Boy, writing should be easy. You stare at the silly blinking cursor and your mind goes numb and all you want to do is give up. I get it, one thing that keeps us from writing is the evil writer’s block, or is it?
Think back to the last time you actually sat down to write something significant, like a book, only to find that a year goes by and that book is still sitting in the idea drawer of your computer. Maybe you’ve written a few chapters, but it’s mainly an unfinished work-in-progress that haunts you in your sleep.
Most writers will tell you that you’re struggling with writer’s block. I want to be your best friend and tell you that what you’re actually suffering from is procrastination and time management issues.
See, I really am your best friend!
When I started writing, I suffered from getting my work written. The keyboard remained stagnant and my words never filled the page. It’s not that I struggled with what to write, I struggled with finding the time I needed to actually sit down for a few minutes a day and write something, anything.
I want to give you a simple tool you can take and put into practice today to accomplish your writing goals and actually get that book written and into the world for everyone to enjoy.
It’s about taking the initiative and setting a goal.
We’re approaching the end of 2018 and that means we have a question that needs answering; what are you willing to do to see your book completed next year?
It’s an easy question on the surface, but working out the details can either be something most dread. I’m talking about doing something more than setting a New Year’s Resolution. The average resolution fails within the first 14-days of the new year. We can’t even get out of January before the giving up.
If you want to see your dream of writing that book (or next book) fulfilled, it takes setting a realistic goal of making that happen. It takes initiative and a tenacity to push through the days you don’t feel like writing. But it takes a daily commitment to see your goal through.
Set an appointment with yourself.
It’s one thing to try and take the time each day to write, but it’s another to have a standing relationship with your daily calendar. I know, I know, it seems so simple, yet it’s so difficult at times to become faithful with setting a standing appointment with yourself.
Years ago, I had a daily paper calendar. One I loved. I took the thing everywhere. Just ask those I went to college with and they’ll tell you I was the only one they knew who had both a digital Palm Pilot and a Day Planner. I was relentless and I scheduled time for the things that I considered important.
Fast forward to my current job, at Life Church, I would have our Office Admin order a fresh DAy Planner for my use. It helped keep me accountable and helped keep me organized. The problem, once the Android phone came out, I stopped using a paper planner until 6-months ago.
I would fail at doing my job effectively because other things would come up and invade my precious time. You see, we all have the same 168 hours a week and how we utilize and plan out those hours can determine our success.
If you want to succeed, take out your calendar, I suggest a paper one and write down when, each day, you want to write and hold yourself to that appointment. Nothing else gets scheduled or done during that time.
Do not stop!
The ancient philosopher, Confucius wrote this; “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop!” I consider those wise words to live each day by. When we take the time to be pertinacious about our time, we can move mountains and write that next Great American Novel.
Take affirmative action in your daily steps. To do this, I use a daily planner called This is my Era. This planner has changed my life. Not only do I set my yearly and quarterly goals, but it also helps me establish my weekly goals and daily priorities. I have a spot to make sure I write down each day my writing time.
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a blog post, your next book, or even some copy for a client, take the time to write. Jack Canfield said it best, “Don’t worry about failures; worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.
l want you to make me a promise. Can you do that? I want you to promise that for the next 90 days, you’ll be intentional about writing on a daily basis. I encourage you to write 7-days a week. And if you can, write for an hour each day. Not a lot of commitment, and it’s totally doable.
What are you waiting for? Stop reading this, schedule time on your calendar each day, and go write.
Right now!
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