Finish It!

This is the time of year when everyone is setting forth goals and making resolutions. Many times, they’re the same resolutions that were made last year, and the year before, and the year before that. Making goals to write a novel, get out of debt, lose weight, or get close to God are noble goals. But setting goals is only the first step. The difference between people who make resolutions and who succeed in achieving their goals is that the second group has learned how to finish it.

Here’s some tips to help you finish what you’ve set out to do.

Narrow Down What You Want: Some people set goals they think sound great, but those goals aren’t really what they want. Decide what you want out of life before you set your goals. What are your deepest desires and dreams? People who succeed are the ones who decide what they want most and focus on that. For instance, if your desire is to be healthy and have energy, you will want to set a goal of exercising regularly and eating healthy. So if that’s your goal, don’t make a resolution to join a gym and run five miles everyday. Instead make a goal that works with your desire. Plan healthy meals, and decide on an exercise plan where you work out a half hour every day. Then use the extra time to fulfill other desires you have.

Set Measurable Tasks: If your goal is to write a novel in a year, break it down into chunks. The first month, you might want to do research for your novels. The second month, you could devote to plotting and developing characters. The third month, you might plan to write 3,000 words a day ro write two hours a day. Whatever the case, break down your goal into measurable bite-size pieces and schedule them.

Schedule Your Time: It’s easy to fritter away your time and never accomplish what you want if you don’t schedule your time. Whatever your goals are for this year, schedule time in your calendar to work on those goals. Evaluate what your time wasters are and work on them. For instance, you might want to set a timer when you’re on Facebook to make sure you don’t spend the whole day there. Or you might want to turn off your phone during certain hours.

Evaluate Monthly: Sometimes your desires change, or it may take you longer to fulfill a goal because a major life event gets in the way. Take time a the beginning of each month to evaluate where you are, the progress you’ve made, and reset your goals accordingly.

Plan Your Week: Every week, plan tasks that will fulfill your goals.

Accountability: Set up a system of accountability. You might want to ask a friend or family member to ask you how your doing. Or you might set up a system of rewards that you receive when you make progress.

Deadlines: Set up a deadline to finish what you’ve started. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t meet the deadline. If your late, set another one.

A Writer’s New Year’s Resolutions

  
People from all walks of life are forming a list of New Year’s Resolutions this week. Some will diligently pursue these goals; others will lay them aside by the middle of January. Every writer who wants to become successful should have these resolutions and keep them.

1. Have a set word Count: Decide on a word count you will do every day and stick to it.

2. Have a time set for writing: If you have a designated time for writing, your creativity will show up at that time. If you’re having a hard time finding time to write, click here.

3. Read: The more you read, the better writer you’ll become.

4. Study the Craft: Plan to go to writer’s conference. Read blogs of writers, publishers, and agents. Subscribe to a writer’s magazine. Read writing books. However you do it, plan to learn more about writing this year.

5. Exercise: Writing is a sedentary activity. Plan a time to exercise. You’ll feel better, and it will get your creative juices flowing.

6. Find a Critique Group: Every writer needs a small group of people to help critique his or her work.

7. Marketing: Learn more about marketing, and start a blog if you don’t have one. It’s an important part of a writing career.

8. Get Organized: It will help keep you from getting distracted. To organize your office area, click here. To organize your computer, click here.

9. Don’t Get Discouraged: Writing is a discouraging profession. This year, plan ways to encourage yourself so you don’t allow discouragement to take hold. For encouraging quotes, click here.

10. Dream Big: Click here to learn more about how to dream big.

This year, may all your writing dreams come true.

Happy New Year!

How To Prepare For Christmas In One Week

 Here’s a handy little guide on how to prepare for Christmas in one week. It takes some work, but it can be done. If you work full-time or don’t want to cram it all in one week, do two days a week for four weeks and you’ll have it all done. This works better and is more fun if you have the entire family participate.

Tuesday: Clean the house and get it ready to decorate in the morning. In the evening, order all presents online. You may not be able to get the latest gadget that everybody is running out of by shopping online, but the peace of mind is worth it.

Wednesday: Decorate the house. This is more fun if you play Christmas carols and involve the whole family. Or if you’re not married, invite some friends over for a decorating party.

Thursday: Now that the house is decorated, spend the day doing Christmas cards, planning menus, and making grocery lists. Use email cards if most of your list is online. Take a couple of hours off to watch your favorite Christmas movie or read a classic Christmas story. Here’s a great list of movies to watch. Here’s a list of classic Christmas stories.

