time management

Writer Imaging (Part 2)

Published on by Kristi Holl

First read Writer Imaging: Your Vision of Success.
According to our most reliable sources—happy writers—the “good writing life” is actually dependent on the following conditions:

1. Staying active, writing every day, even if it’s only a journal entry or your Morning Pages, as promoted by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

2. Staying organized. Many writers claim that they’re better parents, spouses and friends when they’re writing. I can attest to that myself. This is where being organized comes in. When our offices overflow with stacks of unanswered mail, unread newsletters, and scraps of paper everywhere, the messiness often makes us depressed and antsy, unable to sit down and work.

On the other hand, being organized calms us and makes us want to write. This becomes a daily “happiness” habit after a while. Elaine Fantle Shimberg, in her book Write Where You Live, says organization builds routines. And “routines created to fit your personal schedule and time commitments can quickly become work habits. These habits help you to assume the professional persona as soon as you enter your office space… Routines help you prevent sliding into procrastination,” a nasty habit that can make us unproductive and miserable.

If you need more help with this, get my free e-book at the top of this blog: Rx for Writers: Managing Your Writing Space and Your Writing Time.

3. Staying productive with meaningful work. When we’re working on a project that feels important, that we know will benefit our readers in some way, we’re happier writers. These tend to be stories and books we need to write, such as the book that “in some way speaks profoundly to the core of his [the writer’s] beliefs, the emotional and spiritual and intellectual center of his life” (from Philip Gerard’s Writing a Book that makes a Difference). When your work is meaningful to you and touches others’ lives, you’re a happy writer, whether it ever makes you rich and famous or not.

(We’ll talk about the last two requirements for a satisfying writing life next time.)

Self-Care Secrets to Creating More Time

Published on by Kristi Holl

Do you feel as if you’re forever running to catch up and keep up? Is finding any time at all to write a challenge for you?

Over my thirty years of writing, that has been an ongoing challenge. Often the problem was my lack of boundaries in many areas of my life. (The problem is so prevalent that, right now, I’m working on an e-book called “Boundaries for Writers” because I think we need our own set of instructions!)

Maybe you’ve been told you need to simplify your life—choose what really matters—and slow your pace. Great advice!

But HOW?

Reflective Thinking Brings Answers

With all the noise of modern life and the frantic running around, we have little chance to hear the inner whispers and feel the nudges that try to warn us. “Hold on—this isn’t right” or “You really don’t want to do this” or (with me quite often) “Don’t say that!”

Sometimes life gives you the gift of stopping you in your tracks. That has happened to me several times over the years. Once I was surgically wired shut for weeks. A few years ago I ran a fever for eight days and ended up with many sleepless nights to think.

I took stock of my rat-race, anything-but-serene lifestyle, and I was appalled at how I had let “stuff” creep back in and take over my life. I asked myself some hard questions.

Your Personal Answers

If you also want to get off the merry-go-round, take a note pad and jot the answers to these questions pertaining to your own life.

  • Why is my life as busy as it is?
  • Why have I chosen to commit to so many things?
  • What are the costs to me right now of living like this? What are the future costs?
  • What tasks/meetings/jobs are no longer necessary? (Only one out of my four cancelled appointments that week needed to be rescheduled. The others, it turned out, weren’t that important.)
  • Which activities are things other people thought I should do?
  • Which volunteer positions do I no longer enjoy?
  • Which professional organizations no longer meet my needs and can be dropped?

That time of reflection was so very profitable. It enabled me to spot three big changes I could make, immediately freeing up about fifteen hours per month.

Should I? Shouldn’t I?

Is your life run according to shoulds (your own or other people’s?) When asked to run a concession stand at your child’s school or attend a make-up or clothing party, do you agree because you feel you should, rather than because you have a real desire to do it? Do you even take time to make a thoughtful decision, or does the should rule?

In a sermon entitled “The Unhurried Life,” my pastor reminded us that “NO is a complete sentence.” In other words, sometimes you can just say no. Or “I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Period. Don’t let people guilt you into doing things you just don’t want to do. They don’t know your schedule, your physical challenges, or that you are already maxed out.

Self-Care, not Selfish

Reassess the value of your time. Is it really more important that you do the volunteer newsletter for your neighborhood association—or that you put that time toward your writing dream? None of us likes to have people mad at us. On the other hand, it may be a price worth paying in order to have a fighting chance to realize your writing dreams.

It might sound like I’m advocating a selfish lifestyle. I’m really not. I volunteer a lot in my church, community, and with my grandkids. BUT I am advocating a sane and sensible lifestyle. You have your time and energy limits, determined by many personal factors. Know what your limits are–and find a way to stick within them.

