Instead, I learned once again that working on more than one project (at least for this week) leads me to circle around as if I'm not quite ready to work on anything at all.
I am thrilled at the level of revision this week, though, on Rivers of Stone. My main character, Catriona, is getting a makeover!
GOALS LAST WEEK (Blue = progress. Green = some progress. Red = no progress):
--Writing: Minimum 3 hours on RIVERS OF STONE. Wrote/revised Chapters 1-5 on 5/7 days and added 1,227 words. Minimum 1,000 words on NOVELLA. No progress. Did read some in Sally Mitchell’s wonderfully rich book, Daily Life in Victorian England.
-- Blogging: Posted Weds in Writing Blog for IWSG. ROW80 Weds and Sunday. Did not post this week. Read other writers x6. --Read a book by an indie writer and review. Read 2 others for fun. Read 5 books this week/no review.
--Marketing: Continue organizing marketing materials into a REAL PLAN. No progress.
--Other: Finished 2 comfort quilts. Exercise 5/7/days? Walked 3x this week.
GOALS LAST WEEK (Blue = progress. Green = some progress. Red = no progress):
--Writing: Minimum 3 hours on RIVERS OF STONE. Wrote/revised Chapters 1-5 on 5/7 days and added 1,227 words. Minimum 1,000 words on NOVELLA. No progress. Did read some in Sally Mitchell’s wonderfully rich book, Daily Life in Victorian England.
-- Blogging: Posted Weds in Writing Blog for IWSG. ROW80 Weds and Sunday. Did not post this week. Read other writers x6. --Read a book by an indie writer and review. Read 2 others for fun. Read 5 books this week/no review.
--Marketing: Continue organizing marketing materials into a REAL PLAN. No progress.
--Other: Finished 2 comfort quilts. Exercise 5/7/days? Walked 3x this week.
Now, how can I improve my productivity across the range of my goals?
Found this interesting article, "Habits vs. Goals: A Look at the Benefits of a Systematic Approach to Life," from Shane Parrish's weekly e-newsletter. Well worth a read.
My habit has been to start writing immediately on getting up in the morning, but since June 1, I've been worrying. Which project do I work on? Do I really know how to edit Rivers of Stone? How can I work on that novella if I haven't enough research? So those precious morning hours have flown by as I dither and delay.
This article reminded me of the value of habits I already have -- and to start small on goals/action steps. So for the coming week:
GOALS for this week:
--Writing: Revise 3 more chapters for Rivers of Stone. Read 3 chapters in Sally Mitchell’s Daily Life in Victorian England. Write 500 words for NOVELLA.
-- Blogging: Post in Writing blog x1 and ROW80 blog x2. Read other writers x6.
--Reading: Read 3 books this week. Review 1 book by an indie writer.
--Marketing: Move research material into my marketing plan. Identify ONE action step for this week.
--Other: Work on promo for Spokane Authors. Complete another comfort quilt. Exercise 5/7/days.
--Writing: Revise 3 more chapters for Rivers of Stone. Read 3 chapters in Sally Mitchell’s Daily Life in Victorian England. Write 500 words for NOVELLA.
-- Blogging: Post in Writing blog x1 and ROW80 blog x2. Read other writers x6.
--Reading: Read 3 books this week. Review 1 book by an indie writer.
--Marketing: Move research material into my marketing plan. Identify ONE action step for this week.
--Other: Work on promo for Spokane Authors. Complete another comfort quilt. Exercise 5/7/days.
I would be the last one to offer advice on how to achieve your goals, but I would the first one to say that it's okay to dither around once in a while. Eventually ya figure out what works for ya. And even if you didn't make as much progress as you had hoped, you still have momentum.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm most jealous that you finished two sewing projects. All of my sewing projects beg me to gather them into my arms and taking them to the sewing machine, but alas, that's not going to be happening. Instead, though, I brought a bagful of alterations home from my daughter's today. She just rolled her eyes at me!
Have a great week, Beth!
good job on the progress on revisions. And good luck on figuring out what works best for you.
ReplyDelete