Welcome to Ask O Wednesdays. Ocieanna here. Last week I posted part one of my answer to: How do you do it all and still have time to write. Here’s part two.
1. Focus People! I recently heard someone say that many of the great sports achievers have one thing in common. They possess an incredible ability to focus. A great runner plans his life around his daily training plan. Olympic swimmers don’t lose hours they should be in the pool by playing Xbox. Do you have a daily “training” goal? What keeps you from it? I’m easily pulled away from my daily goals by websites, blogs, and e-mail. However when I proactively keep those distractions to appointed times (not cutting them out altogether, just limiting them) it's much easier to focus and my productivity shoots through the roof.
2. In between times. A recent post by my friend Tricia Goyer reminded me of the value of writing in little bits throughout the day. I keep a notebook with me to jot down thoughts and even whole blog posts. I wrote a children's article on popcorn the other day while waiting for my kids to eat lunch at the park, and I started the chapter summaries for my next book proposal while waiting in the car. It's fun! (Here’s Tricia’s article)
3. Rest. Refill. Rejoice. I can’t stress how important this is. You don’t want to work so hard that you’re miserable. Writing is not as important as your health. Finishing your chapter hardly compares to an evening walk with the family God blessed you with. Reaching a goal means nothing if you’re too grumpy from working to rejoice in the gift of life. Believe me. I know.
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Be sure to leave a message here or on my website with your writing questions. I’d love to answer them…if I can. Maybe you could stump me!
