Hey y'all! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and break. I'm back at it and will be buried in writing all month since I have an end of the month book deadline, but I wanted to pop in to let you know about a great sale going on today.

If you follow this blog regularly, you know that I'm all about the planners, goal-setting, and productivity. And the end of one year, beginning of another is always the logical time to do some review of what's worked and what hasn't and then make new goals going forward. This past year I used a goal-setting workbook called Your Best Year by Lisa Jacobs.

This is not a traditional day planner. This is specifically a goal-setting workbook for people running a small business. It's not specific to writers, but I find it fits well for that. There are exercises to fill out that help you evaluate the past year--what's worked, what hasn't, the whys. Then it leads you through setting goals and habits for the next year. After that, it's a month by month guide of setting goals, evaluating them as you go, and adjusting as needed.

I've found this system really helpful for me. Sometimes by the end of the year, it can feel like nothing worked because we're all tired and a little burnt out. But being able to look back at what I set as goals for the year in January helps me to see--oh, hey, I did accomplish some of this. It also helps me see the areas I'm still struggling in. Overall, it's a great exercise in mindfulness and thinking strategically about life and work.

And today for CyberMonday it's 50% off, which makes the download only $7.50. This workbook can be ordered in print or as a download. I like getting the download because then I can put it in my own binder and reprint a page if I mess up something. (By the way, I haven't been asked to feature this and I don't know the author. Just passing along my experience with it.)

So if you're looking to do some goal-setting for 2017, check it out.

There are also some alternatives to this workbook:

If you want something writer specific, Bria Quinlan has created the AuthorLife Planner. This can also be purchased as a print book or download. I haven't gotten a copy of this one yet, but lots of my friends have been raving about it. I believe there are exercises in the front and then it has an actual planner in the back with dates/calendars.

If you're not an author and not running a business but want to set personal goals, I've heard a lot about the Powersheets workbook. I haven't ordered these and they're on the pricier side (the spiral bound book is $55) but they seem to get great reviews and are very pretty. If you end up going this route, let me know what you think! I'm curious. :)

UPDATE: I ended up buying the Powersheets and I'm really impressed with them. Functional and lovely. :) (And yes, I have no willpower to resist these things, lol.)

All right, now I'm off to the writing cave.

Anyone into yearly goal-setting? Have you used this type of workbook before? What method do you use?