Let's Do This!!

Four weeks from Sunday, we ring in the new year.

I know, it's hard to believe.

Entering December, it’s easy to let your writing aspirations slide. Holiday parties, Hallmark movies, family gatherings, and Christmas shopping can nudge other priorities to the bottom of your to-do list. 

Then before you know it, it’s 2023. Then, suddenly, it's December and you're in the same place you were a year ago.

Let's look at some hacks that will help you be a productive writer this month.

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I'm Not Trying To Be The Grinch

Believe me, I'm not trying to pull you away from your family or other holiday priorities. In this week's Power Writers Report, I'm going to give you some ideas that will help you save time. Lots of it.

Hack #1. Set your writing goals at the beginning of the month.

With Christmas and New Year's celebrations around the corner, make sure to take special events into consideration. Then, create specific goals that you can reasonably accomplish. 

Then break it down into smaller goals.

For example, I need to write about 20,000 words by the end of December. That means I need to complete about 5,000 words per week, which will require 15-20 hours of work. Which leads to…

Hack #2. Schedule your writing time.

Looking at my calendar, I need to schedule 15-20 hours every week. Don’t leave it to chance, actually write it down on your calendar.

For me, that means blocking out all day Friday, Saturday mornings, an occasional Saturday afternoon, perhaps one early morning, and then squeeze the rest of the time needed into my normal office hours.

If it isn't on your schedule, it won't get done.

Pro tip #1: You need to write at least three days a week in order to build momentum. If you only write on Saturdays, you’re wasting energy because you're going to need to build momentum all over again.  

Hack #3. Elicit buy-in from your family members.

Before starting every book I write, I discuss with my wife the sacrifices both of us will need to make in order for me to finish the book. For her, it means doing a little more cleaning and actually start making meals (she's a good cook—she just doesn't like cooking). 

Writing a book is quite often a family affair.

Hack #4. Practice self-discipline.

True confession: I do some of my best cleaning around the house when I’m writing a book. Sometimes sitting down and writing a book is soooo hard! 

It doesn't make any sense to set your writing goals, schedule them on the calendar, ask your family to make sacrifices ... and then never get around to actually writing.

So much about writing is mindset. That’s why we study the topic so often in the PWR. And self-discipline is definitely ALL ABOUT mindset. 

Here's what I do to prime the self-discipline pump: When I go to bed, I remind myself, Tomorrow is writing day! 

Prepare your brain to write. 

In fact, you can even trick your brain with a little positive self-talk. Tomorrow I get to spend the whole day writing!

Hack #5. Block out distractions. 

Distractions are the enemy of every writer. If you have ADHD like my wife, you welcome them. But if you want to get something accomplished, you need to shut out the rest of the world. That means:

• Shutting down your email
• Turning off your cellphone
• Closing the door, and
• Kindly asking your family to leave you the h-h-h-h-eck alone.

The next hack alone could help you glean hours and hours of writing...

Hack #6. Maximize those random 5-60 minute breaks 

I began this post while waiting to drive my daughter to the airport. Initially, I convinced myself that it wasn't enough time to get any productive work done. 

I can start writing when I get back from the airport, I told myself. Instead, I could check the news, sports scores, Facebook, and even catch up on some emails.

Then I realized I could be finished with this week's installment 45 minutes sooner if I just jumped in.

In those 45 minutes, I outlined this article.

Just think about all the little snippets of extra time life gives us. If you utilized even half of those snippets, imagine how much writing you would accomplish.

Hack #7. Stick a carrot at the end of the stick. 

Everybody loves gifts. So why not promise yourself rewards when you hit your goals? 

Don’t limit this to the end of the project—reward yourself at critical steps. Finish a chapter? Go for a walk. Complete a section?  Go out for dinner with your wife.

When I finish my current book, my wife and I are talking about going out of town for the weekend. Here's how it really motivates: in no way do I want to be working on the book while we're out of town.

That's not just a carrot at the end of the stick, it's a fire strategically placed directly under my Heineken!

Hack #8. Protect your creative writing time.

I know I talk about this on a regular basis, but I can’t overemphasize the value of writing while your creative juices are flowing. 

Mornings are always more productive for me, so I block out Wednesday and Friday mornings for writing.

Protect it as if your life depends on it.

Hack #9. Stop procrastinating.

Writing can be painful. For me, the exhilaration hits when I click "send" with the finished project. Because it can be painful, tedious, even stressful, it's easy to put off writing until tomorrow.

Just. Do. It.

In my experience, procrastinating ramps up my anxiety about writing. 

Want to alleviate your stress? Sit down and write!

Hack #10. Write on your smartphone.

You’re sitting at your desk at work and suddenly a cool plot twist hits you. Don’t commit it to memory because you’ll forget it. Instead, write down just enough to bring you back to that moment of creativity at a later time.

If you’re driving when the muse speaks, record a voice memo.

Pro tip #2: If you store all your documents in the cloud, you'll be able to access them on your smartphone. 

Hack #11. Write with the big picture in mind.

Sometimes, I just want to focus on finishing my chapter, even when I’m doing work that I can include in a later chapter. If you do that, you’re spinning your wheels.

While working on chapter 9, you might run across information pertinent to chapter 13. So, open up chapter 13 and jot a note to yourself with the weblink.

Hack #12. Create a bookmarks folder for your go-to online research and sources

My web browser is brimming with bookmark folders. Recently I added one that includes the different websites I need for researching my book. That definitely saves me time.

Pro tip #3: If you run across an article that will be useful in a later chapter, save it in your book folder.

Never commit anything to memory.

Hack #13. Add a second monitor

About ten years ago, a friend, who’s the CFO of a fairly large company, shared an interesting fact. 

He told me that employee productivity increases almost 50% when working with two computer monitors compared to one. So he bought a second monitor for everyone in the company.

Since then, I’ve worked from two monitors. The difference in productivity was mind-boggling. When I made the change, I was working on an editing project for a publisher every quarter. After jumping to two monitors, it absolutely cut my time in half. That means I was making twice as much per hour.

I’m so spoiled writing with two monitors that when I’m forced to work with one, it feels like I’m typing with one hand.

Monitors are cheap. If you can spare the space, get a second one.

Hack #14. Schedule a strategy call.

Have you ever written a chapter that you later cut or researched a topic that ended up on the cutting floor? Now that's a waste of time!

Rather than spin your wheels, you can schedule time to meet with me. December is typically a slow month in the publishing industry, so I have extra time on my schedule.

Click here to schedule a no-obligation strategy call with me.

I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I’m a possibilities person. Let’s look at your book idea, or whatever impedes you from finishing it, and let’s figure out the solution.

Let’s bring your book to life!