For over a year, I’ve been dealing with three difficult circumstances that impacted everything, causing one downward spiral after another. Since I tend to handle things privately, I disappeared from social media. But this fall, I felt the urge to get back to thriving instead of simply surviving. Easy to say, but hard to do! […]
writing habits
Stop Adding, and Try Subtracting!
I woke up feeling sick today, and it is my own fault. I ate both gluten and sugar yesterday, and a lot of it, which is a no-no if I want to feel well. My writing to-do list was daunting, and while I wanted to make great strides ahead today, I just didn’t have the […]
Want a 40% Increase in Your Writing Energy NOW?
Lately, I’ve been short on energy, even when I had enough time to write. Like most “modern” writers, I take short (unproductive, but frequent) breaks to check email or social media posts. In a word, I multitask. Multitasking: the Energy Drain Yes, I’d heard that multitasking was bad, but I figured I must be the […]
Find Your Focus: Stick to the ONE Thing
“Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there.” ~Josh Billings This quote comes from a book I love called The ONE Thing: the Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller. As I mentioned last week, after a number of back-to-back setbacks, I needed to relaunch my writing habits. […]
Uncluttered Office Equals Focused Mind
Are you ever overwhelmed by clutter (even good clutter)? This will be primarily a photo sharing blog post—and you can skip to the last half of the post if you want to—but I want to share what prompted my office decluttering project. I have a small 10-foot X 10-foot office which holds a treadmill/desk, a […]
Blasting Off: Reclaiming a Daily Writing Habit
I launched my writing rocket 35 years ago. With a daily writing habit, it took off and kept my career orbiting, despite getting off-course sometimes and necessitating a re-calculation. In theory, a re-launch would never be required. But the last couple of years have wreaked havoc with my writing routine. Breaking my left wrist in […]
Borrowing Habits
Back in college, I had a friend who lamented, “If only I could run on my stomach!” She loved to run, never missed a day, and had thighs of steel. She also loved to eat, never missed a snack, and had a stomach like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. If only she could apply her running […]
Writing á la Pavlov
In previous weeks I’ve shared why I went AWOL for months, the need to rest, reflect and realign, how to re-figure your writing output, and how to avoid burnout in the first place. What if you’re ready to write again? You may not have hours every day to write, or you may have tight deadlines. […]
Not Enough Willpower to Reach Your Goals? Make Mini Habits!
“Focus on the process and you’ll be able to change your circumstances.” (Stephen Guise, author of Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results) [While writing in England, I am re-posting favorite articles from the past. This one from four years ago still helps me today!] One lesson I learned on my sabbatical was that my goals and […]
Talent, Passion, and Discipline: a Balancing Act
As a writer, don’t ever underestimate the power of self-discipline. Talent, passion, and discipline are needed—but the greatest of these is discipline. Best-selling author Elizabeth George speaks to this point on the first day she faces her students in her creative writing classes. Study this quote from her book, Write Away—and read through to the zinger […]