lists – Atomic Slingshot Press

20 Goals for 2020.

2020 GOALS

Write 600,000 words in publishable story related projects.
Write every day of at least 500 words making words in a row at 731 days in the road.
Catch up on editing allowing no more than 2 manuscripts waiting to be edited.
Edit every day of 1 chapter at a minimum.
Secure cover art for any book in the editing stage.
Publish a minimum of 1 book.
Publish a minimum of 3 books.
Publish a minimum of 5 books.
Publish a minimum of 7 books.
Write one blog post a week.
Write update blogs at the start of every month.
Clean up Tokyo Tempest #1 with a proofread.
Write and submit 5 short stories to markets.
Publish 7 short stories or novellas to amazon.
Set up a Patreon account.
Set up proper social media author accounts and a proper newsletter.
Have 1 paying client of editing services.
Make 100 dollars one month through publishing.
Make 500 dollars one month through publishing.
Make 1000 dollars one month through publishing.
(Bonus) Get back in shape physically by losing 20 lbs.

Breakdown of Goals.

1. Write 600,000 words in publishable story related projects.

As I managed to write 526997 words in 2019, I need to increase that number for this year. This means that I need to increase my daily word goals from 1370 to 1639. This doesn’t seem like it will be a big stretch. This increase will is only slight and will help keep my writing practices from becoming stale. The increase will mean I’ll have a higher risk of burn-out, but I have hope that I can manage to keep it under control through my daily minimum.

2. Write every day of at least 500 words making words in a row at 730 days in the road.

A daily minimum is one of the main reasons I write every day. I have managed to write 365 days in a row, and I plan on keeping that number going. I’m not going to stop now. Increasing the minimum to 500 words is in response to me increasing my yearly number from 500k to 600k.

3. Catch up on editing allowing no more than 2 manuscripts waiting to be edited.

At the moment I have 6 novels either waiting to be edited or in the process. This needs to be corrected. This is due to last year, I edited very little in the first half of the year. I need to catch things up. In my editing process, I do three passes. One as a second draft to clean up the story, and two to clean up the prose. I count second passes and my edits by chapters edited. I don’t count words as I may have to cut words, and I need permission to do so.

To keep up with the number of words being written, I need to edit an approximate 375 chapters by the end of the year. This doesn’t include the additional amount of passes. I will need to edit at least 3 chapters a day to make the number, and I have a process to do just that.

This is probably one of the most time-intense goals to make and will allow for the success of multiple other goals.

4. Edit every day of 1 chapter at a minimum.

Due to the insane number of books to catch up on, I need to make sure I don’t have any off days. I find it is very easy to not edit anything that day in preference to write new words. This is something I need to work on.

5. Secure cover art for any book in the editing stage.

This was another reason I hadn’t managed to get many books published in 2019. Finding cost-effective cover art is hard. I could spend $500 on a cover, but I’d rather hunt and find something cheaper. It’s a business concept. Keep the costs of the product low, then it’s easier to make a profit.

6. Publish a minimum of 1 book.

This is a generic one, as I’ll probably end up changing my plan and write different projects. But at the bare minimum, I want to get 1 book out. Honestly, if this is all I get out, it will be a bit of a letdown.

7. Publish a minimum of 3 books.

A Stretch goal of the previous one. If this is all I get done, it’ll still be a letdown.

8. Publish a minimum of 5 books.

This is where I want to be. With the number of books in the editing pile, this seems reasonable that I can accomplish it.

9. Publish a minimum of 7 books.

The real stretch goal. Getting 7 books published for 2020 would be awesome and more than most authors.

10. Write one blog post a week.

This is a continuation of what I have been doing. I see no reason why I should increase or decrease this.

11. Write update blogs at the start of every month.

I enjoy writing the update posts, and once a month seems to be in the right place. This will continue.

12. Clean up Tokyo Tempest #1 with a proofread.

It needs to happen. It will happen this year if I manage to get things caught up.

13. Write and submit 5 short stories to markets.

With getting two short stories published in 2019, I have an interest in getting more. With the stories so short, it should be easier to get them done. Finding a market to accept them will be a challenge. But I shall try my best.

