Not motivated? Try the rule of 3.
Summer’s over, the kids are back in school, and all those projects you put off till the fall (when you’d have more time) are screaming for attention. For weeks you’ve been dreaming about having a full day to get your work done. Now that time is here — yet at the end of the day, all you have to show for the time are some cool mashups you downloaded onto your iPod. That was after watching Ellen and Martha and before the two-hour nap on the couch before the 3:10 p.m. bus rolled down the street.
Writers spend way too much time analyzing why they’re indulging in such self-destructive behavior and/or beating themselves up for being lazy, no-good human beings. Why you do this relates to some basic laws of physics and inertia: a body in motion stays in motion, while a body at rest stays at rest. You’ve been resting, and it’s damn hard to get that body (that’s you) rolling down the road again.
Here’s a little trick to try on Monday. Put your lengthy to-do list in a drawer for the week … you won’t need it. Take a piece of paper and write down three small work-related tasks you can do that day. If you have a lot of personal junk to get done, write a separate list for those three things. When those three/six things are completed, you are free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day.
I knew I was going to have a really tough time this week, since my son went back to school on Monday. My list of three things was to send an update to my agent, send out invoices, and buy a scanner. On the personal list was cleaning the cat box (my least favorite housekeeping job and one I tend to put off, much to the cats’ dismay!), processing garden tomatoes into salsa, and calling my gym about their babysitting policy, so I can start going again regularly. I didn’t allow myself to surf the web, read Bloglines, or check e-mail until those things were done. And they did get done, by 6:00 at night. The next day, I did the same thing. I finished factchecking for a magazine feature, rewrote a recipe for one of my recipe development projects, and scanned articles for my clip file. This time I was done by noon.
You might be saying, “Well, I have a huge list of things I have to get done — there’s no way I can pick three.” But if you’re not getting anything done during the week because of your inertia, you might as well clean the litterbox with that long list. At least with my rule-of-three prescription, you’ll get 15 tasks done by Friday. And the real point of this system isn’t to get things done, but to get your body in motion. When next week comes, you can pull out that to-do list and continue on your merry way.
How do you get yourself moving when your motivation lags? Post your tips in the comment section below. [db]
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Sep 14, 2007 Advice, News you can use, Personal yammerings, Self improvement
That’s exactly what’s happening to me this week! Complete inertia, due to school starting and sunny weather. I surf through all of my saved “favorite” writing web sites (like this one) and get ideas and respond to some job postings. Then if I still don’t feel like doing anything, I get out my writing books and re-read them or even skim through them. I always get inspiration. And, last but not least, I have a small notebook where I jot story ideas (for when I have time to research & query them). Hopefully these three will give me a good beginning for next week, when I only have one assignment due.
I thought I was the only one feeling lazy! My motivation to keep moving? Payment! I’m currently working on the biggest-paying story of my career, yet can’t feel compelled to get beyond the research to the writing.
I keep telling myself I’m going to get this in ahead of deadline (Oct 1)and have it in the best shape possible to knock the socks off the editor. Hopefully, she will like my other queries or have ideas of her own for me in the future.
t helped to make an outline of the story and break the research down into sub-heads.
My plan is the writing will begin on Monday. A week from now it will be ready to send to the editor.
I plan to attend a couple of local festivals as early payment for my good discipline.
When the check comes, we’re going out to dinner at my favorite restaurant!
How do I get myself moving when motivation lags?
I spoze I could lean on the usual advice (write brief to-do lists; get the tough stuff done first; work during ‘energy peaks’; repeat the ol’ Nike mantra: “Just do it!”). But when Life comes a-knockin’, alla that’s easier said than done. So when the laundry mountain starts lookin’ like Mt. Etna, the pantry shelves are barer than Mother Hubbard’s, and the weeds are taller than the rose bushes (admittedly ALL excellent excuses to avoid whatever deadline I’m facing), it’s time for a good swift kick in the butt.
But…am I tempted to listen to the wee small voice in my head that’s whimpering “Awww, poor widdo thing…SO many demands on your time. No wonder your cuticles are bloody and your left eye is twitchin’. Take a much-deserved break, get back to the list when you’ve rested.” Y’darned tootin’ I am.
But I can’t. As a professional, full-time working writer, I that kind of molly-coddling spells End of Career. Sign up for R&R for too long (and in this wacky biz, who knows how long ‘long’ is?), and some other hard-working, deserving writer will eagerly step into my place in line. And I’ll have nobody but me to blame but myself when editors replace me with a writer who can juggle odd jobs and deadlines as easily as Superman leaps tall buildings.
So I grumble. I grouse a little. Perk: The mood it puts me in makes for tougher characters, grittier dialog, more realisic storylines.
If that doesn’t work, I read the sign above my desk: “Put on your big girl panties and deal with it.” In minutes, wondering if that means grandma undies, thongs, or something in between, I’m laughing. Which ignites a spark. And before I know it, I’m crackin’ my knuckles and grittin’ my teeth, anxious to get back to work. And if THAT doesn’t work, I remember my advance check. The one I cashed the day it arrived. The one that paid for my new family room sofa.
Fingers to the keyboards, writer-pals…fingers to the keyboards!
All my best,
Loree
It is easy to beat oneself up at the end of the day when nothing much work-related gets accomplished. My problem is….and I seem to able to waste a lot of time doing it…..is that I feel the need to have a sense of order around me before I can get down to the business of writing. My desk has to be tidy, the mail has to be opened, filed or discarded, reminder lists checked, receipts put away, my childrens school papers read and filed, my computer desktop has to be tidied up too! Often this need for order will extend to the kitchen counters, laundry room, well, you get the drift. Anyone have any tips for how to turn a blind eye?
I actually do the rule of four because I’m 33% cooler. It helps get me motivated because a big demotivator for me is having so many things to do that I don’t know where to start. Also, when I’m busy, whenever I choose one thing to work on I worry that I’m not doing the rest! This way I have only four things to think about. Once I crank through those, I can do whatever else I want.
Oh my. I need to get myself a “big girl panties” sign.
That’s awesome.
Can I suggest something kind-of related?
I’m always unmotivated to answer email, and it backs up and stresses me out. Then I read on Lifehacker the idea that you can reply to any email in 5 sentences, and so that’s my aim. It’s a fun challenge, and more often than not, very achievable, too. Saves a lot of time and gehas made me more productive. I don’t think my correspondence has lost out either – a little editing is not a bad thing… xx
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[...] 1. When motivation is waning, practice the rule of three. [...]