Audrey Hughey - The 90-Day Planning Revolution: Why Most Author Goals Fail Before They Start

Audrey Hughey is a planner creator, author, and productivity expert who specializes in helping writers stay organized and achieve their publishing goals. After struggling to balance writing with raising toddlers, attending school, and freelance work, she created comprehensive author planners that have become essential tools for thousands of writers. Her planners are known for being ADHD-friendly and providing "monthly coaching" through structured goal-setting and review processes. Audrey combines principles from project management, entrepreneurship, and productivity science to create systems that help authors plan their entire year holistically—integrating writing goals with life commitments, energy cycles, and personal well-being.

In this episode:

• The crisis moment that led to creating author-specific planning tools during NaNoWriMo
• Why holistic planning (integrating life and writing) is more effective than isolated goal-setting
• The "brain dump" technique for overcoming overwhelm and functional freeze
• How to identify and work with your personal energy cycles and "fallow periods"
• Breaking large projects into achievable "pebbles" for consistent progress
• The 90-day commitment rule for testing new productivity systems
• Monthly review practices that function as affordable coaching alternatives
• Time blocking and realistic word count planning for busy authors
• Why authentic, meaningful goals matter more than borrowed aspirations
• Building cues, triggers, and habits that support consistent writing practice

Resources mentioned:

• The Author's Planner series
• Virtual writing retreats
• Monthly Writing Focus Planners
• Growth Day app
• Female Entrepreneurship Association
• Pomodoro Technique

Book recommendations:

• The Ritualist by Dakota Crowe
• Six Habits of Growth by Brendon Burchard
• Atomic Habits by James Clear

Connect with Audrey:

• Website: www.audreyhughey.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thewriteservices
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thewriteservices
• Sign Up to Audrey’s Newsletter: https://bit.ly/authorweekly

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