14. Publish 7 short stories or novellas to Amazon.

Writing short stories is a good pallet cleanser to other projects, and writing them helps keep my name in the new releases on Amazon.

15. Set up a Patreon account.

One defensive of my writing is building a fan base of readers who love my stories. This should help develop that.

16. Set up proper social media author accounts and a proper newsletter.

I have a facebook page and this blog. But to be successful, I will need more. This will help with that.

17. Have 1 paying client of editing services.

Working with other authors on their projects is something I enjoy. Getting paid for it would be better. Editing is what I want to do for a living.

18. Make 100 dollars one month through publishing.

Currently, with no new releases, I’m not making any money through my writing. This is something I want to change. This would be the first step. Make 100 dollars in a month. Amazon has a minimum payout of 100 dollars, and doing is crucial to being able to do this for a living.

19. Make 500 dollars one month through publishing.

Stretch goal. This would be a sizable chunk of my monthly budget and a good step forward.

20. Make 1000 dollars one month through publishing.

This is the goal I had in 2019. I doubt I will get here, but there is a chance. I will try and see.

21. (Bonus) Get back in shape physically by losing 20 lbs.

One issue I have been fighting with is my weight. I’m out of shape and to be blunt. I’m fat. I need to fix that. So my goal for 2020 is to lose 20 lbs and to keep it off. My current weight is 277lbs. This time last year it was 287lbs. That means I lost 10 lbs last year. It’s okay, but I need to do better.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up for my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. You can also visit me on Facebook. Your help and support are much appreciated.

The End of NaNoWriMo.

It is now December first, and NaNoWriMo is now done for the year. This means that the stress of the writing challenge is over, and people’s lives go back to normal.

This is true for them as well as for me. Except for my version of “normal” is perverted in comparison.

However, it shouldn’t be that way.

NaNo is supposed to be a starting point or a continuation point of the writing journey. It is supposed to allow a writer to get a large number of words done or something completed.

A large number of people that use NaNo don’t write in any other part of the year. For clarity, this is what my year has looked like so far.

Yes, I have a spreadsheet.

Don’t have to be crazy… Like me.

I’m unique, even in the writing world. Most people don’t set crazy goals like I did, and most people don’t manage to get as far as I have with it.

And that’s fine. This crazy goal has worked for me.

But to be a writer, one must write. It doesn’t have to be a half a million words in a year, but it should be something. What I tell people is that they should write for 8 minutes. If it doesn’t flow cause of stress, etc., then at least they have something. Even if it is 100 words. BUT, if it is flowing, then they shouldn’t stop.

NaNo Writers

These guys only write during November, and some of them get 75k or 100k words done, but it isn’t a sprinting race. It’s an endurance race. So while I only managed to write 63k this November, it is only a fraction of what I managed to get done all year.

Future NaNo’s

Before I talk about my future NaNo plans, here is my writing plan for next year.

That is a preview of my 2020 goal. The number at the bottom should be interesting.

But, in terms of what NaNo means for me, take a look at the numbers listed beside each month. I will be writing a NaNo every month.

This means that was the last NaNo I’ll be participating in. There is no point anymore for me. It was fun while it lasted, but I also see no point in trying to kill myself by writing a double NaNo. Not with my writing output being what it is at.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavours, please sign up for my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

Stress, the creative flow, and being an “Artist.”

Being a Creative, (my wife would say artist) I have to deal with many different forces that want to dominate my time. These can range from getting groceries, going out to shop for things we “need,” giving out discipline to my kids as needed, being a father by playing with them, being a good husband for my wife, and trying to get my work done.

All of that causes stress.

For Creatives, this stress can be interpreted in one of two ways. It can either stiffly or encourage. Too much of it causes a creative drought that hampers creatives in their artistic aims.

I’ll start with the later of the two.

Some people thrive with deadlines, daily counts, and such. They use that stress to give them a fire to get things done. They may use the line, “You’ve got to be the hardest worker in the room.”

They will have a breaking point, however. At some point, they will run into where they can’t handle things. They will break and burn out. This is different depending on the person.

For the first, some people are stifled by the least amount of stress. They can’t handle any and will quibble at things like deadlines and daily tasks.

