People keep asking how I did it. The tips below might help you too – for any big project you've got looming.
Tip 1: Set a goal
Learning point: Don't focus on the mighty effort required to finish. Break your project down into bite-sized achievable chunks.
Example: A year ago I attended a two-day course with writing coach Kathryn Burnett. At the end of the second day she challenged us to set a target of words a day, a week, or even a month, that we felt we could commit to. "I don't care what the number is," she said. "I just want to you to set a number that you believe you can do."
I know heaps about goals; I even teach it. But having someone else challenge me helped lift the excusitis I'd become bogged down with. So I found a relevant marker and worked backwards.
I had already booked to fly to Canada and the States seven months later to visit family. Given that the story shouting to come out is set in 1830s/1840s America, it dawned on me that the coming trip was an excellent research opportunity. And, if a decent number of words had already been penned, any research would be more relevant and useful.
Breaking the overall target into small pieces, I calculated that 500 words a day until I left would give me 80,000 words ‒ a decent chunk of completed work. A small daily target felt achievable; 80,000 words felt like an impossible mountain. I didn't manage 500 words every single day, but for more than 2/3rds of the year, I did. (Life sometimes got in the way.) However, it was very gratifying to have 50,000 words completed before I stepped on that plane in August. It didn't matter that I didn't make the target of 80,000. It was only a device to keep me focused. And yes, even that amount of work made a huge difference to the research.
Tip 2: You might have to put something else aside
Learning point: Sometimes we have to temporarily sacrifice a good goal for the greater goal.
I gave up two things. One was sleeping in. Early morning is always my most creative time, so for most of past year you would have found me at my keyboard soon after 5am, even on holidays and weekends. I usually wrote for two or three hours, depending on what else was happening that day.
One other thing I gave up, for the second half of the year, was French classes. I've been learning French for the past six years, with the aim of speaking reasonably fluently with friends in France. Those extra hours not travelling to class, in class, and study, were allocated to the writing.
Tip 3: Don't underestimate the power of small contributions over time
Learning Point: Every few minutes makes a difference.
Jim Collins, in his fabulous business book Good to Great, talks about the "Flywheel Effect".
"Each turn of the flywheel builds upon work done earlier, compounding your investment of effort. If someone asks 'What was the one big push that caused this thing to go so fast?', you wouldn't be able to answer. It was all of them added together in an overall accumulation of effort applied in a consistent direction."
What small piece of activity can you do today that will make an impact on your big goal?
From a writing perspective, another New Zealand writer, Jude Knight, gave me some practical advice. She is a very prolific Regency romance novelist who also holds down a day job in Wellington. (If you enjoy that genre, check her out. Her books are well written and quite addictive.) She commutes to work on the train from the Wairarapa and can power out 800-1000 words in an hour's commute. She said: "Even if you've only got 10 minutes, write. It's amazing how quickly a book will grow if you use the gaps."
I found myself following Knight's advice. The result has been electrifying.
Tip 4: Lock yourself in to a commitment to others
Learning Point: Energy is released when you commit to someone else. It might be an "unreasonable friend" who doesn't take your feeble excuses. It might be a date when something's due. Ask any student with a deadline looming.
In October, when I was about two-thirds through, an opportunity came up that required the book to be complete by late January. I decided to apply for it. Suddenly I experienced an amazing release of energy. Words poured off the tips of my fingers. I found myself working into the evening, even though I've never seen myself as creative in the latter part of the day. The more I wrote, the easier the writing became. Since then, other opportunities have also arisen. Whether or not I'm successful with the first one is no longer important. The motivator was the deadline. My behaviour changed, energy lifted, and the book is finished. Completion becomes its own reward.
All the very best with your own projects. You CAN do it.
- Robyn Pearce (known as the Time Queen) runs an international time management and productivity business, based in New Zealand. Get your free report, How To Master Time In Only 90 Seconds, and ongoing time tips at www.gettingagrip.com.
