IWSG: From Eggbeater to Writing Focus

I'm feeling a little like I'm caught in an egg beater these days. Each week, I set goals and struggle to stay current. My volunteer projects keep growing. Despite getting up early, my writing time gets pushed to the side of my rather crowded desk. And so I circle around, wondering how I can make progress at all on my writing.

And then I opened this week's e-mail from Lorna Faith to find her blog post, "3 Enemies of Productivity for Writers." 

Alas, all three 'enemies' rang true for me, but Lorna offers strategies to face down each challenge:

1) Minimize uncertainty about what comes next by ending each writing session with a short note to yourself about what you will work on in your next writing session. This could be research, drafting back story, or writing dialogue, or tightening the plot. Creating a focus makes it easier to slide into work mode.

2) Sidestep procrastination by changing your inner dialogue. Instead of saying, “I only have 30 minutes, so I can’t do any real writing now.” Say: “I have 30 minutes. What can I get done?”

3) Avoid being overwhelmed by breaking a large (and intimidating!) task into smaller steps. This classic project management strategy is always helpful -- when I remember to use it.

And so I thank the Insecure Writer's Support Group that asks participating writers to talk about what they find most challenging about their writing this month. Tomorrow morning, I will begin again.

Afternoon walk (October 2016)