Friday: This is your shopping day. Since you’ve bought all your presents online, use this day to go to the grocery store and buy the things you need for baking and for Christmas dinner. You can also get any stocking-stuffers you need like batteries, candy canes, and chocolate. If you enjoy holiday decorations at the mall, this is the time to go. You’ll be able to enjoy it without having to stand in line for hours because your shopping is done.

Saturday: This is your baking day. Have the family help and spend the day baking cookies, deserts, and holiday dishes you can prepare ahead of time.

Sunday: Go to church for the annual Christmas program. In the afternoon, watch a Christmas movie, go to a Christmas musical or play, or go to Christmas brunch at a restaurant with friends or family. Then in the evening, drive around to see all the Christmas decorations. This should put you in the mood for Christmas.

Monday (Christmas Eve): Spend the morning wrapping the presents that should have arrived by now. Hide them or place them under the tree. Buy some donuts or pastry for everyone to eat while they’re opening up gifts. In the evening do something special. Many churches are having Christmas Eve services. That would be a great way to celebrate the reason for the season. Read the Nativity Story from the Bible and A Night Before Christmas to the children before you tuck them into bed. Before you go to bed, set the table with your best linens and china.

Christmas Day: Get up early before the kids and fix a pot of hot chocolate and place the pastries on a Christmas tray in the livingroom. Enjoy knowing you have everything under control.

10 Ways to Prepare Kids to Go Back to School

This month children are headed back to school. The fun and excitement of getting ready is running through them. Here are ten ways to help your children get ready.

1. Start the school routine early. Most children stay up a little later during the summer. It takes at least a week or two for their bodies to get adjusted to the new sleep schedule. It will help them get a head start if you place them on that schedule at least a week before school starts.

2. Help your children decide a homework time. Children are more apt to follow through on homework assignments if they have a say in initiating it. Discuss with your child how much time he’ll need to do his homework, when’s the best time, and where he should work. Some children would rather do their homework as soon as they get home and get it out of the way. But other children need to unwind before they can concentrate on more work. Work with them instead of against their natural work habits.

3. Set up a homework station. Some children like to work out in the open where everybody is so they don’t feel isolated. Other children want privacy and quiet. Find out what’s best for your children.

4. Discuss extracurricular activities with your children. Most children are so overburdened with sports, dance, music, art, and other activities that they never have downtime just to play. Give your children limits. Let them know they have decisions to make about which activities to participate in. They can’t do them all.

5. Schedule and limit TV, computer, and video game time. Let your children know that, during the school year, these activities will be limited. Tell them how much time they have on each device, and let them decide how to use that time.

6. Buy a number of easy and healthy breakfast items for your children. If they’re running late, they’re much more likely to eat breakfast if there’s a banana or breakfast food readily available.

7. Take your children to the grocery store and let them help you pick out items for their lunches. If your goal is for them to eat healthy, let them know that, and help them choose foods they’ll eat and not throw out.

8. Go school shopping. This is an exciting time. Make a day of it.

9. Visit the school your children will attend. If possible, try to meet the teacher.

10. Decide how your children will get to school. If they ride a bus, what time will the bus pick them up? If they walk, who will they walk with? Have they met the crossing guard? What route will they take? If you drive them, you might want to set up a car pool with other parents. Also give your children a secret password that you can use for anyone you might send to pick them up in an emergency.

10 Things Needed To Set Up A Writing Area

Whether it’s a corner in a room or a full-scale office with all the luxuries, every writer needs a writing area. This is the place the writer goes to allow his or her creativity to soar. If you write there every day, especially if you schedule a time to write, you’re training your subconscious that this is the time for you to be creative. This is the time and place for the words to soar.

My husband has taken over our office area, so my writing area is my livingroom. We have a family room in the basement where we keep the TV, video games, etc., so the livingroom is not a high traffic area in my home. I have a laptop desk on wheels I can move out of the way when company comes and an end table with a small book shelf on it and a place to hide away my files and notes. I also have a rolltop desk in my livingroom where I store all my supplies. There’s a large front window with a view and a couch to take a nap on when I need a break. It works well for me. I’ll post pictures on Friday.

The important thing is to be creative about your writing space. If you can have an office, that’s great. But there are certain items every writer needs in her writing area.

