This morning I got an e-mail from the folks at Baydin, who developed the fabulous Boomerang plugin for Gmail. (One big flaw with Google is that you can’t schedule e-mails for future delivery; Boomerang is a plugin that allows you to do this.) I use Boomerang for everything from scheduling emails for my students so that they all receive them at 8 a.m. on Mondays, no matter where they are in the world, to automatically sending myself reminders about doctor appointments or deadlines.

Baydin has developed a 21-day program called Revive Your Inbox to help you get your e-mail under control in 2012. Each day they’ll send you an email that addresses a specific e-mail challenge, like how to conduct more fruitful inbox searches, and provide you with “battle-tested tips and tricks” to help you over the hurdles.

You can see a sample of the daily e-mail here before you decide to sign up.

The other cool feature? It’s FREE, my favorite four-letter word beginning with F. [diana burrell]

Let’s face it – writing can be drudgery. Day in and day out, staring at a screen, scrounging for new ideas and creative inspiration – it’s a grind.

Some days, writers need to find motivation in unconventional and dramatic ways. We need to tap into a sense of bravado that puts a snap in our step and arouses the confidence to power through our work with attitude.

We need to learn how to access our inner diva.

According to Merriam-Webster, a diva is, quite simply, a famous opera singer – a prima donna. In fact, the word is derived from the Italian noun ‘diva’, meaning female deity.

But in today’s day, the term has assumed a different meaning – implying a self-confident (sometimes mean-spirited and egotistical…but ignore that for purposes of this post) woman, of some status, who heralds only the highest standards and expects nothing short of the best.

And lest you men feel at all overlooked – the masculine term divo pretty much implies the same thing. So keep reading!

Divas may alienate people from time to time, but more often than not, they are successful and adored. As writers, we stand to learn a great deal from the diva mind-set. Here are my tried-and-true, epic strategies for accessing your inner writing diva.

Go ahead…indulge.

Self-indulgence doesn’t have to be costly or time consuming. But taking care of #1 is critical if you want to maintain a sense of momentum as a writer. Divas (think Beyonce or Lady Gaga) treat themselves like veritable queens, so why not do this on a smaller scale? Here are some easy ways to spoil yourself:

• Crawl into bed early with a big bowl of your favorite Haagen Dazs treat!
• Light some candles, run the bath, and soak for at least 45 minutes.
• Scope out one of those gourmet chocolate shops and treat yourself to 3 luscious truffles (or 4, or 5).
• It has been proven that floral scent is actually a mood manipulator, and flowers can make you happy. Treat yourself to your favorite bouquet and place them somewhere that is easily accessible.

Don’t let the naysayers get you down.

Jennifer Lopez left home at 18 because her mother refused to support her pursuit of a career in show business. Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a television reporter because she was deemed to be ‘unfit for television’. Before starring in I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball was widely regarded as a failed actress and a B movie star. Even her drama instructors encouraged her to change careers.

But these diva-esque women took the judgment and criticism in stride and plowed on in pursuit of their dreams. They owned their talent and believed in themselves.

As writers, we often receive negative feedback; we have to develop thick skins. Constructive criticism can help us to grow, but you can’t personalize every opinion you hear.

Keep your standards high.

Divas never stand for incompetence. They strive for perfection (or close to it) and work hard to realize their ambitious vision.

We need to do the same as writers. Scrutinize your work until it is fabulous. Surround yourself with professional colleagues and coworkers who aspire to greatness. Maintain high expectations – of yourself, and of others.

Command respect.

Truth be told, I often work in my pajamas – with my hair unwashed and tied back in an unruly bun. But lately, I’ve been resisting that temptation.

If you work from home, it’s easy to slip into a very amateurish and casual mode that can make you feel alienated from the tempo and professionalism of the writing world.

As a writer, it is important to present yourself respectfully. Whether you work with corporate clients, editors or marketing firms, you need to look the part. You don’t have to spend thousands on Dolce and Gabbana (a la Madonna), but a crisp pair of pants and a nicely pressed white shirt can go a long way.

Similarly, carve out a professional office space, with an ample desk and plenty of supplies, even if you work from home.

If you respect yourself enough to take make these things a priority, you will command more respect from others.