They get things done at a slower rate than those that love deadlines. They like doing things on their own timetables. They hate being told what to do. It just causes stress.

This, of course, is a sliding scale. Some can handle more stress than others.

The important part is to recognize where you are at and how to either use it to your advantage. Or how to avoid stress to increase your productivity.

Until next time, if you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

Motivation vs Discipline

Being a creative, I hear all the time that people aren’t motivated to do artistic endeavors that day. It’s a sad thing as they don’t know the difference between motivation and discipline.

Meaning of Motivation from Dictionary.com:

The general desire or willingness of someone to do something.

Meaning of Discipline from Dictionary.com:

The practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.

So what is the difference?

Motivation is only a desire or willingness to do something. While discipline is a practice of doing something. Discipline is the reason why someone will get up at 5 am to go for a run. Discipline is why a worker goes to work for “the man,” as getting fired is the most likely punishment.

If a person is only motivated, then it is easy to put off the unwanted task. Motivation can be ignored as there is nothing behind the motivation. The second part of the definition of “discipline” is that it uses punishment to correct disobedience.

So what happens if a person doesn’t go for a run that morning? Simple, they don’t improve, and then get behind in their training. If a person is only motivated, then it’s easy to shrug it off. A disciplined person will hate the idea of not improving. A disciplined person sees a lack of training as a failure.

For me, it isn’t motivation that keeps me going each day. It’s discipline. There’s no one standing over me with a whip making me do this. I’m working so hard with my writing because I want to. It’s my choice to improve my writing, and it’s my choice to use discipline to help me make my goals.

My discipline is to keep the writing going. I have managed to write 356k words and 251 days in a row since the beginning of the year. With my blog posts, it’s the fact that I have managed to write one every week. Those three facts have kept me going, especially on days like today, where I don’t have the motivation to do anything.

On days like today, where I have no intention to do anything. Where I’m tired, grumpy, and completely and utterly unmotivated, however, I am also disciplined. I have been doing this for 251 days in a row, and I’m not going to stop now.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

Spinning the Wheels or Trying very Hard to go Nowhere.

In my honest opinion, I have the belief that having a plan for the future is essential in living the life one is given.

Having a plan, no matter how big or how small gives me direction. It allows us to have a focus that helps me dictate my efforts. This factor is important.

The most significant hamper of accomplishing goals is the feeling that you are spinning your wheels and going nowhere. This feeling is as disastrous as failing and I have heard some say that spinning your wheels is failing.

Spinning your Wheels.

Spinning your wheels doesn’t mean you are failing, however. It means a few things.

It could mean that your goals aren’t detailed enough. You have a plan and a purpose, but no daily task to do with no discernible results from that task. Let’s say that your goal is to buy a house. So you are working day in and day out in the hopes that one day you can buy said house. Three months later, it still feels like you are in the same place, or near to it at any rate.

This means that your goal may be too big, or there is no way to accomplish anything. That’s why many financial professionals say to place a small debt down first. Cause the likely hood of getting it cleared out is easier than a larger one. This victory fuels the longer harder goals.

The other thing that the feeling of spinning your wheels could be is that while you have a specific goal, there is some other force that is hampering your ability to get other tasks done.

This is what is happening to me. I’m accomplishing my daily task. I’m writing my 1500 words a day and getting editing done. So for this year, I have written for 236 days in a row for a total of 336k words. This is a great accomplishment, even if I don’t get much else done on my yearly goal. I am proud of myself that I have gotten this far.

However, I haven’t published anything new since April. That factor hurts my self-confidence. It makes me think that I’m a failure despite the stated accomplishment above. The factors that are keeping me from ticking some of the other boxes aren’t all on me; like getting my work proofread, or a cover made up. Those factors rely on other people, and they don’t always operate on my illogical timeline. Some of the factors are on me; I haven’t been editing very fast, and I’m easily distracted by other things like video games and my family.

The biggest reason people feel like they are spinning their wheels is that they don’t have a dream or a plan. There thinking doesn’t go beyond next paycheque. They spend there time thinking about the ‘now.’ Not how to turn the ‘now’ into a better ‘tomorrow.’ This I will talk about in the next blog post.

