Wednesday Writing Workout: 30-Day Boost Your Productivity Challenge

In my last post, I discussed three software tools that help me be more productive and focused. In today's Wednesday Writing Workout, I'm going to suggest you take a look at your work habits and see how you can do the same. I'll also invite you to join me in a "30-Day Boost Your Productivity Challenge." And I promise--no special software required!

First, I'd like to share a bit of background information about goal-setting and habit formation. If you're not interested, or don't have time to read that, feel free to scroll down to the Wednesday Writing Workout.

At the start of a New Year, many of us set ambitious goals and resolutions for various aspects of our lives, including our writing. Unfortunately, by the end of January, we've often let those goals fall by the wayside.

When this happens to me, it's usually because:
a. I didn't write down and track my goals,
b. my goals were too ambitious,
c. my goals weren't specific enough,
d. my goals weren't easily measurable and/or
e. I didn't reward myself for sticking to them.

Recently, I read about the importance of creating goals that are SMART, an acronym for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused, and Time-bound. For more on SMART goals, see this website, which includes sample worksheets for setting SMART goals. (Note: I haven't downloaded their worksheets or have any relationship with the company.) Below, I share examples of some SMART goals for writers.

For me, though, SMART goals alone don't always provide enough motivation, especially when
I'm working on a long-term project, such as writing or revising an entire novel. I've found I also need some sort of reward.

In The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (Random House), Charles Duhigg explains that habits, both good and bad, consist of a three-part loop: Cue, Routine, and Reward. Some habits are so ingrained, we aren't even conscious of the reward. However, with some thought and experimentation, we can not only break bad habits but also create new, healthy, ones. In this excerpt from his book, Duhigg talks about the habit loop and how we can change it. 

I'd discovered my own need for rewards even before reading Duhigg's book. I'd also found that for big projects, it helps to set mini-rewards along the way, and not just a big reward at the end, as explained in this Huffington Post piece. The mini-rewards may be as small as literally giving myself a gold star on a calendar that I use to track my achievements. And that brings me to today's Wednesday Writing Workout: 

Wednesday Writing Workout:
30-Day Boost Your Productivity Challenge

Today's Wednesday Writing Workout consists of three parts:

1. Identify ONE (and only one) SMART goal that will help boost your writing productivity, and appropriate reward(s) for success. 

Some goal possibilities:

• Get up 15 minutes earlier than usual, 6 days/week, and use that time only for writing.
• Write at least 500 (or 250 or 100) words per day on your work-in-progress, 5 days/week.
• Reduce time spent on social media by 30 (or 20 or 10) minutes per day, and use the saved time for writing.   

(For more examples of SMART goals for writers, see this blog post. )

2. Track your progress on a regular basis.  

Since one of the keys is that your goal be Measurable, it shouldn't be difficult to track your progress. This could be as simple as keeping a handwritten log where you note that day's results. Or maybe a calendar where you give yourself a gold star on every day you're successful. Or, if you like the idea of using software to track your performance and provide statistics and reminders, you can try one of the apps I mentioned in Friday's post. Whatever way you decide to track your results, make sure it's simple and easy, and maybe even fun. Otherwise, you're unlikely to stick with it.

3. Find someone you can be accountable to and report your progress to that person regularly. Better still, announce your commitment in public and get the support of a whole community!

Charles Duhigg says in The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (Random House)

"The evidence is clear: If you want to change a habit . . . your odds of success go up dramatically when you commit to changing as part of a group."

I'm lucky to have a terrific writing buddy who I check in with on a weekly basis. However, to encourage all of you to try today's Wednesday Writing Workout, I'm going to participate in this 30-Day Boost Your Productivity Challenge, too, as follows.

1. My goal: spend at least 2 hours/week revising my current work-in-progress.
I've been so busy with teaching and freelance writing assignments that I've let my current work-in-progress (WIP) fall to the wayside. Two hours/week may not seem like much time, but I want to make sure the goal is Achievable given my other responsibilities. Since those 2 hours aren't going to appear out of nowhere, I have a related goal: to get up 15 minutes earlier per day, six days a week, and to spend those 1 1/2 hours on my WIP. I'll get the other 1/2 hour by cutting out 30 minutes of television time per week. For my reward, I'll treat myself to a latte at a coffee shop. J

2. To track my progress: I'll use the Timesheet app to log my time and note what page I'm revising at the end of each writing session.

3. Find someone to be accountable to: That's YOU, our readers! 

To keep things simple, I've set the 30-Day Boost Your Productivity Challenge to run from February 1 through March 1. (February conveniently has 29 days this year.) I'll share my first progress report with you two weeks from today, on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and then the final results on Wednesday, March 2.

I'm hoping some of you will join me in this challenge!  You can tell us your specific goal to boost your writing productivity via a comment to this blog post, or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page, or in an email to teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com. I'd love to know how you plan to reward yourself, too. I hope you'll also return to report on your progress on Feb. 10 and March 2 as well. 

And, if any of you live in the Chicago area, maybe you'd like to join me for that latte some time in early March to celebrate our success!

Meanwhile, happy writing!
Carmela