I practiced something in November, December, January, February, and
March that I have not bothered with at all through April and May, and I feel that this is
largely the difference in productivity in the first five months,
and the lack of productivity in the last two months.
The difference is not the
goals that I set, but how I've managed those goals. In other words,
the goals are the same, but I've stopped making daily, specific to-do lists,
have stopped biting off little chunks of each goal, and have settled
for a more abstract direction.
It was “Do ABC for
XYZ.”
Then it became only “Do XYZ.”
Without the specific goals (the
ABC), I have had trouble understanding exactly what I need to do each
day, and more often than not, I've done nothing.
Having future goals as
opposed to present goals is important, but future goals are usually going to be more abstract. “Finish your novel” is not very
concrete, whereas “Rewrite chapter 1 on Monday” feels specific
and tangible. I can bite into it!
For the last two months I've
only had the goal of getting a few stories and a few nonfiction books
done. The deadline was by the end of this year. Very vague, of course. And as a result, I've managed to write
one rough draft of one of the nonfiction books, and rewrite one short
story, woeful production compared to what I was grinding out in
December and January.
In the first five months I managed to publish a
novel, two short stories, posted blog posts regularly at three a week,
and market all of that.
I at first thought this was
due to the hangover of editing and publishing my first novel. But
then something happened on Sunday. While meditating, I had ideas for several blog posts. I wrote them down in the
form of a to-do list, and later that evening I wrote the rough drafts
of those ideas, and managed to complete one other task besides.
Voila! I suddenly had one of
the most successful and productive days in weeks, no longer
struggling to figure out what to do. I had my work cut out for me,
and with clear direction, I found the work easier.
The same happens when I
write rough drafts or work on rewrites. If I have an outline to go by, some direction,
I'm a much faster writer. I can
then manage 5,000 words a day, sometimes even 10,000 words. Without a detailed outline, I can cover just 1,000 or 2,000 words in any given
day.
This is a perfect example of
my output for five months compared to the two. November through March
were each “5,000 words a day” months. April and May have been “1,000
words a day” months. That's a 5:1 ratio. I was five times more productive
then than I am now. Shocking!
And all because I was
keeping specific goals. Hard to
believe I can reach my destination faster with a map than without
one, right?
Posts
It's much easier to get things done when you break it down into smaller manageable goals. Glad you got a lot done and hope you continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what I've found to be true in my own writing and editing. The year of writing a daily devotional gave me such focus and drive - I was on a schedule! When I dropped to being committed to only two a week, I actually went through what I called my "mourning period" - missing my routine and unable to pluck up the energy to begin editing my novel.
ReplyDeleteGlad to share that sad time has passed, and I am on my editing schedule. It's working!
By the way, if you haven't already, you can go to my new fb page, The Glade, which will track the progress of my novel from editing to publication.
Blessings, J.R., and thanks for a wonderful post!
You said it well!! That is exactly what I do. Daily specific to do list, that are steps to reach my future goal
ReplyDeleteCouldn't have said it better. I try to keep my goals as specific as they can be. Might need a little bit more thinking but it points me exactly to where I want to go or what to achieve.
ReplyDelete