Have
a Deadline. You knew this was coming. You’ve been dreading it. Deadlines seem
to put the fire under your butt. For me, every time I sit down, I try to write
at least a thousand words in 3-4 hours. I know that doesn’t sound like much,
but I go over the scenes I’ve written and tweak them before writing any fresh
stuff. The result is a more polished first draft. I know there’s loads of work
to still be done, but setting this word count within a time frame helps me make
my deadline to produce a book worth sharing with the world.
Remember
to reward yourself. This is so important! We all need pats on the back, a fist bump or
high five. Take yours. Give yourself something you’ve been promising yourself.
It doesn’t have to be big. Just put yourself in the spotlight and enjoy your
‘me’ time.
Refuse
to rationalize or make excuses. Take the ‘just do it’
approach. The ‘If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me’ mentality. Go to your plan.
You have a plan, right? If not, create one. Follow it, check off what you’ve
done, delegate where needed, and remember to breathe. Like the Boy Scout motto,
‘Be prepared’ and you have nothing to worry about.
Accept
100% responsibility. This is a no-brainer. You and you alone are responsible for your
actions (or non-actions) so don’t go blaming the social media or your partner
or watching the season finale of your favorite show (guilty) for taking you
away from your task. Take the high road and carve out the time needed to get
the job done.
Doggone it! I hate when you're so right. lol. Excellent advice that I need to follow.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sloane! Though I'm terrible for following my own advice, I feel we all need a kick in the pants once in awhile!
DeleteThis is one of the hardest parts of writing. The discipline! I usually welcome a deadline, because it means I'm not working alone. It is the alone times when it is hardest for me to find my discipline :)
ReplyDeleteI find that too, Kai. I guess the trick is to prioritize tasks and make a deadline for them. That way the discipline will follow. Cheers!
DeleteHit the nail on the head with these! So important to stay on task in order to get to the finish line.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Alan! Make a plan and stick to it. Even if something comes up (and it does) you can still pace yourself accordingly. Cheers for your support!
DeleteWords to live by. Sometimes the what would seem like the easiest thing to do is the hardest. Daily rewards are awesome.
ReplyDeleteYup, it is sooo hard, Susan! But if it was easy, everyone would do it! Cheers and thanks!
DeleteI really think setting up a deadline is important. I believe this has to do with the Parkingson Law. I often timebox myself where I only give a part of my day time to do one task. If time is up, I move to another task. I also wrote a blogpost about procrastination: goo.gl/8HTcWq What do you think about it?
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Hoang! Thanks for sharing! Like the idea of putting a time limit on one task. Cheers!
DeleteAll good points, Sharon. One of the main things is to try to avoid having life get in the way.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Vonnie! Life can get harried at times, but it's part of the process of being alive. Salute!
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