Habits for Success: the meme

I’m going to take a one post break from the “Look Like a Pro” series to participate in the “Habits for Daily Success” meme. Carson Brackney, the copywriter extraordinaire over at Content Done Better has tagged me with the latest meme: “List the top 5 to 10 things you do almost every day that help you to be successful. They can be anything at all, but they have to be things you do at least 4 or 5 times every week.”

Well, I honestly don’t know just how successful I really am… I’m a very fledgling rookie in the freelance writing field. I’m still in school, and making progress a lot more slowly than I would like. I may not have what others consider to be success, but I still consider myself to be reasonably successful.

I don’t necessarily think that success is simply defined as a simple end point. Being done eating a burger isn’t necessarily the point of a burger. The point is that you love every delicious, greasy moment of eating it. Eventually you do finish it, but being done with a burger is nowhere near as wonderful as eating one. I’d know, I’ve eaten plenty.

I’d have to say then that habit numero uno is my mindset. I’m successful because of how I define my success. I’m married to my best friend, the girl of my dreams. My studies, my hobbies, my work and my passions all intersect in my writing. I spend every day doing what I love. I have a home, food to eat, and friends and family. My success depends largely on recognizing the successes I have already attained and enjoy. As a result, I’m a happy man. If happiness isn’t success, what is?

If we continue on defining success as daily happiness, we come to my next habit, which also isn’t necessarily writing related. The second habit has to be my overall lifestyle. I lead a life that conforms to certain standards of decency and conduct. My religious/spiritual life is an active and vibrant one. While I am far from perfect, I do my best to live according to the knowledge I have. At the end of the day, even though I make mistakes, I’m able to sleep peacefully.

While these first two habits might not sound all that related to success with writing business, they are. If you can’t learn be happy now, no amount of money, recognition, or expertise will satisfy you. You may achieve some visible measure of external success, but inside you’ll feel like a failure.

On to things more relevant to the writing profession:

I feed my mind constantly. The mind works according to the old computer programming maxim – “Garbage in, garbage out.” Along the same lines, if little goes in, little can come out. I’m a voracious reader, with a love for new ideas. I seek out new perspectives and experiences. As a result, I’ve got ideas coming out of my ears.

I write daily. Everything I’ve ever read on the subject tells me that good writing is the product of regular, daily writing. As a writer, words are the clay you sculpt with, the tools you work with. The more practiced and familiar you are with your tools and materials, the better you’ll be at your craft. To quote a couple writing heroes of mine:

“Runners don’t say, ‘Oh, I ran yesterday. I’m limber.’ Each day they warm up and stretch.” – Natalie Goldberg

“Set up a daily writing schedule. That is the best advice I can offer any aspiring writer. If nothing else, the schedule will make you think of yourself as a writer. … After a few months of sticking to your schedule, you should be rewarded with an astonishing improvement in your writing.” – Patrick McManus

I set goals, and pursue them. Am I happy with what I have now? Absolutely. If things never changed, I could be happy for the rest of my life. The only problem is that things always change. Growth and change are inescapable, but not uncontrollable. If my life must change, it might as well be for the better and according to my own plan. I have educational and career goals. Though I love the apartment my wife and I are in, we’d like a house with a yard. I’d like a better workspace, with nicer equipment. I’d love to get published in certain magazines. I would love to be wealthy, influential, famous or whatever else. I don’t know where my life will ultimately end up, but I do know that anything worthwhile tends to be the result of patient hard work.

Finally, I study others. I try to adopt the things that work best, and discard what doesn’t. I’m not too sure that I’m necessarily any good at that, but I’m making progress. I’m a little bit better today than I was yesterday, and that’s good enough for me.

I’m passing this along to…
Kristen King, at ::inkthinker::
http://www.inkthinker.blogspot.com/
Andy Humphrey at The Struggling Writer
http://struggling-writer.blogspot.com/
Mridu Khullar at her blog
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/

10 Tips: Time Management and Organization

The issues of time management and organization are the twin demons that plague most writers. We generally have lots of papers, lots of great ideas and no time in which to get everything done that we'd like. So, to help us all out, we've got some great tips on each from Boston columnist Penelope Trunk and workflow consultant Matthew Cornell. (Found via Lifehack.org)

5 Ways to Stop Being Late, from Penelope Trunk

Schedule the event into your calendar. I discovered I had enough on my schedule to last 48 hours a day. It would have been impossible for me to be on time for anything.

