It’s been a busy week here. I’m launching 2 new products (my Kindle Singles Pilot Program which is now sold out and my Coaches Book Circle author-mastermind group coaching program), plus the kids are back to school and there’s a whole new routine in the air.
I keep showing up late for things and needing to leave early. I’ve been forgetting to eat and not drinking nearly enough water. I can’t figure out if I want to take my shower at night or in the morning so days have been going by shower-free. And the influx of paperwork…well, if you have kids I don’t have to tell you what that’s like at the beginning of the school year.
When life is at a pivotal point, even one as banal is the start of a new school year, it’s easy to think you are just too busy to work on your book.
It’s easy to believe the story “I don’t have enough time to work on my book.”
The only thing – in many cases – that separates published authors from wannabes is whether or not they believe that one, invasive little thought. So here’s a trick I teach my coaching clients to knock that thought out of their neural pathway.
- Set a writing schedule at least a week in advance. Decide in advance if and when you are going to write. Don’t count on time in your day opening up and don’t waste time feeling about not getting around to it.
- During busy times, consciously decide to take a break from your book, or schedule a short session, maybe just 15 minutes. But remember whatever promise you make, you have to keep. Set up a penalty for yourself for skipping a writing commitment.
- Remember, just because you are scheduled to write doesn’t mean you have to put words on paper. It can be counter intuitive, but with my clients, I ask them to do a quick check-in with their body to identify their “Author Feeling State” before they write. If you aren’t feeling like writing, focus instead of improving your Author Feeling State instead of trying to white-knuckle your way through a writing task. Forced writing can lead to writer’s block.
And here’s one more tip… when I was writing my dissertation, I bought a laptop on Craigslist that didn’t have an Ethernet card, and I rented a room at a friend’s house who didn’t have wifi. I knew at that house and on that laptop, I couldn’t be distracted from my dissertation during my scheduled writing time. It worked. I wrote over 60,000 words in just 60 days. Writing isn’t hard. Focus is hard.
If you can’t find a room and a computer without Internet access, try a distraction-removal tool like Ommwriter.
The 3 keys to getting your book done are inspiration, accountability, and systems. When you have these things in place, you can have a confidence that your book will get finished when it needs to.
With all the back to school craziness, I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to check out the Coaches Book Circle yet. It’s my latest offering for authors-in-transformation who need the support and accountability a group coaching setting brings to make sure they fulfill their commitment to write their book.
To learn more, visit: http://theauthorincubator.com/coaches-book-circle-join/