goals

Doing Things Lovingly

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Life has its ups and downs.  Many times we run through life at fast speeds in our effort to get things done.  After all, it is a society of doers, of achievers, and doing the opposite would attract some frowns and judging, right?  Doing is good, but sometimes, our doing becomes robotic, lifeless, dutiful, and boring.  We don’t enjoy the things we once did because they have turned into stale routine.  We go through life as “zombie doers” without realizing that the magic has left our hands, and our hearts wish for excitement in our endeavors.  However, maybe the magic is still there, and what happens is that we have stopped doing things lovingly.

Doing things with love and passion is in every one of us.  It is up to us to enjoy each moment and dedicate attention to the task at hand – no matter how menial it seems to be.  Washing dishes by hand can be transforming when you start feeling the soapy water, the fruity floral scent of the dishwashing liquid, and hear the squeaky sound of a clean dish.  Somehow, this menial task becomes alive, engaging all your senses.

This is what doing things lovingly means – to enjoy the task at the moment, or to pay full attention to it, to be mindful for the duration of it, and to be thankful that you can do.

Writer’s Wisdom 100

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Are your challenges for writing excuses?

Here it is the 100 post of the Writer’s Wisdom series.  It has been my joy to write them and I hope that you have enjoyed them too.  I chose this topic for this post because we make hundreds of excuses about our writing.  Sometimes, we disguise them and call them challenges.  We all have real challenges, however when we use excuses as challenges, we hurt ourselves and our work.  This applies to writing, but also, to everything in our lives.

Are we using our dated computer as an excuse?  Our lack of control over the assignments we take?  The book that won’t write itself because the Muse seems to be on strike?  Or maybe it is the neighbor that plays loud music and does not let you focus? – (earplugs do exist).

Whatever our challenges are, we should look at them as opportunities to grow in our craft and not as excuses.  Whatever our excuses are, we should not dress them in “challenge attire,” but face them instead.

Everyone has challenges, every one of us makes excuses at one point in our lives; it is what we do with them that will hinder or promote our growth.

Happy Writing!

Writer’s Wisdom 97

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Using work to procrastinate – Procrastination can keep you busy.

Yesterday, I wrote about being scared of success and the many ways in which we avoid change in our lives, even at the cost of our own success.  Today I want to add to the topic.  Procrastination is a way in which we can avoid change or sabotage our success.  While many may think that procrastination is more related to lack of doing or putting things off, this is only a part of it.  You can use work to procrastinate and procrastination can keep you busy.

It may seem a contradiction, but it is just different sides of the same coin.  You can use tons of chores, projects, activities, and keep yourself busy in other assignments to avoid change.  All of this is a form of procrastination, as the busier you keep yourself with other projects, you will not have to face the one that may change your present situation.

Procrastination in the shape of work is a soft and hidden form of self-sabotage and one that we should be aware of as it can trick us into believing that we are working hard towards our success when the opposite is true – we are working hard to avoid change/success.

Writer’s Wisdom 96

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Scared of Success

Are you scared of success?  Do you find tons of “important” things to do before writing that story or editing that final draft?  Do you come up with new projects to delay success? 

Many people have done this one time or another.  After all, success means changing the status quo and inviting change in our lives.  Change, even if it is good, can be challenging and scary for many people.  Anything that takes us away from our daily routine, even for a small amount of time, disrupts our sense of security, and puts us in a state of watch.  If we perceive that the change may be a big one, we may do things – without even realizing it – to delay change or avoid it, including delaying our success.

Today, think about this (just as I have) – are you doing something to delay success in your life?

Writer’s Wisdom 76

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Juggling Act

When you write for a living, you will probably cram your schedule with as much writing as you can, and many projects at once – some short-term, others, long-term assignments.  A lot of time can be spent in projects that do not generate enough income.  Learning to decide which projects to put aside and which ones to pick up is not as easy as it seems.

While a project may give you instant rewards, another will reward you much more in the long run.  Also, you may have to put aside your favorite project to handle a more profitable one.  Or you might have to cut a project to a few days a month, if that project is not generating what you want – and sometimes, cut it altogether.

This is why writing for a living is like a juggling or balancing act – you have to be balancing projects and deciding which ones to give a priority, which ones fit your needs at the moment, and which one to drop or revisit later.  Timing is also important, as a project that may have seem profitable initially, may not be, if you are spending more time in it than you originally planned.

