Scheduling and Accountability Equals More Writing
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
While it’s not an exact equation, when it comes to writing for a living, there is a definite correlation between writing more and getting paid more. The tougher part is figuring out how to squeeze more writing out of yourself. This is where scheduling and accountability come into the situation.
For years, I followed a pattern of writing in fits and spurts. While this did sometimes lead to extraordinary burst of productivity, like 50 pages on a novel in one night, it also led to a very inconsistent income. I wasn’t happy with that inconsistency, but I stuck hard to my old routine even though I knew it wasn’t working. After all, I knew me and what worked for me better than every productivity and efficiency expert that ever put pen to paper. Right…sure I did.
So not too long back, I wised up a shred. I decided that I was going to try an experiment. Instead of writing willy-nilly, I would impose order on chaos. I would take some of those suggestions I’d read about and, when I’m honest, written about and commended to others….oh hypocrisy, thy name is Eric…and put them into action.
The first thing I did was impose a schedule for doing paying work. I would do paying work during the work week, Monday – Friday, and I would do it during more or less regular work hours. I would set daily and weekly earning goals. I also set writing goals for my personal projects.
What happened next surprised me, but it shouldn’t have. My productivity increased. The first week or two, I was still struggling against the changes and didn’t meet all of my earning goals, but I was making money way more consistently than ever before. More importantly, I was also being way more productive on my novel. Instead of thinking I could maybe, possibly, somehow get it written by the end of January, I was suddenly on track to finish by Christmas. The scheduling and goal setting was working.
The big change, however, was in terms of accountability. This happened for me by chance, but I suggest you impose it by design. I’d looped a friend of mine in on most of these changes and she began to act as both an accountability buddy and as a cheerleader. Once that happened, not only was I writing when I was supposed to be writing, but also writing more to meet my goals. That novel I was hoping to finish by Christmas is now on track to be finished by the first week of December.
I can’t really express the turnaround in my quality of life. My negative self-talk dropped off by something like 90%. I’ve finally started being able to take active control of my finances. I’m sleeping on regular schedule and sleeping better. Maybe, most importantly, my stress level has nosedived. If you’ve struggled with these same issues, learn from my mistakes. Embrace scheduling and encourage accountability. It can change your life.
