Writers First Aid

Your Approximately Perfect Writing Life

May 4, 2011

ladder2 Are you climbing the writer’s ladder of success, but beginning to suspect that your ladder is leaning against the wrong building?

I’d been wondering for nearly a year. I reviewed my goals for the year and saw that I was moving fairly steadily toward each one. Mostly that made me happy.

But two goals I’m moving toward make me uneasy. I realized I really didn’t want to reach those goals. They were things “the experts” said I needed to do to be a successful writer, but they appeal to me less and less, the closer I get to the goals. ladder4

Your Goals? Or Someone Else’s?

Then I re-read one of Randy Ingermanson‘s free newsletters, and it was one of those “aha!” moments. He was talking about creating your “approximately perfect life.” In part, this is what he wrote:

“What’s your ‘approximately perfect life’ look like? Have you made a list of the things you’d like to have or to achieve or to be that would make your life the one you want?…Nothing happens unless you take action. But you can’t take any meaningful action until you define your direction. And you’ll never have direction until you know what your ‘approximately perfect life’ would look like.”

How do you even know the kind of life/writing life you would like to have? (And by writing life, I mean to include family and other goals you have. The whole enchilada.)

There are a number of ways (books and websites) to help you define what YOUR perfect life would include. Randy recommended an online free website that he faithfully uses called Simpleology. The creator of that site promises that:

Within minutes of setting up your account, you will:

See your day with instant clarity
Focus instantly on what´s important
Dump the rest (liberation is a click away)
Clear your brain of clutter and distraction

Let’s Get Personal

What’s important to you? What would spell success for you in the writing life? Have you written down your goals? Look at each one closely. Are they truly your goals and desires? Or are they goals–like several of mine–that were dictated by others but, in your heart, you know they don’t fit who you are?

Today I have a very long walk planned to think about these issues. I suspect, that when I get home, I’ll be doing some restructuring of my goals. My life is too busy and fragmented, and something’s got to go. Why not start with those things that really don’t spell writing success to me?

If you’re willing to share, leave a comment below. Does your own goal list need simplifying? Mine does. I’d love to know which goals you’re going to keep–and which ones you’re going to let go.

Post tags: dreams, goals, simplify, success

Posted in: dreams,goals,simplify,success | | Comments (11)

11 Comments »

I did an exercise as part of a course I’m doing – it was to write about your perfect working day. How you wake up, what you do, how you work (or not, if that’s your aim!), and how you feel about your day.
I just found this in my notebook yesterday, and reading it again made me go, “Oooohhhhh…”
What I noticed, as you said, is what *wasn’t* there – about 50% of what I’m compelled to do right now to earn a living – but also inside the relaxing day I’d fantasised about was a clear message that even on a perfect day, I was still working at what I enjoyed, and I was getting it done! A good reminder, since I’ve just had a day where I wasted a lot of time and felt very frustrated and not at all creative.

Comment by Sherryl — May 5, 2011 @ 3:11 am
Sherryl, I think the frustration of having wasted valuable time is a real issue for many people. I don’t just waste time when I am procrastinating and avoiding a job I don’t want to do. I procrastinate on writing that I *DO* want to do! I am looking at various rituals for getting started and choosing a couple that I plan to try. I want starting to become an effortless habit. (That’s *MY* fantasy!)

Comment by Kristi Holl — May 5, 2011 @ 7:28 am
To me, the word “fragmented” is the real killer. I’ve decided my life has four categories: reading/writing (includes any necessary research, marketing & blogging/website, but for me, not FB or Twitter so far), teaching, family, and personal care (enough sleep, exercise, home and household maintenance,etc.) I consider worship as overarching all, not as a category; I want all aspects of my life to be offered as worship. I’m on my church’s worship team, too, but beyond that, anything that doesn’t fit one of the four categories, doesn’t fit.

Comment by Marcia — May 5, 2011 @ 8:00 am
Marcia, the word “fragmented” even FEELS terrible, doesn’t it? While the words “unity” and “wholeness” give such a sense of peace. Your priorities sound like mine, except I do more critiquing than teaching now. Culling out those things that don’t fit any of my priorities is a constant battle—and learning to say “I’ll think about it” or “I’ll pray about it” when asked to take on something new—and not giving an automatic “yes” anymore!

Comment by Kristi Holl — May 5, 2011 @ 9:06 am
This is a great post and got me to thinking. So many of my goals are related to what others want and need so I include them in my plan. I am going to rethink my writing goals again and see what I come up with. The things that get in my way are always related to what my family needs and money.
Thanks for sharing.

Comment by Terri Forehand — May 5, 2011 @ 10:05 am
Terri, I hear you! The things that fragment my great schedule also nearly always relate to my adult kids and grandkids and cash flow issues. Too often I give up self-care activities (enough sleep, enough exercise, taking time to make healthy meals) and then REALLY pay in the long run.

Comment by Kristi Holl — May 5, 2011 @ 10:30 am
I have written two books and a rough copy of a third aimed at specific publishers and markets. Rejections have been frequent. When I was working as a painter, I noticed my best pieces were projects I painted because I wanted to, not the projects I painted for someone else. So I have decided to completely rewrite my rough copy book (because I NEED to tell that particular story) for me. The story line is flowing much better and I am having more fun. I may not sell this book either, but I am going to be completely satisfied I have told the story I wanted to tell.

Comment by Grannie Writer — May 5, 2011 @ 11:20 am
Grannie Writer, I loved your post! You’re onto something important there. If we write the story OTHER people want to hear, we lose the passion. I like what you did!

Comment by Kristi Holl — May 5, 2011 @ 11:31 am
Kristi, this is such a great post. I have a very busy schedule and always feel like I could organize my day much better and I get distracted when new things pop up. I definitely need to simplify the schedule and prioritize.

Comment by D.M. Cunningham — May 5, 2011 @ 12:20 pm
D.M., loved your blog. You are juggling a lot of jobs, it looks like. I get distracted too easily too, even by work things. I was reading a description today of a writer with ADD and it was shocking how much I identified with his issues. (I plan to try some of his solutions too!)

Comment by Kristi Holl — May 5, 2011 @ 3:31 pm
Once, I had a job where there was a big push for efficiency. I wrote down EVERY thing I did all day long for a whole month. Down to the minute. I noticed lots of patterns. It was very eye opening. I was able to consolidate tasks and free up an hour or so of time each day. It was pretty cool.

Comment by Christie Wild — May 16, 2011 @ 12:44 pm