If you have a favorite boundary-setting idea you’d like to share–especially one that works for you–please do leave a comment.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Published on by Kristi Holl

Work smarter, not harder has been my mantra for many years. When I find things (book, website, class, software) that help me do that, I like to pass them along to you.

With that in mind, here are two websites to products I’ve been using recently that I love. The first one I’ve used for years, but recently bought the upgrade. The second is my solution to the time-consuming social marketing dilemma. I’d encourage you to check out both sites!

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Many years ago, I bought a CD of the earliest version of LifeJournal software for my computer. It is password protected, it sits on your computer privately (NOT an online journal), and has many features a journaler loves. I’ve loaded that CD onto half a dozen computers over the years because I wanted and needed a place to “dump” things that no one else would read. And unlike handwritten journals, it has an easy “tagging” system so that you can find what you’re looking for later. For example, after writing a daily entry, I might realize it would make a good blog post, or I tag spots where I thought of a good plot twist idea, or anything else I might want to remember. The new version has many additional features, including the ability to make templates (which I use a lot for frequent issues, morning and evening check-ins, writer’s block issues, etc.) and the option to buy additional modules for specific parts of your life (writers, emotional balance, creativity, and many more). At LifeJournal you can find a free trial version. If you buy it, I’d recommend spending the extra $10.00 and getting a CD as well as a download so that you’ll always have it and can load it onto all the computers you have now and will buy in the future. (And no, I’m not an affiliate of either of these recommendations. I just use them and love the products.)

SocialOomph is the answer I found to how long the social networking was taking me (Facebook, blogging, Twitter, etc.). I couldn’t keep up with it all. It was hard enough remembering all the passwords to three websites, three blogs, and three FB accounts. Now I only need to remember one: to SocialOomph, the answer to my griping about this. It’s a one-stop place to do your social marketing, and the services it supplies are phenomenal. The first week, just using the free version which is very good, I saved about five hours! And I got MORE social networking accomplished. It literally keeps track of everything for you, gives you a place to schedule your tweets and blogs (you set the schedule and SocialOomph does the rest.) Several times I was gone to a conference or busy with a family matter, but I still had posts going out three times a day to my FB and Twitter pages. I wasn’t even online during those times, but by being able to schedule everything in one spot, I generated a lot more traffic to my sites in so much less time. While you are using the free service, you will be given a one-week free trial to their professional service. This is where they hooked me. I have only begun to tap the abilities of this service. [I took on a two-day job for someone in order to pay for a year’s worth of this service because it helps me accomplish so much more in so little time.] Check it out.

When you’re making out your Christmas list this year, you might want to put these products near the top!

Organized Books and Lives

Published on by Kristi Holl

A couple weeks ago I encouraged you to get ready for NaNoWriMo–the writing group that produces a book in November. I hope you have an idea for it now.

I also encouraged you to spend October getting organized so that you have the best chance of succeeding. To me, success includes having a really good rough draft done at the end of November (as opposed to 50,000 words which you throw out later.)

I Hate to Outline!

If you hate outlines, maybe you don’t understand the various kinds–and their purposes. If so, read these two articles and you may well change your mind:

“The #1 Reason You Haven’t Written the Book You Want to Write” talks about misconceptions around outlining a book–plus all the benefits. (I never sold the two books I wrote without an outline. I’ve sold 95% of the books I wrote where I used an outline, even if it wasn’t very detailed.)

“Outlining a Novel Step-by-Step” is a practical guide to this process. It can feel overwhelming when you start.

I Have No Time!

If you need help organizing your hectic life so that you can write, here’s another good article with practical advice for very busy people: “Organizing Schedules So You Can Find More Time to Write.” Although my kids are grown and married, I coordinate around babysitting grandbabies, going to a grandson’s soccer games, overnights, and my husband’s changing work schedule. Every season brings different changes, and we writers need to go with this flow as well if we expect to write through all the seasons of our lives.

I hope you have time this weekend to read those articles. Whether you are getting ready for NaNoWriMo or not, they’re full of valuable information. Make it a terrific weekend, everyone!

Gradual Exposure

Published on by Kristi Holl

 

For many reasons, we set writing goals–and then promptly get stuck. The reasons vary:

  • The goal is overwhelming, and we don’t know where to start.
  • We don’t have an hour or two each day to devote to reaching our goal.
  • We don’t really believe you can reach goals “a little bit at a time.”
  • We see others going gung-ho toward similar goals and feel intimidated by their (seemingly) effortless success.

Easy Answer

Regardless of what your writing goal is, one answer that nearly always works is the concept of “gradual exposure.” Certainly gradual exposure can be a negative thing, like the poor frog who is boiled alive when the water temperature gradually rises. But “gradual exposure” can also be a very positive–and easy–concept to work into your writing life.

