Let me tell you… I LOVE deadlines. I live for their adrenaline rush!
No seriously, I’m not joking.
Deadlines keep me grounded, gives me direction and motivation. Helps me stay organized and prioritize tasks. I am the Queen of Calendars! I live for challenges like #NaNoWriMo and I applaud everyone who is participating. Since I have a few other looming writer deadlines, I’m not able to partake this year. But I do have a few words of wisdom if you’re having trouble reaching your writing deadlines overall:
Make a Month Long Schedule Sit down at the top of the month, open up your schedule, and block out daily writing times. Be realistic about them.
NO DAYS OFF! Not even holidays. If you start off lenient, it’ll be easier to fall off your goal. You want to be an author, don’t you?
Turn off your internet When it’s time for your writing block, turn off anything that can be a time sucker, like TV and Facebook. But don’t just close a screen. You seriously have to unplug your box so you won’t be tempted and open up Chrome by accident.
Set Daily Goals Set daily page/word count targets. I know a writer who targets five pages a day, no matter what. Five x Thirty, that’s 150 pages. Damn near half a book!
Daily Rewards is key! Once you make your count, treat yourself. It’ll give you something to look forward to. (I’m BIG into cookies!)
What are some of your deadline keeping tactics?
Yes! All of these. Daily goals are particularly good for me. Something about the specificity and taking the time to recenter and plan each night really keeps my goald manageable too.