January 3, 2011

Happy New Year!

I don’t know what it is about having a brand new CLEAN calendar, but it gives most people the urge to begin something new.

Proof is well documented, though, that new year’s goals and resolutions rarely last through January. I’m convinced that much of the cause is lack of careful thought beforehand.

Doing Something Different

If your December was nuts and you had little time for quiet reflection before New Year’s Day, then I highly recommend that you take this whole week (or longer) to ponder some questions. Even better, journal the rambling answers to the questions below. Pour out everything that comes to mind.

After you’ve thoroughly answered the questions, go back through your entries and underline or highlight your Aha! moments of insight. These insights are what will help you set goals that you can actually meet. (Example: in your journaling, you might discover that you wrote very little for months because it hurts to sit. One of your writing-supportive goals, therefore, might be exercises to eliminate the hip pain.)

Not all writing goals focus on writing, I’ve found. There are many writing-related and nonwriting goals you will find helpful to your writing success this year.

Ready? Set? Write!

Take plenty of time to journal these questions this week:

• How did I do on my 2010 goals (if you had any)?
• What habits contributed to successfully completing any of the goals?
• What situations/events/habits got me off track this year?
• What worked for me in the past to get back on track?
• What non-writing goals (in the areas of health, relationships, day job) would support the success of my writing goals?
• What can I do to make the writing more fun (which motivates you to work on your goals)?

When you have the answers to these questions, you are well on your way to setting goals that you’ll actually meet this year. If you’re willing, please share a goal (either writing or writing-related) you hope to achieve in 2011.

Let’s do this together!

December 31, 2010

Have you noticed all the diet and exercise  ads already flooding your Inbox? Tons of advice is available for breaking bad eating habits.

One idea I read was about how to stop relapsing into bad eating habits. The article seemed equally applicable to breaking bad writing habits.

Setbacks and relapsing into old patterns is so common! Carol Lewis in Stop It! asks, “Have you ever noticed consistent patterns when you fall?” She says we need to build into our lives a plan that guards us against getting off track.

Writers need such a plan every single day!

Great idea…but how?

The idea is to create a plan ahead of time to head off your bad habits. [I'll show you how below.] My worst writing habits are wasting time on the Internet, getting online way too early in the day, and trying to write for long periods without breaks and rewards to make the writing fun.

I need a plan of attack for each of those habits. Here’s a template you can use to head off bad habits.

Template

• My problem area is: ____________
• My goal is to not fall into the habit of ___________.
• I know it creates the following harmful circumstances: ____________
• I want to create a new sustainable habit. Therefore I will guard myself by changing the following circumstances: ____________________
• I will remove the following temptations: ________________

Making It Work

So, for example, with my Internet issue, it might go like this:

• My problem area is: wasting time on the Internet
• My goal is to not fall into the habit of  getting online before noon.
• I know it creates the following harmful circumstances: hours hunched over the laptop make my neck cramp, wastes valuable writing time, makes it hard to finally settle down and write.
• I want to create a new sustainable habit. Therefore I will guard myself by changing the following circumstances: I will only work on the computer that has no Internet connection, I will set a timer for ten minutes if I MUST check email for something, and I will plan blocks of writing time to work at the library or book store coffee shop, packing my book bag the night before.
• I will remove the following temptations: Since I can’t really get rid of the Internet, I will remove myself from it when temptation is high and work in places where there is no Internet (bedroom, porch, coffee shop, library).

It’s almost the New Year! While most of us would like to break a few bad writing habits, it probably won’t happen without taking time to think it through. Make a plan and follow your plan. This is an easy template to use.

Give yourself every chance to succeed in 2011!