Do you think you can access your inner writing diva? What other diva-style strategies help you to feel confident and poised for writing success? Share them in the comments below.

Ruth Zive is a freelance copywriter and content marketing strategist. She is mom-to-five (plus pooch), special needs advocate, designer handbag enthusiast, Ashtanga yoga devotee and vegetarian chocoholic.

This really resonated with me. For the longest time, I chose options in my life that would require me to earn more money. I added expensive daycare, personal training, and more, and chose to live in an expensive area of the country. So I spent a lot of energy hustling for new work, coming up with new projects, and marketing my offerings. It was burning me out, big time.

Then I started making changes.

As I mentioned in a post last year, I went from working all kinds of hours to working under 20 hours per week, but still earned a full-time income. That’s because I learned to write efficiently and eliminate some of the worst distractions that made it feel like I was working all day when I was really surfing the Internet, checking e-mail, or otherwise spending pointless time at the computer.

Later, I cut expenses at the suggestion of my life coach. I ditched the daycare, cut out personal training (which I later added back when I injured my shoulder and needed help getting back into a workout routine), got rid of cable, and more. I ended up saving about $1,300 per month. Talk about eliminating friction! And just last week, we moved from New Hampshire (expensive) to North Carolina (less so), saving about $400 per month on mortgage/rent alone. My parents care for our toddler during the day so we can work without having to shell out for pricey daycare.

In his post, Pavlina also talks about eliminating friction by playing the game of life for a draw, not a win. When you play to win, others must lose, and they’ll do what they can to keep you from prevailing. But if you play for a draw, you’ll confuse your opponents because they’ll have nothing to block. I realized that that’s something I’ve been doing. In my courses and mentoring, I strive to give value that goes well beyond what the students are paying for. If someone needs to drop out of a course because of a change in their life situation, I offer to move them to a later session for free, or, if their situation is dire, give them a full refund even if I’ve already spent substantial time helping them. On the blog, my M.O. has always been to give away valuable information and ask for nothing in return, though I do occasionally use the blog to market my offerings.

As a result, I’ve been having writers banging down my door to ask for mentoring, e-courses, query critiques, and e-books. I decided to take two weeks off to settle in here in North Carolina, and within the first few days I had three writers write to ask when I’ll be back at work so I can mentor them or critique their queries. Several editors have asked me to let them know when I’m back in action so they can assign me stories. Again: Talk about friction-free! I don’t feel like I’m struggling to get something from people. I just give and the people show up. If I strained to market to people, cut corners with my assignments, and generally tried get more value than I’m giving, people would oppose me because for me to win, they must lose. When I give more than I expect, there’s nothing to oppose.

So: What can you do to eliminate the friction in your writing life? [lf]

1. Instead of working from a business plan or a to-do list, Jennifer Lawler chooses themes, and she writes about this in Working in Themes on her Finding Your Voice blog. For example, one month may be novel month, the next month she’ll work on her screenplay. This tactic can work great for freelancers who have so many projects on the go that they can’t decide which one to work on at any given time — so they work on nothing.

2. On Carol Tice’s Make a Living Writing blog, guest poster Michelle Rafter writes An Editor Reveals 7 Secrets Every Writer Needs to Know. For example: Editors like talking to writers on the phone. (See, told ya!)

3. I love this post from Sage Cohen of the Path of Possibility blog: The Death of the Dream Could Be the Birth of Unprecedented Possibility. She writes, “What I have found to be true in every case––in my personal life and my writing life––is that the death of the dream creates the space for what is actually intended to come through: what is, in the end, a better fit than we ever could have imagined.”

4. On The Urban Muse blog, Susan Johnston tells writers about Making the Mental Shift from Employee to Freelancer. Think $30 per hour is an extravagant sum because that’s what you made at your last salaried job? Think again.

5. In Why I’ve Never Missed a Deadline — And How You Can Do the Same on the Dollars and Deadlines blog, Kelly James-Enger advises writers to estimate how long an article will take to research and write, and then build in a time cushion just to be sure they can meet their deadline.

6. Do you tend to get to 90% complete on a project — like writing a query — and then give up? In Completing Projects on the Steve Pavlina blog, Steve urges you to listen to your higher self and push yourself to finish what you start.