Getting “Serious” About Writing

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I have a nerdy confession to make: since the day I started working, Saturday October 29, 2005, I have written down an account of my work day. That’s how I know the exact day, and time, I started my very first job.

The logs in all their glory.

Since I was little my dad has done this too, in order to keep a record of things he might need to later recall. It seemed like a smart idea, so I devoted a red coil bound notebook to it, one I still have. It’s been eleven years (how did that happen!?!), and the notebook was small, and I’ve worked many jobs since, so I am currently in the first quarter of volume V of my Work Log.

As I’ve grown older I’ve found a certain catharsis involved with extolling my day. Most, if not all, of my jobs have involved human interaction –something I’m not superb at and that I find exhausting– so writing about the events that upset my equilibrium helps me let it go.

Basically, it’s journaling. I have an account of what I did every day in school via class notes, so why not cover what happened at work? I’ve even written about upsetting events in my life outside of work in either a journal or agenda. It’s all about having a timeline and working through my problems.

Anyway, I have a point related to writing. I decided in early January that it makes absolutely no sense that I don’t do this for writing. I approach the craft as my second job, I’m devoted to it, so why don’t I treat it as such? Thus, the Writing Output Log was born, and commenced on Saturday January 23, 2016.

 

My intention is to track the time I spend writing and working on blogs, my productivity, and word output. My big picture hope is to see how I maximize the time I allot to writing-related activities. With proper data, I can better manage myself down the road.

I’m really excited about this! Finding any means to make myself feel serious about writing as a profession is a big step for me. It’s part of the mental battle. Plus I can’t wait to start trying to improve my numbers.

What steps have you taken to get serious about your writing?

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