Gradual exposure simply allows you to take actions toward your daily and long-term writing goals little by little. These small actions build on each other over time and form habits (such as daily writing, networking with other writers, writing a novel, etc.) According to Kelly Stone in Living Write, “This technique [of gradual exposure] is particularly helpful in areas where you have resistance to writing or fear taking some action that is required to attain the success you desire.”

One Task Per Day for a Week

Stone’s recommendation for gradually inching your way into your desired writing habit is to break down the task into tiny baby steps. You take one baby step toward your goal every day for a week. And you try to enhance or increase the action daily until you reach your goal.

Example: Let’s say your goal is to eventually write an hour every day. Currently you only write sporadically. Your first week of gradual exposure might look like this:

  • Monday: write 5 minutes
  • Tuesday: write 10 minutes
  • Wednesday: write 15 minutes
  • Thursday: write 20 minutes

and so on until you hit 60 minutes per day.

Or maybe you want a production goal that gradually gets you to the point where you can write 2,000 words per day. Start small, and increase daily by small amounts.

  • Monday: write 200 words
  • Tuesday: write 250 words
  • Wednesday: write 300 words
  • Thursday: write 350 words

Each day is a tiny stretch, but with enough tiny stretches, you can soon be writing those 2,000 words per day this way.

Other types of writing tasks can also be accomplished using “gradual exposure.” Let’s say you want to eventually have a successful social networking group of writer friends. When starting out, it can look overwhelming! But by using gradual exposure, you can get your feet wet and not feel like you’re drowning. This can apply to getting involved in Facebook, on Twitter, commenting on blogs, writing a blog, etc.

  • Monday:  subscribe to five writing blogs
  • Tuesday: read two blog posts and leave one comment
  • Wednesday: read four blog posts and leave two comments
  • Thursday: [continue building until you scan perhaps ten blogs daily]

When you’ve met your blogging goal, set up a gradual exposure schedule for creating a Facebook page, inviting friends, commenting on others’ posts, etc.

Gradual Vs. Gung-Ho

For me, I think the “magic” of gradual exposure is that I am not so apt to give up before reaching my goal. My personality tends to want to rush in and do it all RIGHT NOW–or do nothing. (e.g. decide to get in shape and start by running two miles although I haven’t run in a year; decide to get serious about studying the writing craft, read for five hours and get a ripping headache)

I tend to have rapid burn-out because my enthusiasm takes me where my tired body can’t keep me. The technique of gradual exposure prevents you from doing stupid things that lead to early burn-out and quitting. It applies to any goal you have in mind.

Are there some writing habits you would like to incorporate into your week? If so, I’d encourage you to try this method of gradual exposure. While it may not feel like you’re accomplishing a lot in the beginning, if you keep it up, you’ll be well on your way in a matter of days.

Dismount!

Published on by Kristi Holl

My good writing friend, Sherryl, and I were Skyping about a seriously time-consuming writing project we’d like to take on together. Since we both spend our lives constantly trying to squeeze out five more spare minutes, we realized that something in our schedules would have to give.

“Where’s the dead wood in your life?” we asked each other. “What can be cut?”

Take a Closer Look

I thought about it a lot last night and couldn’t come up with much of anything. I have a couple of writing jobs, I hold offices in a couple organizations, and I lead a couple of church groups. Some are new responsibilities this year, and some I’ve helped with for years. I was clueless about what to cut.

Then I heard someone on the radio this morning say:

“If the horse has been dead ten years, it’s time to dismount.”

Put It Out to Pasture

I made a list of my paid and unpaid jobs then. Which lifeless “horse” was I still trying to make gallop? Which job or position that once was fun and satisfying and productive was now just an unproductive time drain? Which things had run their course? Where should I “dismount”?

Some of our time drains are just habits we’ve had for years. Or they’re community or school obligations we took on, and somehow we feel they’re life-time commitments.

Take a close look at your stable of horses. I hope this month to dismount a couple of dead horses so that I have time to ride a new one!

Follow-Up

This is a re-posted blog–and here’s the follow-up.  I did resign from two of my long-term volunteer activities. In both cases, people who were on the sidelines stepped forward to take the positions. I stopped doing free book critiques too.

The changes took nearly a year, but I now have five hours per day to work on my writing, compared to the one hour I had when I first wrote this blog post. It was hard saying “I can’t” and “no, thanks” many, many times. But I love the outcome! I love looking forward to my work days now. Our lives are all different, but I bet you could get rid of some dead horses too.

Can you name ONE that could be eliminated from your over-crowded life?

How to Create the "Not To-Do" List

Published on by Kristi Holl

Back in March, I wrote about pruning some things from life in order to have more time to write. (See my former post “The ‘Not To-Do’ List”.)

In order to make time for anything new in your life, it requires some necessary endings.