Until then, if you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

Defining Success

After talking to many different people, especially young adults in college and university, I have found a common thread that connects them all. The thread is that none of them think they are successful no matter where they are in life.

The thing is they all have a similar view on what it means to be “successful.” Young adults think they need millions of dollars, a hot looking spouse, and a private jet. They think they need to be Mark Zuckerburg, J.K. Rowling, or Bill Gates; young adults believe they need to be filthy rich to be a “success.”

This mentality is brought out by the press and by Holywood among others. Turn on the TV or pick up a paper, and it is filled with stories about the rich and famous. They are bombarded by people who have fancy degrees and make seven figures. Young adults are told they aren’t anything unless they have those things.

It’s no wonder that large portions of young adults are on anti-depressants. Their definition of success and what is plausible are skewed.

But what is “Success?” What’s its definition?

According to Webster’s dictionary, success is the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence. In other words: fame and fortune.

Young adults are also told that to be happy, they need fame and fortune.

Which leads us to the problem.

Young adults are told they need to be filthy rich to be successful and as such, to be happy. Which means when they discover that obtaining that fame and fortune is harder than expected that they get depressed. How can they be successful when the game is rigged?

I move that the definition of success is incomplete and reject Holywood’s ideals on what success means.

For one, I don’t think that money equals happiness. There are stories across the board of CEOs of corporations making seven figures on anti-depressants and ending up taking their own lives. I also don’t think that money necessarily makes life easier. It just makes things different.

I know many people making 70,000 dollars per year who still stress the same way about money that a friend who makes 35,000 dollars does. Their worries are different, they both make similar bad monetary decisions.

To Me.

To me, “Success” is a personal definition. The base is still the same as Webster’s Dictionary. But the precise meaning of how much wealth, favor, or eminence is a decision that each person needs to make on their own without influence by the rich and whiny.

Money is the means to an end and not “the end.” Cause money doesn’t equal happiness, and being successful doesn’t mean that you are rolling in fame and fortune.

My definition of “Success” is that I have enough money coming in that pays my bills and puts something away for retirement. That’s it. To me, that is “success.” My ultimate goal is that I make my income from writing and selling my books; by what my wife calls “wordsmithing.”

I don’t need to be as rich as J.K. Rowling or Steven King. Part of me doesn’t want that type of wealth. But that is a topic of another blog post.

Disclaimer: I’m not talking down on the depressed. Depression is a big problem in society and not to be looked down upon.

The Middle

I passed the middle of the year and didn’t notice it. During that time, I have written over 280 thousand words. I have been informed that number is an achievement on its own. I have talked to other authors, and when I talk about some of my goals, the amount of words I have written is high.

But 280k is not my goal; my goal is 500k words. I’m just over halfway there.

During the process of writing a novel; there is a point in the middle of the story. This point is where the main characters have gotten past the first plot point and are slugging away towards the second plot point and the climax.

This point is often called the “Sagging Middle,” “the Dry Desert,” “the Swampy Middle.”

It is often called this because the middle of the story is where the character must go through the try-fail cycles to figure out how to complete what I call, “the story question.” It can be repetitive and monotonous; not very fulfilling.

I’m in the middle of the middle of my goal. I have gone a grand distance by now, but I’m still nowhere near the end of my goal. It has gotten repetitive and monotonous. I spend most of my time, either writing my story or thinking about my story or editing my story.

I know the end of my goal is just around the corner; all I have to do is to keep moving one day at a time. But one part of me wants to call it good. That I have done quite a bit and can call my goal complete.

I mean, 280k words are a lot. It’s an accomplishment on its own right?

But I’m reminded about one of my Mantras:

Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.

It means that I have to keep going. Despite the feelings to stop and say enough. Stoping implies failure. Now that I’m going, I have little choice but to keep going.

Cause I will not fail.

Area 51, Projects and Too Many Ideas

As a writer, I am often asked where do I get my ideas from. As you may have read in previous blog posts, I have discussed how I get ideas multiple times, and I won’t be repeating them.

However, to sum up, I pick a few basic ideas, then ask a thousand question about them to form a solid idea and story.

I have it so that I can pull up an idea out of almost anything. In the last week, I have been asked if I wanted to submit a short story with a speedy turnaround. The story would be centered around the Area 51 meme going around.