Practice saying what you need to say. Here’s a great thing to say: “Excuse me, I hate to cut you off, but I have an appointment.” It is hard to cut someone off, but they will respect you for sticking to a schedule.

Be a time pessimist. Assume everything will take a little longer than your first estimate.

Prioritize. Face the reality that you cannot get your whole list done. Figure out what’s most important and just get that done.

Be honest with yourself. Often, we are scared to make the decisions that we must make in order to get control over our time and become someone who runs on schedule. But there is no other way to run a life. To run on schedule is to plan the life you want to live and execute that plan.

5 Filing Hacks, from Matthew Cornell

File Bookmark
When you pull a file, simply lift up the file behind it a few inches and let the remaining files in front of that one lean back. You’ll find they keep the bookmark file up above the rest until you’re ready to return the pulled file.

Fold Crease
Have you ever noticed that set of horizontal creases at the bottom of most file folders? Guess what - they’re amazingly useful! When you have a file that’s grown to more than a dozen or so pages, it starts to bow outward, messing up your nice filing drawer. Terrible! To fix the problem, simply open the file flat on your desk, choose a crease that will give you enough extra room, fold the crease, and - bingo - neat, expanded file.

Staple, Don’t Clip
To keep your files as thin as possible, replace paper clips with staples. For thick bundles that you don’t want to staple, you might prefer the so-called “ideal clamps” (such as these) rather than paper clips.

Unfold Before You File
This one is real simple: To keep files thin and make easier future perusals, always unfold any papers before you file them. Also, take them out of the envelope if you feel the need to keep it (staple it to the pages if you like.)

Magnetic Bookend
Trying to keep files condensed and neat? Try one of these magnetic bookends. You can adjust them easily, and they help things stay put.

Ubiquitous Thought Capture

One of the beauties of the Hipster PDA (which I've been using religiously for months now) is that it offers an extremely portable note taking system. For writers, especially those who are always on the look out for article ideas, this thought capture is essential.

Here's a wonderful video about a man who writes/designs crossword puzzles. I love everything he has to say, so just watch the clip.

Another thing I use, which I'll elaborate on later, is an "Open Jotter" document on my computer. It's an ongoing file of anything that floats into my mind. Whatever I'm doing, I can quickly jot it down, and get back to whatever I'm working on, secure in the fact that my brilliance (or lack thereof) is recorded to return to at a later time.

Writing Quote: Steven Pressfield

“The essence of professionalism is the focus upon the work and its demands, while we are doing it, to the exclusion of all else.”

...

“There’s no mystery to turning pro. It’s a decision brought about by an act of will. We make up our mind to view ourselves as pros and we do it. Simple as that.”

- Steven Pressfield

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles


Picked these up here: http://crawdaddycove.com/2006/12/18/the-war-of-art-turning-pro/

Avoiding Procrastination

Presenting the greatest idea ever. This may be the most perfect strategy for overcoming procrastination I've run across. It's a simple concept, based on the theory of positive reinforcement.

I picked this up here: http://www.badlanguage.net/?p=185

Kaizen

"Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never-ending." - Yamamoto Tsunetomo

The quote above is taken from Hagakure: The Book of the Samauri, Yamamoto Tsunetomo's master text on the ways of the samurai. The concept of his words are perfectly encapsulated in one word: Kaizen. Roughly translated, Kaizen means 'change for good', and when used in the states, it's usually meaning 'continual incremental improvement'.

It's a concept I stumbled onto some time ago, and I thought I'd share the following related links.

Wikipedia on Kaizen

Practice Your Personal Kaizen, by Jason Thomas, found at lifehacker.com

Baby Steps; Huge Results, by Jennifer Minar, posted at WritersBreak

Kaizen for Writers, from the Renegade Writer Blog

Self Adjustment and Goals

In a recent post, I lamented about my need to tighten things up a bit in my life, and get more focused about what I'm doing and the goals I've set. Since then, mostly in the last week, I've been working on just that.