Writer’s Wisdom 53

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Writing your New Year

The New Year is here, and for some of us, quicker than we thought, or at least that is the way it feels.  Going back and reviewing our goals, and discovering that we did not finish that novel, or edited that manuscript, or sent those queries, tempt us to start 2010, feeling a bit  incomplete or disorganized.

Well, let’s not duel on the past.  Instead, let’s focus on our writing in the present – everyday.  It is great to have big writing goals for this year; but unless we focus on our writing a bit each day, the year will continue to pass by, and our writing time, well, not as productive as we planned.

Forget about all the articles that you did not write, or the chapters …  Start a blank page and make each day a writing day.

Writer’s Wisdom 50

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 Tracing your path to success

What is a successful writer?  How do your define your own success as a writer?  Do you have to compare yourself to other writers?  Do you measure your success against Best-selling authors?  These questions will make you ponder about what you truly think of yourself as a writer.  Sometimes, it is a subject that we avoid, and a mirror that we cover because we don’t want to see our own reflection.

The measure of success is different for everyone.  It could be as simple as going throughout the day and being able to write a chapter or a few pages of that novel that you have inside – you did it!  Or it could be the first contract that you land as a freelance writer – your first paid project.  Or maybe, your book is getting published!

Whatever it is for you, success doesn’t happen without effort.  Best selling author Dan Brown sits to write in his office at 4:00 am.  In an interview with Borders, he said that he sits down to write “the best book he can possibly write, whether it is for one reader or millions.”  That is the attitude with which we should approach our writing. 

Mapping our success as writers, should include more than projects, and future goals, it should include the now, the approach and effort that we put every day.  Is the material that we put out there in writing sites for everyone to see, free of errors (to the best of our ability)?  Have I revealed too much from my private life and affairs?  Will it hurt me in the future or will it help my writing?  Every step that you take as a writer, will either help or hinder your future development. 

So, let’s approach our craft with a similar attitude to how Dan Brown approaches his writing – repeat with me:  “whether it is for one reader or millions, I will produce the best work I am capable of at this moment.”

Happy Writing!

Writer’s Wisdom 30

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Writing for the Long Run

A writer’s road is long, and sometimes, full of many obstacles and rejections.  For the love of writing, you are willing to submit yourself to the long lonely hours, the cash shortage, the many trials, the not so glamorous life, and for some, carpal tunnel syndrome.

A true writer realizes that he/she is in it for the long run.  Writing is not for the impatient soul, or those who long for the quick and easy buck.  Writing takes much trial and error, a lot of editing and learning, taking criticism (and surviving your ego) – a lot of work and dedication.

In your obsession for the written word (and its long awaited rewards), you forego many things and luxuries, and money becomes a long lost goal – secondary to being published.  The writer becomes like the starving artist – hypnotized by the craft.

But suddenly he/she realizes that the path becomes sweeter, with each written piece – eternal bliss.

Writer’s Wisdom 27

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Writer’s Time Management and Discipline

If you write for a living,  you know how important it is to keep a schedule.  No matter how you get paid:  by the contract, assignments, upfront, or any other method, time truly becomes money.  As a freelancer, you know that if you don’t put the time, you don’t get the dough.  Any minute wasted is a penny wasted, or a contract.

It is very tempting to wake up late, lolling, have a late breakfast and watch a little TV, turning on your PC and checking out your social networking sites, going into forums, and surfing the net – you get the idea.  By the time you are done playing, you feel the need to check your email again, and again; suddenly realizing that it is time for lunch.  Time flies, you think to yourself (I’m no saint here either).  It is mid afternoon and you are staring at a piece of blank paper or at a blank screen.  You end up feeling guilty, and there goes your inspiration.

If you are serious about earning money while freelancing, then the above picture tells you why it is so important to keep a schedule.  When I started working out of my home, I made up a sign that read:  Working hours from 8-6, please come back later, after 6.00 pm, except for UPS, USPS, Fed EX, and other deliveries.  Thank you.  For me, it was necessary to do this.  I woke up early, got dressed like I was going to a full-time outside job, and kept a working schedule.  That is what works for me.  You have to find your own system, and follow it.

If you listen to some interviews of Best Selling Authors, they mention that they keep a schedule, rise early, and writing is first on the to do list.  Learning to manage your priorities as a freelance writer is of the essence.

Once you become disciplined at this –  and I think this is the hard part – your workday will flow, and you won’t waste precious generating income time.  Also, family members and friends, should be made aware that just because you happen to be home, it does not mean that they can drop by at any time.  This you have to do very subtle, because feelings can be hurt easily.

Sometimes, signs are better than spoken words.