I’m partway through the short story that I am writing it for the anthology. It’s going well, but that’s not the important part. The important part is that I was able to form a story in a short amount of time. Luckily for me, I’m able to keep it small and compact.

For me, the issue is not that I no story ideas on the go, but that I have too many. For right now, I’m going to give a short recap of some of the story ideas. Some of them are only ideas, while others I am waiting for a cover.

Published Works

Felix the Swift

A trilogy set in my Agersolum universe. It’s about a thief who becomes a master mage and seeks to save all of Magic. The first book can be found here.

Tokyo Tempest

A trilogy where a high school kid has to somehow survive in Tokyo after Yellowstone blows up. The first book can be found here.

O’Neal Trilogy

A trilogy set in my Beyond Terra Continuum universe. Where a high schooler is forced into the world of espionage. The first book can be found here.

Works in Progress

Those three trilogies aren’t complete yet. They have other books on the go and will be published when they can. Some of my other trilogies:

Jovian Marines

Set in my Beyond Terra Continuum universe where the Jovian Marines are left for dead on an enemy-occupied planet. So far a trilogy is planned.

Mech Warrior

Mech Warrior is a working title for a trilogy. Set in my Beyond Terra Continuum universe where it is a mix of lost in space and Mech Warrior.

VR Game

This story I had been puzzling with for a while before I decided to start writing. I wanted a stand-alone novel, but it is going to be a trilogy. Trapped in a VR game where a players death would mean their real death.

Cornucopolus

Set in a world where gods, demons, demi-gods, and angels walk among the people. The heir to a dead clan must find a way to get revenge for the death of his people. All while risking slavery, and death.

The Game

Set in my Beyond Terra Continuum universe. It can be called the origin story of the story-verse. Alien beings kidnap a million people to fight to the death in a game for nefarious means. I want it to be a trilogy; however, it will end up much longer.

Eloc the Warrior

Set in my Agersolum world about a young serf being thrust into the army to fight for a noble lord he had never met. This will be a trilogy.

Mal Kil, the Pirate

Another set in my A\gersolum world about the heir to a noble house. He is betrayed by his older brother and cast out into the world one step ahead of his brother’s assassins.

These are only small samples of the ideas and the plot of the story. I’m hoping to get through some of the first trilogies to get to the later ones. Cause they are all calling my name and want attention. Some of them are getting pretty shrill.

End of June 2019 Report

As is now tradition, this is the post of the end of June. I am still putting my money where my mouth is.

RECAP OF THE UPDATED 2019 GOALS

Write 500,000 words in personal, non-school related projects.
Complete and publish Felix #2, Felix #3, ~~Des O’Neal #1~~, Des O’Neal #2, Des O’Neal #3, Jovian Marines #1, Jovian Marines #2, Jovian Marines #3, Mech Warrior #1, Mech Warrior #2, Mech Warrior #3.
1. Complete and Publish VRMMORPG
Correct cover for Felix #1.
Write four blog posts per month
Give Felix #1 and Tokyo Tempest #1 a proofread.
Complete and submit to market Terran Marine Raider short #1, Terran Marine Raider short #2, and ~~RPG Death short~~.
1. Added goal: complete and submit to market, JSS Leda (New title From Planet Everdark), secret short #2 and secret short #3.
Earn $1000.00 a month from novels.
~~Relaunch publishing company with a new, stronger name.~~
Get 1 client for editing services.
NEW GOAL: Lose 90 lbs and get healthier.
NEW GOAL: Write for 365 Days in a row of at least 100 words per day.

JUNE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

I wrote 42,886 words.
I have written for 182 days in a row.
I spent most of this month working on my VR story.
I have passed the 50% mark in total yearly words at 253k.
Waiting to hear back if my short story with the previous title, JSS Leda (New title From Planet Everdark) is accepted or not.
Working with a local cover artist for a bunch of covers for books.
Edited Secret short #2, reading it for submission.
Working on the edit for Mechwarrior #1.
Wrote 4 blog posts during June.
Starting weight 286lbs, weight today, 263lbs.

