Are you as productive as you’d like to be? Earlier this week, we looked at the differences between being busy and being productive. Our time and energy are precious to us. When we spend both, we want results. Spinning our wheels uses time and energy too, but that depletes us, whereas being productive with our […]
Kristi Holl
Productivity VS Busyness: Diagnosis and Cure
I used to have frustrated students tell me, “I should have more stories and articles accepted by now; I work ten hours per week on my writing.” That fact alone was meaningless. I didn’t know how many hours were productive hours: how much was written, how many submissions were made, etc. You want to be highly […]
The Commitment to Write: Say YES!
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.” ~~Henry David Thoreau Have you given yourself permission to really work? To invest the necessary time and energy you know it will take to achieve your writing dream? Until you can answer “yes” to the following three things, your commitment to writing will always be a struggle. […]
The Dynamics of Change
We’re nearly ready to begin a new writing year! Or ARE you ready? This year you don’t have to get behind on your goals or quit. Why? Because this time you’re going to take time to understand the dynamics of change. Did you know that 75% of New Year’s Resolutions (or goals) are abandoned by […]
Climbing Out of a Writing Hole
“How does a project get a year behind schedule? One day at a time.” ~~Fred Brooks (IBM computer software developer) While I’m not behind a whole year on my current writing project, this question has been ricocheting around in my mind lately. I have writing deadlines stacked up for many months, for which I am truly […]
Head Space: Conserve Your Writing Energy
Published three years ago today…and I still need it today! Enjoy the reminder.~~~ Writers require “head space” in which nothing else is happening. You must have some mental space that is yours and yours alone in order to create and write. “It takes quite a bit of energy on your part–a real effort–to maintain that […]
A Parent’s (or Grandparent’s) Writing Schedule
With summer vacation upon us, it seemed like a good time to revisit the subject of writing when you are involved with children or grandchildren. When my children were small–and even as they grew older–I struggled to find a writing schedule that worked most days of the week. After much trial and error, I would […]
Beware the Fuzzies–and Focus!
“How’s your focus?” It’s a question I’ve been wrestling with lately. Last year my calendar was so full of very good things, but I was frequently exhausted and vaguely dissatisfied. (Well, not vaguely actually. It was a very pointed dissatisfaction with the amount of writing I finished on any given day.) My children were grown […]
Perfectionist Writers
Does perfectionism keep you from getting started on your writing? Does trying to write your best create pressure for you? If you, you’ll be encouraged something in Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland. It’s about being a perfectionist–and how to deal with the pressure […]
A No-Guilt Writing Life
Does taking time to write make you feel guilty? In her book Writing as a Way of Healing, Louise DeSalvo said, “Many people…have told me that taking time to write seems so, well, self-indulgent, self-involved, frivolous even.” Does that describe you? Do you fight your own guilty feelings that say you should be doing something […]