Time to Write

To make more progress, make it visible

The problem with a lot of goals is that their rewards are off in the future. Sometimes it's hard to stay motivated when the prize is far off. To stay motivated, come up with a way to make your progress visible.

Charts, calendars, and other forms are very useful for this. For instance:

Do you want to get or stay fit? Keep track of when you exercise and for how long--this might be how many minutes you walk or run, how many reps you do of different weight-training exercises, and so on. For instance, when my gym closed due to the pandemic I bought a rowing machine. My goal is to use it at least five days a week, and to increase the amount of time by one minute every day until I hit 30 minutes and then up the resistance every week.

Do you want to write a novel or screenplay?  Record the number of sessions and the number of words or pages you wrote in each session and your running total.

Do you want to learn a new skill? Keep track of how many lessons you complete.

Do you want to improve a relationship? Keep track of the number of positive statements you make to the other person (compliments, thanks, etc.)--the experts say your ratio of positive to negative statements should be at least five to one.

Do you want to feel good about yourself (and maybe be more popular)? Commit to doing one act of kindness per day and keep track of them.

Make it easy to keep track

I keep my rowing chart right next to the rowing machine so it's easy to jot down the times. Whatever format you use, keep it visible and easy to access.

Review and adjust as necessary

Another benefit of recording progress is that it becomes apparent when you're not making any. Put it on your to-do list to review your progress once a week.

If your calendar or chart shows too many blanks, stop and think about what you can change in order to get better results.

For example, maybe you set out to go for a walk first thing in the morning, but that's not working. Decide on an alternative and try that. Keep looking at the results and trying new approaches until you find one that works.

Be prepared to adjust as your circumstances change. During the summer, a walk in the evening may be enjoyable; in winter you may prefer to move it from the dark evenings to early mornings.

When necessary, instead of abandoning your efforts, adjust them. If you have relatives visiting for a week, it may make sense to cut down on your writing sessions temporarily. If you have a cold, it may be a good idea to suspend your exercise sessions.  

Add some rewards

You can increase the power of measurement even more by adding small rewards to achieving short-term goals. For instance, every time you exercise 5 days out of 7, watch something you've been meaning to catch on Netflix, or have a bubble bath, or buy yourself an ebook. If you like, you can attach somewhat larger rewards to meeting your monthly targets.

Your turn. What are you going to start measuring--and achieving?

 

 

 

 

What's Your Minimum Daily Productivity Requirement?

I don't know about you, but I have days when it's just not happening. Days when I look at my to-do list and get a sinking feeling. 

Sometimes the easiest solution seems to be to forget about all of them and do some kind of displacement activity (or just go back to bed). Of course, that just adds to more stress the next day.

One method I've found helpful is to set what I call the Minimum Daily Productivity Requirement, modeled on the concept that we have minimum daily requirements for certain nutrients.

The MDPR is the minimum amount of achievement that would make you feel OK about how much you got done that day. It helps you continue to move forward rather than stopping dead. 

If you add too many tasks it won't work because it'll be almost as overwhelming as the full list.

Of course, if you stick to doing only your MDPR for too long, the undone tasks will pile up and you'll be back to feeling more pressure.

The trick is to use this is a way to get through days when your energy level is low. It helps ensure that you don't end up having a crisis of some kind and helps you stay relatively positive.

If lockdown (or just life) has been more challenging lately, give this a try and let me know whether it helps.

 

 

Should you make decisions while drunk, sober, or just after your morning coffee?

Decisions, decisions! They can be difficult any time, but is there a best time to make them?

I just read a long article in the newsletter of the Urban Monk, and the research-supported bottom line is:

1. The morning, when your energy level is highest, is the best time to make a decision.
   
   
2. Your energy depletes over the course of the day.
   
   
3. If you need to renew energy, take in some glucose--ideally in the form of fresh fruit rather than candy.

He points out that the makers of infomercials can attribute a lot of their success to the fact that people's decision-making tends to be worse at the end of the day, and probably terrible at 2am (bartenders can attest to this, too...).

THE ZOMBIE EXCEPTION

That all sounds logical, but for me, the most appealing decision first thing in the morning is to go back to sleep. I think some of us need adequate time (and in some cases, caffeine) before we're in prime decision-making mode.

THE DRUNK / SOBER EQUATION

According to Herodotus, the ancient Persians came up with a decision while drunk, then considered it again while sober. If the decision was the same both times, they implemented it; if not, they put the matter aside.

Obviously, even though it seemed to work for the ancient Persians, if handling alcohol is an issue for you, don't try this method!

My version of this is to hold off on acting on decisions I make late at night (not usually drunk!) and reconsider them in the morning.

If the two are the same, then full speed ahead.

If they're different, I'll check again in the early afternoon--that one's often a good balance of the totally rational and the emotional. Although the coldly rational decision may seem ideal, some aspects of life aren't just about logic.

Recently I used that method to decide whether or not to quit a project that I felt was heading in the wrong direction. Both my late night and early morning selves thought it was a good idea, and I sent the notice the next afternoon. So far, no regrets!

 

Lies salespeople tell (screenwriting software department)

I just saw an ad for new screenwriting software that says, “Did you know that a typo or an incorrectly formatted montage can make a script reader put your script down?”

Uh, no.

I was a script reader for a production company and I’ve known others, including one who read for Disney and another who read for 20th Century Fox. None of us put a script down because it had a typo or a minor variation in formatting a montage.

Sure, a script riddled with typos or one written by someone who clearly has never figured out how a script is formatted would be rejected. But a minor error or two in a good script wouldn’t cause it to be rejected.

A while back I read a blog post in which a writing instructor said that if your script is even one page over or under the normal range, it won’t be considered. That’s wrong, too. Again, if it’s way off—like 60 or 200 pages long—that would do it, but if it’s 94 or 121 pages long that will not be the reason for rejection.

I guess it’s in the interests of people selling software or classes to make you think that without their product or service you are doomed, but I wouldn’t spend my money on products hyped with such misinformation and scare tactics.

How to use writing to get through this tough time

Various types of writing can help us get through these tough times. Here are some things you can do:

1. Write a short story or some flash fiction to turn your frustration into a creative act. The process of doing it is more important than whether or not you share it, but you can also do the latter. For instance, if you're on social media, why share some of your flash fiction (very short stories) via your site?
   
   
2. While you're taking your daily walks or doing your exercises, use that time to brainstorm story ideas or think about the characters in your novel, short story, or screenplay. 
   
   
3. Write notes of support to your friends and family. Even just a brief "thinking of you" postcard or email can help us stay connected. You might be surprised at how much this brightens somebody's day.
   
   
4. Write a list of things you're grateful for. It's easy to focus on all the things we're missing at the moment, so take the time to balance that with the things you do have.
   
   
5. Write a list of the things that are bugging you. Divide them into two categories: the things you can't do anything about and the ones you can address with some kind of action. For instance, the national death rate isn't in your control (although of course doing the mask and social distancing thing does help); feeling stir-crazy is something you can act on by exercising, sharing your ideas via Zoom, meditating, etc.

If there's somebody in your life who might benefit from these ideas, why not share them (along with that note of support)?