How to set goals in Hollywood

that you can actually accomplish

Jan 09, 2026

Welcome officially to 2026, Hollyweird! It really did feel like we hit the ground running last week, at least in the Day household, as I went back to my full time staff job writing a television series, while also picking up the pace on the edit for Father Figures (the doc I’m producing), while also gaining quite a few new readers here (hi!), while also prepping for Sundance, and a film’s release, and on and on and on.

And I loved hearing from so many of you about the 2025 in Review, how seen you felt getting to hear that, yes, literally everyone has projects fall apart for no good reason, and just how demoralizing this career can be (but also fun, I promise).

This week, rather than look back at what went wrong (or right, there was plenty that went right), I want to look ahead. This early January period has that “back to school” kind of energy I love and crave. I mean, I put pens and a personal planner on my gift guide this year, if that tells you anything.

What am I hoping to do this year?

And how do we even set reasonable goals for ourselves as artists, in an industry where almost everything is outside of our actual control?

Well… we have to set goals we can control for ourselves!

Here are some of my 2026 goals for your reference!

Write and send out a couple ideas in short story format.

I keep seeing these packaged for big bucks and I do think there’s a smart business strategy at play here. Spending much less time crafting a short story than it would take to craft a spec screenplay while also avoiding the thing that can happen with specs where you have inadvertently given people a reason to say “no.” Less is more in sales, and if you bog people down in the details then they are much more likely to say no. So I’m going to write some tight, concise, three act stories that have high concepts and see if I can do anything with those. I think writing and sending out TWO is a reasonable amount for the year. What happens with them? I can’t say! We are not focused on outcomes when we set goals, just the part of the process that we ourselves control!

Send out a pilot.

Every few years I try to sell a TV show and I think we’re entering another “Colby tries to sell a show” year. There’s an old pilot I’ve written (I can’t tell you how old, it is too embarrassing), a comedy about an enterprise that is normally run by idealistic dreamers that finds itself taken over by a cutthroat accountant who wants to “maximize efficiency” of everything.

Sounds a lot like the industry (and world) we currently live in!

It never quite clicked when I first started sending it out — but I think it’s very fun and A LOT MORE TIMELY now than it was when I first wrote it. So I am refreshing it slightly, stamping a 2026 date on the cover page, and then hoping to send it out to folks who’ve never seen or heard of it before. This is the nice thing about writing something on spec -- it’s yours forever, and sometimes those things that didn’t quite make sense in one moment suddenly make a heck of a lot more sense.

Direct a short.

This one kind of falls in the “what are you insane?” category, because I already have a feature film I’m prepping for [see below] but I have this crazy idea that really can and should only be a short film. I think we could do it over the course of a few days, and directors don’t get to direct very often, really.

So when you have the will and maybe the way, I think pursue it? I’ll keep you posted.

Direct a feature.

This is one of those “yes sure that’s a cool goal but how much do you as the filmmaker actually control the outcome?” I think a lot, if you are willing to hustle, determined to keep the momentum up, and are able/willing to design a flexible enough production plan that the movie can happen within a wide range of funding options. I’ve written my first feature as a director to be exactly that, and after what felt like a tedious and slow on-ramp last year, we’ve had what feels like an exciting energy shift happen as we enter 2026, that I’m eager to capitalize on.

Write an episode of TV.

This is literally already happening. It’s nice to put some goals on your list that you know without a doubt you’ll be able to cross off, and soon.

Write a new feature.

This is also already happening, and I’m being paid to do it! Another “Will Check This Off Soon” goal, which are the best kind, truly!

Complete the documentary I’ve been producing and start submitting to festivals.

Father Figures has one more pickup shoot scheduled, we’re deep into our edit, we have a feedback screening with folks planned, and we’re excited to get it across the finish line. Then we’ll start worrying about the SECOND HALF of making a movie — getting people to see it.

Reconceive my work space.

This is out of necessity, as our current guest room / home office is in the process of being transformed into a much more permanent guest’s room, ie a baby’s nursery. But I do love a project, and I especially love a project that involves making a space that feels practical and personal and primed for creativity.

I gave up my old office (rip) when I started at the show, and while I love and miss it, it also had bad internet and you could hear the train going by every 10 minutes. So I may be on the hunt for an entirely new location. Not sure.

Hit 30K followers on instagram.

How much is this one in my control? Debatable. But I grew Hollyweird’s instagram account to 15K over the course of five months, so I feel like even if we slow down substantially, trying to grow another 15K isn’t such an unreasonable goal. How will I be doing this? Same thing I’ve been doing in 2025, posting a lot, and trying to get better at it.

Why do this? Well, I would love to use my micro-celebrity to SELL MONTBLANC PENS. But more importantly, I have really enjoyed getting to hear from folks that the same practical / creative advice I’ve been sharing here in the newsletter is reaching an entirely new audience via video, and it seems to be really useful to people! I also know that getting better at social media is the key to selling the movies (and shows) I have up above.

GETTING PEOPLE TO SEE THE MOVIE IS PART OF MAKING THE MOVIE, LET US NEVER FORGET!

I have A LOT of other things I’d like to do, and things I’ll probably pursue throughout the year as well, but as I get older I am trying to be better at FOCUSING and also on setting goals that I do have some modicum of control over.

Whaddaya think? Is this overambitious? Is this perfectly ambitious? We’ll check back in at the end of 2026 and tally up the points on what did/didn’t get done this year.

And what about you? What are your goals for 2026? Writing and otherwise? I’d love to hear them, and would especially love to hear the WHY behind any/all of them.