Help Is on the Way

So I was thrilled yesterday when my son-in-law loaned me a book by a favorite author of mine (Henry Cloud of Boundaries fame). It’s called Necessary Endings. It’s the best “how-to” on this “pruning” subject I’ve ever seen. It covers both personal/relationships and business. [Remember: if you’re a writer, you’re in business.]

I don’t know about you, but I have difficulty cutting things out of my life–even when doctors say, “Cut back or die!” (or the equivalent). This book has already helped me identify more clearly what needs to go. And, as Cloud shows, it all starts with having a clear idea of what you’re pruning toward (your goal or vision.) Only when you know that can you know what/who has to go.

Free Resources

You can download a free chapter from Necessary Endings called “Pruning: Growth Depends on Getting Rid of the Unwanted or the Superfluous.” Go to Facebook, do a search for “Henry Cloud (author)”, and you’ll find it. Just click the “Like” link, and you’ll have access to the free chapter and dozens of excellent short videos he’s posted.

Also, in the “Notes” section of his Facebook page, you’ll find a group study starting today on how to do this whole process of “necessary endings” in work, relationships, outside interests, and everything else (even good things) that keep us from being able to pursue the best things.

Ultimate Easy To-Do List

Published on by Kristi Holl

Although I am thrilled with the time management system I blogged about on Monday, there are simpler methods out there. A writer friend sent me the link to a free online system called LazyMeter.

It’s easy to learn the LazyMeter system, it’s fun, and it has a great feature that lets you put a task on “pause”–which automatically moves it to the next day! Voila! Cleared list!

Accountability

The colored “lazymeter” at the top of the page shows how many tasks you completed and how many tasks were pushed to the next day.

According to the creators of LazyMeter: “Our core belief is that productivity is not about how much you do, but how you feel at the end of the day. Other task managers create more work for users, and overwhelm them with an even longer to-do list. LazyMeter is designed to help you focus on one day at a time, and feel better at the end of the day.”

The LazyMeter blog answers many questions about their features and how to make the best use of this easy-to-understand time management system. Post a comment if you try this system and share your thoughts about it.

Tug of War in Finding Balance

Published on by Kristi Holl

In the Margin book, Richard Swenson, M.D. talked about the tug-of-war in our everyday lives and the challenge of finding balance.

The Balancing Act

I don’t know about you, but I feel a constant tug-of-war between choices. Should I work now, or relax a bit? Should I take action, or should I think about it more? Should I take the lead in this decision, or be a good follower? Should I speak up, or just listen? Should I keep studying and researching and learning, or is it time to apply what I know? Should I judge and confront, or should I give grace here? Should I say yes to this gathering, or retire in much-needed solitude?

It’s no wonder we have difficulty finding balance!

There are so many decisions to make, minute by minute sometimes. Added to that, we know that life requires both. We need to both work and rest. Sometimes we need to speak up, but sometimes we need to listen. We need to both study and apply what we know. We need the company of other people, but writers also require a lot of solitude.

These are not either/or questions. “Balance has always been necessary and will always be necessary. It is just becoming more difficult,” says the author of Margin.

Balance or Excellence?

I believe in high standards. I believe in doing things in an excellent way. In many ways, especially in the past, I’ve gone overboard into perfectionism.

“Much is made today of the virtues of excellence. But what does this mean? Often the excellence described is only in one narrow corridor of life,” says Swenson. He talks of musicians who are virtuosos, executives who live at the office, and other passionate high achievers. Many are not so successful in the rest of their lives though.

Many writers – including myself – have dreamed of the day when they would have time to be passionately high achieving writers. While my children were smaller and I was also teaching, I dreamed of the day when I would have the hours to be one of those high achieving writers I read about. I have met a few of them at conferences, and I admire them a great deal. But each time, when talking to them, I discovered something that I knew I didn’t want in my own life. I didn’t want to ignore my community, give up my ministry at church, lose close contact with grandchildren, or be unhealthy and out of shape. I wanted it all!

Choices, Choices

“While undivided devotion to one cause can bring great success and vault a person into prominence, such a priority structure often leaves the rest of that person’s life in a state of disorder,” says Swenson. You might excel at your career – like the famous surgeon or performer – yet fail as a parent or neglect personal health in order to achieve it.

I have found this to be true in my own life. I can push through when deadlines demand it. I can do it for months on end if necessary. But to my frustration, something always breaks down. Headaches get bad. I find that I’m out of touch with grown children or grandchildren. Or I put on five pounds because I stopped walking and feel like a slug.

What’s the Answer?

“Doing our best has limits,” says Swenson. “Our rush toward excellence in one quadrant of life must not be permitted to cause destruction in another.” Those who go “all out” for success in one area – even writing – risk failure in other important areas of life.

So what’s the answer? Come back Wednesday, and I’ll give you four tips for restoring balance in your life.