Develop and Follow Routines..

In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia – Author Unknown.

Develop Routines…and Stick to them!

I first learned the value of routines when working in cash services for a large bank.  I started in that department as a supervisor.  Not only was I honing and developing my skills as a supervisor, I also had to learn the jobs and functions of my team as well.  One of the skills I learned to coach was developing routines with the employees and their cash handling.  It took me a while, but I translated this skill into to my work ever since.  Routines have helped me to be successful in management, training, sales, and now writing.

When it comes to your writing, find the time in your schedule to hone your craft and hone yourself.  Yes, I said it, take care of yourself.  The first part of taking care of yourself is getting enough rest and exercise.  Even if you just take a twenty minute walk during your lunch at work, that's good exercise that will give you the energy you need to work your writing into your schedule.

The other part of honing yourself is reading books to help you with your writing or help you with your self confidence.  This could be a book about developing plot, developing character, or getting your manuscript published.  This could also be a book to help bolster your self-confidence, about achieving your goals.  Either way, reading a book to improve yourself and exercise help you to hone yourself so you can be everything you want to be to your family and your writing.

And of course, make routine time to write.  In the beginning, write just fifteen minutes a day or one page a day.  If you write one page a day of 250-300 words for a year, you'll have a full length novel manuscript when you're done.  After you get into your work, you'll figure out how to carve more time out of your schedule to pursue your dreams and goals.  In addition to your writing, make time to read.  If you're writing fiction, read fiction.  If you're writing non-fiction, read other non-fiction to hone your skills.  Reading will help you hone your writing craft.

In short make time each day to write, read the genre you are writing, read to help you better yourself, and exercise to take care of yourself physically.  It will all make you a better writer and help you accomplish your goals.

Routines – Closing Thoughts…

1.    Develop routines.
2.    Stick to them.
3.    Constantly revise.

Set Goals

This week's blog is a bit late.  Here it is, short and sweet; this will have to do for next week as well.  I have to travel out of town for my current full time job and won't have the access to submit a full update...bear with me...I'll be back at in in a week.

Set and Attain Goals...

You will never “find” time for anything.  If you want time you must make it – Charles Bruxton.

Now that you have established a vision and you know what "success" looks like, break up the journey to get there into milestones.  These milestones become goals.

I love the song in Disney's "Cinderella", "A dream is a wish your heart makes."  A goal is a dream with a date attached to it.  Until you assign a date for completion on your goals, they are just dreams.  I also like, "...That star can only take you part of the way, you've got to help it along with some hard work of your own and then you can do anything you set your mind to.." That's from Disney's, "The Princess and the Frog."

As the quote says, you must make time to reach your vision through your goals.

Goals – Closing Thoughts…

1.    Set goals.
2.    Schedule activities.
3.    Constantly revise.

Have a great week everyone.  I will return in a week and talk about developing and following routines to make your writing dreams (vision, goals) come true.

dean