So the Groundhog didn’t see his shadow. We’re in for an early spring. Do you have a plan in place to combat the lure of pretty spring days so you get your words in?
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Tag Archives: Round 1
Set A Goal You Can’t Miss by Jennette Marie Powell
It’s a new year. A new start. One you undoubtedly entered thinking “this time, I’m not going to slack. This time, I’m going to meet my ROW80 goals, every one of them, every week. This time for sure!”
Only to find that once you get into it, it’s not so easily done as said. Maybe your enthusiasm has waned, like it inevitably does for three-fourths of those New Year’s resolution-makers you saw at the gym the first week of January, but who’ve stopped showing up by February.
Or maybe you’re just setting your goals too high. Maybe you’ve forgotten some other commitment you made this week that will take time (I’m guilty of this on a regular basis). Or maybe you’ve encountered the inevitable monkey wrench in the form of needing to work late, a kid needing extra help with homework, or illness. I’ve seen a lot of this with NaNoWriMo, that one-size-fits-all writing challenge that’s anything but. Of course, we hear of other people besides writers having to-do lists and goals they can’t possibly accomplish in the time allotted.
We never think our goals were unreasonable when we initially set them, yet for so many of us, it seems like we never get through as much as we want.
Sound like you? Maybe it’s time to try a different tactic. This is what I call the Writers’ Boot Camp way. It need not just apply to writing; it will work for fitness or any other big task.
Writers’ Boot Camp is a workshop taught by author and former Army Ranger Todd Stone, which I had the opportunity to attend a couple years ago when he presented it to my RWA chapter. If you have the chance to take it, do! He may even show up to teach the workshop in a camouflage kilt (he did for ours! J).
Anyway, he started out the workshop talking about goals. Usually, we’re encouraged to set goals that are attainable, but not necessarily easily. Stone takes the opposite approach: he suggests setting a goal so low, you can’t help but make it! Here were the examples he gave:
“Can you write a page a day? If you’re not sure, how about a paragraph? Or even a sentence???”
Yes, that small. Thing is, we usually are able to go much further – so we get more done, AND we have that sense of accomplishment in saying “Yes! I met my goal!”
This could easily be applied to decluttering, getting your house in order, or working on a big project of another sort. And yes, fitness too, since many of us regularly set fitness goals. Don’t think you can hack a half hour on the treadmill? Just get on, and shoot for five minutes. Chances are, you’ll end up doing much more, if not the full workout!
So if you’ve had trouble meeting your ROW80 goals, try setting smaller ones this week—small enough that you know you can’t not meet them. Write five pages. Write one page. Write just one sentence. Or heck, just open the file!
How are you doing on your goals, whatever they may be? Have you ever tried this tactic? How did it work for you?
~*~
Superbowl Sunday #ROW80 Check-In
Into a new month and one of the biggest party days of the year. I know you’ve worked out how you’re going to get your words in before you start noshing and rating all the new commercials…
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Midweek #ROW80 Check-in
We’re at the end of the first month of Round 1. 2013 is getting into full swing. How is your year going?
And because we all need a little pep talk…
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When Everything Else Deserts You, You Still Have Your Will Power by Buffy Greentree
So, you have set up some amazing goals and carefully listened to Kait’s advice to make them sustainable and measurable. Perhaps for the first week, maybe longer, maybe not so long, you found you were going well. You were excited about what you were writing and what you were achieving and everything seemed to be going swimmingly. Ah, how well we all know that feeling. Like starting a new exercise program, or diet, or even trying to become a domestic goddess. However, we also all know that it fades much sooner than you think it should. Sometimes within a day or two your motivation is gone, and then what are you left with?
So, today I’m not going to sugar coat things for you, not going tell you that everything can always be sunshine and puppies. Instead, I’m going to deal with the nitty gritty of writing, what you are left with after enthusiasm has walked out on you: Will Power. When motivation and inspiration abandon you, and no matter how much tempting and teasing you do they won’t come back, all you have left is plain old will power. So you had better treat it right.
But, you cry, my will power deserts me as well! I have accidentally breathed in a whole block of chocolate and mainlined five episodes of Glee instead of writing!
