“If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
- Yogi Berra, Baseball Player and Manager
Imagine this. You are the captain of your ship. You have named your ship My Dreams. It is up to you to navigate your ship to its destination. If you fail, the blame falls squarely on your shoulders. If you succeed, then you will reap the rewards.
What do you do first? Do you just haul anchor and sail off into the sunset? Or do you spend some time planning a course to your final destination?
Most successful people have a goal in mind. Once they decide on a goal, they do whatever it takes to achieve it.
The first step in becoming a successful technical writer is to set that goal in your mind. Think of yourself as a technical writer. When people ask you What do you do? say that you are a technical writer. This will help maintain your focus.
Take a piece of paper and write down this goal of yours. Tape this piece of paper to your computer where you can see it everyday. Or write it down in your journal. This will keep you motivated throughout your journey.
Studies have proven that people who set goals achieve more in life. One of the most interesting studies dates back several years to 1979.
Harvard MBA graduates were asked if they had written clear goals for the future and had made plans to accomplish them. 84% had no goals at all, 13% had goals but had not written them down on paper, and only 3% had set clear, written goals. In 1989, ten years later, after the first phase of the study, these same graduates were interviewed again. The results were revealing.
The 13% that had goals but had not written them down were earning twice as much as the 84% who had set no goals. Even better, the 3% who had written goals were earning ten times as much as the other 97%. This is important: just the act of writing down a goal on paper increased its chances of being accomplished by 90%.
Four things to keep in mind when setting a goal.
Let us start off by defining your goal. Your goal is: I want to be a successful technical writer. But before you write down this goal, here are four elements to keep in mind:
Specific: Your goal has to be specific. This will narrow down your focus like a laser beam. For example, as a tech writer, you may want to specialize in a certain field such as oil and gas, automotive, software, or hardware. You would then modify your goal to say: I want to be a successful oil and gas technical writer.
Measurable: Make your goal measurable. This will help you in determining if you are successful or not. To make your goal measurable, add a number to it. In our example, your goal would be: I want to be a successful oil and gas technical writer making $60,000 a year.
Attainable: Your goal should be reasonable. You do not want to set too lofty a goal. Pretty soon you will realize that you cannot achieve your goal, and you will be dejected. But your goal also has to be challenging enough to create a sense of urgency and purpose. I want to be a successful oil and gas technical writer making $60,000 a year, is something you can reasonably attain.
Time bound: Set a time frame for your goal. Give it a specific deadline. This will create a sense of urgency. In our example, our goal would be: I want to be a successful oil and gas technical writer making $60,000 a year by January 23, 2010.
Keep your goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable and Time-bound and you will reap the rewards.
Being a tech writer is a great job. Go interesting places, meet really smart people, learn new things and make really good money. Which is why it's such a rapidly growing profession. The down side, though, is that there are people who get into the business without knowing as much about it as they should.
If you want to become a technical writer try out our free weekly exercises. They are easy and fun to do. You'll also learn common tech writing terms and current industry trends.