EXAMINATION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

I wrote just over 42k words in June. Total word-wise, it is not the best that I have done, however, once you split it up into per day averages, it is the second best that I have pulled off. I managed to write a few 3k and 4k days to make up the lackluster numbers of other days.
This is still the longest days in a row I have written by far as well as the longest yearly word count. I count that as a win. My goal is to write 365 days in a row.
I have finished editing the short story. It is short story set in a post-apocalyptic world where Yellowstone Supervolcano exploded. It is about Captain Adele of the SV Wanderlust and her goal to deliver expensive cargo to its destination and to defeat other Captains who want the shipment for themselves. Once it is submitted and accepted, it will get a full blog post. For now, this will have to do.
I am working on editing Mech Warrior #1.
A local cover artist, not my wife is working on what I am calling “art assets.” These are so my wife can turn them into beautiful covers. They will be works of art on there own but will have no titling, which is why I need my wife.
My blog posts are still happening.
I have been on this new diet for a month now. My energy is high, however, I crave chips.

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

This month was harder than most. I feel like I’m starting to burn out, yet I need to ramp up my efforts and get more stuff done. The summer session semesters at school was split into two short semesters with the first part completed. Now with only one course, it should be easier to get other things done and to look after myself, as well.

I did get a lot of other stuff done. However, nothing published. The hold up is covers and editing at the moment. I have the one book, Missed Drop Zone, ready to go. But there is no real rush. I want to do things right and not make mistakes.

I have started to edit other works, the short stories as they come up. They are a good distraction in some ways, a poor one in others. I have the feeling that I am not going to get my goal of getting all of those stories published. I’m going to run out of time and word count. But there is always next year, as long as I have manuscripts done.

I have created an editing schedule, but it is hard to keep on it. I am hoping to get at least three more novels edited by September. It is a hard target to hit, but I think that it is possible.

The VRMMORPG story is going well. I’m at 60k out of a target of 100k. So things are progressing nicely. It is not going to be a stand alone. I tried. It’ll be a trilogy; if not longer.

So the plan, work on VRMMORPG, edit other novels. Get covers. Get books published.

Making Hard Decisions

Growing up, the hardest decision that I had to make was whether I wanted to get that summer job or if I wanted to be a lazy slob watching TV on the couch.

Today, I have harder decisions to make. I’m a dad, a husband, a student, and an author. These roles have responsibilities that I have to fulfill. It is something which has to be done. I have little choice on the matter.

As a dad, I have to be there for my kids. I have to make hard decisions that will turn them into adequately adjusted adults. Decisions made about my relationship with my wife keeps me out of divorce court.

However, most of those decisions are not hard to make. They don’t take any effort on my part. Some decisions, those that cost me money or have ambiguous choices, are harder to make.

Moving down from my home town to Vancouver Island was one such decision. It was a big move that cost us a lot of money. It also put on hold any possibility of me buying another house. (House costs are average 250k up north, while a similar home on the island is 600k.) There were many possibilities on what to do. What wasn’t on the list was staying up North.

That falls under the category of keeping myself out of divorce court. My wife is an artist, always has been. Even the days when she said that she wasn’t. She wanted to go to art school. So that meant that we’d be moving. The hard decision was what city to move to.

Another hard choice was what I wanted to do after I got laid off from my day job. Go back to school, or get a laborer job making less than what I was before with longer hours and not seeing my family. I chose to go back to school. I was tempted to get a business degree. However, I chose to go to the creative writing route.

The decision was hard to make. It took me all weekend to make it, I then signed up on the last week before the cut-off ended. It was a mad dash to get my paperwork into the school.

So how did I make these hard decisions?

The first thing is to remove emotion from the equation. Emotions don’t help anything. They cloud your judgment, and it is a well-known fact that people making decisions based on emotions are always wrong.

For me, I take a piece of paper, and I write the decision on the top. ‘Go back to school for Creative Writing.’

I then split it in half for Pros and Cons. I give a numeric value to each pro and con on how big of an issue it may be. ‘Being off work’ was high at a nine, as well as ‘getting student loans.’ I added up both column, and some simple math later showed a number.

This allowed me to compare the different decisions on what I wanted to do.

It is, however, biased as you are rating your own decision. It will tell you what you already know and want. But it will put things into perspective for you. So you can try to see the whole picture.