1. Computer: The days of the typewriter are over. Thank God. Make sure you have a good computer that’s easy for you to use. I recommend a laptop. That way, you don’t have to carry around a jump drive if you’re away from home. An Ipad with a Documents to Go app and a portable keyboard is also a great tool for when you’re on the road.

2. Internet: Internet is essential for writers in today’s world. It gives us marketing tools, email, online writer’s communities, writer’s tip blogs, research at our fingertips, and access to publishers’ and agents’ websites. The only caution here is to schedule when you’ll be on the internet and when you won’t. You may want to schedule a certain chunk of time for the internet. I have the internet running all day, but I only check it once every couple of hours, and if I’m not done writing (unless I’m doing research), I don’t stay on it longer than five minutes.

3. Library: Every writer needs a library that includes writing books, a dictionary, a thesaurus, and books he enjoys reading. Some of these books may be on-line. Some won’t. See this link  and this link  for the books I believe every writer should have.

4. Files: Every writer needs a place she can file research, plot outlines, character sketches, ideas, agent lists, and other important information. Some writers use online files such as MS One Note. Others like hard copies. But you need somewhere to store information.

5. Online computer back-up: Don’t take a chance. Subscribe to an online computer back-up service. They aren’t expensive, and if anything happens, you’ll be covered. Schedule the back-up to automatically back up your files at least once a week.

6. Music: Whether you use an i-pod, your computer, a CD player, or some other device, you’ll want something where you can play music or some kind of white noise. Some writers like it quiet when they work, but even they benefit from listening to music before or after writing. Also invest in a good set of headphones that will be comfortable to wear for hours and will block out most noises including the phone ringing.

7. A comfortable chair: You’ll want a chair where you sit up straight, your feet are flat on the ground, and your back is supported. Don’t prop your laptop on your legs while you type in a recliner. Your back will thank you later.

8. A desk or table: Don’t use one of those portable lap desks unless it’s short term. You need something you can put your computer on even if it’s a card table or a TV table.

9. No distractions: If you really want to escape into the world your writing and let the prose flow, you’ll need an area without television, video games, or a telephone ringing. A door that can be closed is even better.

10. A notebook: Keep a small notebook with you to jot down ideas. If you have an IPad or a memo app on your smart phone, this works even better because it will always be with you. Before you begin writing, record these ideas in your idea folder.

So that all you need to begin writing. Other than the computer, most of these items are free or can be purchased for very little money. Make this investment in your writing career.

Do You Have a Schedule?

Do you have a schedule? I don’t mean just for writing, but for every important part of your life.

I heard a preacher say recently that those who have a scheduled time for prayer and a prayer list will pray 90% more than those who don’t. I assume that’s also true for writing, spending quality time with family, and even doing housework.

I live by my schedule. I don’t always follow it. When things come up, I throw it out the window for a short time. But I always come back to it. I find being scheduled makes me productive and helps me focus on the important things of life and not just the urgent.

Here’s a few tips in making a schedule.

Don’t make a micro-schedule with every event listed. Have clumps of times to do things that are similar. For instance, do all office work (bills, phone calls, etc.) at the same time.

Have a daily to do list, a weekly schedule, a monthly calendar, and yearly goals. The schedule determines when you do certain types of activities. The to do list has specific tasks listed according to your schedule. The monthly calendar lists appointments. The yearly goals will bring focus to what you want to schedule. All are important.

Be flexible. If something interferes with your schedule, adapt the schedule. The schedule is meant to serve you, not the other way around.

Have a weekly planning session. This will help you stay on task.

Always allow more time to do tasks then you think you’ll need. This will keep you from getting frustrated when interruptions come.

Don’t only schedule urgent things. Schedule important things such as prayer time, writing time, time with family, and personal time.

If you fail to follow your schedule, don’t beat yourself up. The schedule is there to help you not to dictate your life. If you can’t follow it, tweak it to work with your energy cycles. If you fall away from it for a few days of weeks, just dust it off and do it again.  You’ll still be further ahead then when you didn’t schedule your time.

Top 10 Ways To Waste Time

10. Wonder around the house thinking about all you have to do.

9. Watch Criminal Minds TV Show Marathon all day long.

8. Color coordinate the cans in your pantry.

7. Play your favorite FB game.

6. Play Spider Solatare until you beat the advanced level.

5. Facebook and Twitter without a time limit.

4. Talk and text on the phone all day.

3. Get up late and go to bed early.

2. Complain to a friend about not having enough time to get anything done.

1. Don’t have a plan for your time.