Well, that’s easy to fix.
Will power doesn’t need tempting or teasing, but it does need some common sense steps on your part to make the most of it. Follow these guidelines and you will find your ability to just sit down and write increase to the point where you might even think you have your motivation back.
There are three things that drain away will power faster than anything else: Hunger, Stress and Sleep Deprivation.
Remember how your mother told you never to go shopping when you’re hungry? Why? Because you have no will power when you are hungry and will say yes to everything that takes your fancy. Yes, it is stronger with food, but trying to make yourself do anything when you are hungry is an uphill battle. Therefore, save yourself the angst and make sure you have eaten something filling and nutritious before sitting down to write.
Second is stress. Have you ever had to apologize for snapping at someone with the excuse, ‘I’m sorry, I’m just a bit stressed at the moment?’ Long-term stress kills will power. Therefore, if you want to be an effective writer then you need to look at all the different stresses in your life and see which ones you can reduce. Throw in a bit of time for meditation and relaxation, a few good, deep breaths, and you will find that reaching your goals is a whole lot easier.
The final one is sleep deprivation. By now we should all know that it is bad for us not to get enough sleep. Your body becomes cantankerous, your concentration goes, you put on weight and crave bizarre things, and can’t say no to chocolate if your life depended on it. Then of course it is also going to be affecting your ability to write. If you do manage to resist the temptation just to flop in front of the TV, you will find your mind wanders from your writing, and sometimes leaves completely.
Therefore, do all your other goals a favor and add these three into the mix: I will eat a banana (or healthy food of choice) before starting to write. I will take 10 minutes a day to practice relaxation and meditation, and I will go to bed early every week night.
After that there are more things you can do to increase your will power, such as temptation proofing your life, but get these three under control, and you will be making leaps and bounds in your goal achievement.
Good luck!
~*~
Sunday Check-In
Well, my January hasn’t gone quite as I expected, so I’m revising goals. And that’s fine. That’s what we’re all about here at ROW80. Have you hit a snag and had to revise? Let us know in your check in post!
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Midweek Check-in Late
Whoops. Been dealing with a roofer and insurance adjustor (3 weeks of torrential rain did nothing good for my house) and totally lost track of the day.
So how are YOU doing?
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Escaping Mental Quicksand by Cate Russell-Cole
Have you ever had a writing idea that just won’t come together, or a goal you want to achieve but can’t bring yourself to act on just yet? It could be a book you only manage to half write, an experimental change of genre in your writing or some opportunity which is outside your current experience. You may find yourself stalling. Or you may be frustrated when you start to work on that project, but it just seems to keep falling apart or halting, and you’re not sure why.
Is it because it’s just not your area? Do you have writer’s block? Are you being lazy? Are you a failure? Is it fear holding you back? It could be some of those things, or it could be that all the resources you need are just not in place yet. Perhaps it is a waiting game that will get you there if you’re patient.
There is a theory in psychology called the ”time of readiness,” which states that unless a child has reached a point in their physical development where they can try a new skill, such as crawling or walking, no amount of of pushing or imposed practice will get them there. They just won’t get it! There are some things in life you just can’t rush. Any kind of growth takes it’s own time.
I believe that the same principle works in a similar way in many areas of our lives as we continue to challenge ourselves to achieve in new areas. Personal growth is the key, whether that growth is of a mental, emotional, physical or spiritual nature.
We are often not able to make certain forward jumps until something clicks in our hearts and heads. Of course, the underlying problem may actually be writer’s block generated by feeling unsure or fearful that is holding you back. Even so, perhaps there will soon be an optimum time where you can overcome that hurdle. Just as long as you aren’t using fear as an excuse and you are actively working on trying to advance.
Action is the key. If you’re not working towards your goal in some way, then time of readiness is probably not the answer.
Good luck and don’t forget to enjoy the journey.
~*~
Sunday Check-In
Two weeks down. Are you building some momentum? Chugga chugga…
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Midweek Check-In
We’re in to our second week of Round 1. Are you finding your rhythm yet? Let us know in your check in post!
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