your exact situation will be different. Perhaps you have time in the mornings to write, or perhaps you are a nighttime owl. Whatever the case, don’t set an arbitrary goal. Put into place a system that will put you into a routine and on a path of success.
I know the Script Hive server has a #Goals channel, and I mean no offense to those who post there or use it. If it works to inspire you to create content, then please keep using it. I like to think of it more as #Accomplishments and I am happy to see screenwriters making progress.
But, to me, a goal is more of a “set it and your done” perspective. A system is ongoing, what you do on a regular basis and is what creates careers.
This is not an original idea, by the way. There have been several books written on the topic of systems. My favorite one is “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life” by Scott Adams, the creator and author of the Dilbert comic strip. If you want to know a few more, feel free to send me a DM on the Discord. But if you buy any book on the topic remember that it’s meaningless unless you become active and are doing something. Content is king.
The Take-away
Please find your system and keep writing, and if part of your system includes goals, then so be it. If it motivates you into writing, then that’s a good thing. The brutal truth is that the odds of a screenwriting career are slim, and the odds of making it into the upper echelon are even less. So if you are not at least enjoying the journey, you will face nothing but despair.
Success is in the doing and enjoying it. A system is what takes me there.
OHscreenwriter is a VIP member of the Hive and enjoys the craft of screenwriting.