First thing, I wrote up my personal mission statement. The section I'll share here deals specifically with writing, but I also did a similar statement for each area of my life - my marriage, school, etc. Here it is:

My major purpose is to entertain, educate and inspire others through my thoughts and my words, whether spoken or written. As a writer I have the talent and the skill to do just that.

In order to use my gifts for the benefit of others, I must make them profitable to the extent that it is my primary means of income and is the bulk of my work.

My life’s work then, is to establish myself as a writer, and write on those things that will entertain, educate or inspire.

I will help people to learn and to grow. I will also learn and grow, but in so doing, I will continue to expand and realize my own potential, even as I aid others in doing so.

I will find success in my career. Through my writing, I will provide for myself and my family. I will find financial security through earning and careful use of the money earned.

I will enable myself to have the flexibility to work from home, to earn an income that allows my family to live in comfort, and to provide not only for their needs, but for their wants as well. I will become wealthy, that I may more fully pursue my goal of helping others.

The pursuit of my career will not take me away from my wife or my family. Instead, my career will allow me the freedom and time to enjoy their company, share their thoughts and experience the joy of their love.


I also developed a brief plan of action to get some progress made on this life mission:

To find this success in writing, I must develop myself as a writer.

I will continually study my craft. I will improve my writing, and my ability to reach readers. I will find new ways to write more, thus improving both the quality and the quantity of my work.

I will develop my portfolio so that I can credibly approach publications for writing opportunities. I will always seek to improve both my earning potential and my credibility.

I will use this credibility to author books, so that my influence will expand beyond the fleeting realm of magazines and the internet, but to reach further audiences with a deeper impact.

I will write daily. I will become as familiar and practiced with words as I am with my own body. As easily as I walk, eat, or sleep, I will reach minds, touch hearts and stir spirits.

I will read daily, exploring always with an open mind to new ideas, new interpretations of the old, and to the timeless concepts that transcend generations. I will let my mind absorb the world around me, and distill from all my learning those things that will make me a better writer and person.

I will seek publication. Unless published in some medium, my words are known only to me. Unpublished words have no impact, save upon the writer. Published words change lives.

I will seek payment. Writing without pay is not a career, it is a hobby. I will not let my life purpose be relegated to the realms of baseball cards or model trains. I will make my living by my words.


I then formulated specific, measurable goals to help me follow through on these plans:

Write 2+ pages per day. (Writing for school only counts for one page, no matter how long)

Send out 1+ Query Letter per week

Submit everything I write. Get published anywhere I can, if only to build my portfolio.

Freelancing Business Plan

Angela Booth, over at Fab Freelance Writing, has posted a helpful article about the importance of a freelance writing business plan and how to simply put one together.

Here's the link.

Does using a Hipster PDA make me "Hip"?

Let me start of by saying that the very use of the word "hip" is the surest sign of a complete and utter lack of coolness. It's lame, it's out of touch, and to put it in old person-speak, it's definitely not "hip".

A few years back, after reading Anne Lamontt's Bird by Bird, I began carrying index cards with me. She suggests it as a great way to jot down notes, ideas, quotes, etc. and frankly, I think she's right. They're perfectly portable, and they're big enough for one complete thought. For a scatter brain like myself, it's good to keep my thoughts encapsulated, so that they're not running wild in my head and aren't scattered across seventeen different pages in four different notebooks.

However, being the disorganized person I am, my cards were always getting lost, crumpled, ripped in half and other wise subjected to ceaseless abuse. The end result has been that every few months I buy a new pack of index cards and use them for about three days. Sometimes I'll do really well, and hang onto them for a whole week. This has been the pattern for about four or five years.

This same pattern has been regularly repeated with planners. I think, "Man, I could really benefit from using a planner." So I buy one, use it for about a week, decide it's too much trouble, and a tad too organized for my ADD adled mind, and it get's stuck in a drawer with the last five abandoned planners. This too is the regular pattern, this time followed for the last ten years. With the exception of my mission, I have never used a planner with any real regularity. On my mission I was able to do it only because it was simple, straight forward, fit in my pocket without being a hassle and was completely disposable. So I used that, but haven't really used a planner since.

Such was the cycle of my life, up until about a month ago, when I was introduced to the Hipster PDA. It's essentially a stack of these very index cards, used in lieu of a more expensive PDA. It's one part notepad, one part planner, one part filing cabinet. It's a happy mix of organization, DIY and ADD. In short, it's exactly what I've been looking for my entire life.

Since I first eagerly grabbed my stack of cards a month ago, I've become addicted. Me, addicted to a planner - it's a sign of the apocalypse for sure! Since then, I've also dug up the perfect HPDA accessory, the Mead Index Keeper (which I can't find a link for for the life of me), which is basically a little expanding file/wallet for 3x5 cards. Remix it with some HPDA basics like binder clips and a pen, and it's the best thing I have ever found. My wife laughs at me for using it so often, which strikes me as ridiculous every time. The very fact that I'm so active in using any sort of organizational tool is like catching a glimpse of myself in some parallel dimension. It's just weird, because I've never done that, ever.

So, now that I've rambled a bit about this, I think I'll wrap it up. I've got things to do, after all.

A bit of a Brain Dump

Well, I realized this morning that I need to tighten up my focus with school and writing. Like just about every other person to ever surf the web, I find myself often losing time to trivial things like aimless surfing, excessively in depth research into meaningless topics, and the like.

Don't get me wrong; I understand that a bit of decompression is a necessary thing. As a writer the mental exploration aspect of this surfing is essential to finding and developping new ideas. That and it's fun, and I'd surely be a fool if I thought I'd be able to just stop.

That being said, there are some things I need to work on. I've been doing well with staying on top of school work, which is great. The structured environs of school have long been the bane of my existence. Some part of me just revolts against it, reviles against the ceaseless hoop-jumping and assignments that don't necessarily reflect learning, which supposedly was the original purpose of education. If I can learn the material covered by a course without attending class, why should my lack of attendance be penalized? But I digress. Regardless of my chafing at school, that aspect of life is under control, for probably the first time in my life.

The issue at hand, however, is that I often let precious time escape me, and I have several goals that I've been letting slide. So, here and now, I've decided to do better. I'll post a list of some of these goals today or tomorrow, and discuss how I intend to pursue them.

John Hughes - Notes & Quotes

John Hughes is the editor and chief operating officer of the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City. He is former editor of The Christian Science Monitor. Before joining the Deseret Morning News he was a professor of journalism and director of the International Media Studies Program at Brigham Young University. He served as U.S assistant secretary of state, assistant secretary-general of the United Nations, and chaired presidential and Congressional commissions on international broadcasting. John has received a Pulitzer Prize, the Overseas Press Club award and is the former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

I recently had the chance to meet John Hughes, who held a brief Q&A/Seminar with the staff of our student newspaper. Though he spoke primarily about the newspaper business, most of what he saids translates over to any field of writing. Posted here are a selection of direct quotes from the seminar, and some very brief notes touching on each.

“You probably aren’t going straight from college to the Times.”

Start small, and then move up. This is an established industry, which means you’ll have to work your way up. To do this, you’ll need to be ambitious. Go for opportunities aggressively. Show initiative. Work for it.

“Newspapers aren’t there to give you an opportunity. They’re very self-centered; they want to know what you can do for them.”

Professionals know that this is a business, not a hobby.

Research any market or publication before you approach them; if you can’t actually do something for them, you’re wasting your time.

Query like a professional.

Be absolutely professional about contacts, editors, money, deadlines, edits, rewrites, etc.

Don’t just act like a professional, write like one too.

“Reporters are strange animals.”

Mr. Hughes spoke for a moment about how difficult it is to keep reporters from working more than 40-50 hours a week, saying that often, they’ll want to keep writing into the night, just because they love what they do.

Be passionate about your profession. Use that passion.

Love writing well, being complete, being accurate and thorough; when you love what you do, and do it because you love it, you can go far.

“None of you are going into journalism for the money.”

Yes, there is money in our profession, but it’s rare that anyone gets rich. Do it because it drives you. Do it because you live for it.

“Everybody is owned by somebody.”

“I don’t mind photographers who push the envelope, so long as they do what they’re told in the end.”

You work for the people that pay you. The only way you get paid is by meeting an editor’s needs. If you can’t do that, you’ll never see print and you’ll never see a paycheck.

“You must, absolutely must, keep up with technology in this business.”

As writers, we’re blessed to see writing opportunities coming up in every form of media. We have to know these new areas to take advantage of those opportunities.

The more versatile the writer, the better.