Hey, Internet–did you know that the average first novel is about 100,000 words long? As of today, I have 14,155 words. That means I’m–let me do the math here–more than 14% of the way to a full-length novel. And to think, a few weeks ago, I was exactly […calculating…] ZERO percent finished. I’m really liking the whole get-off-your-arse-and-DO-SOMETHING-vibe that this website has given me.

So, looking ahead, I have about 86,000 words to go. The only thing that stands between me and my lifelong goal of being a published author is… ME. As you may or may not know, I’ve mostly written three novels. Those poor abandoned babies are languishing on my hard drive, just waiting to be finished and revised. There are a number of reasons that I keep quitting–fear, perfectionism, laziness, short attention span, poor time management. And there’s only one way I’m going to avoid the same fate this time around. You guessed it–PERSEVERANCE.

When I looked up the definition of perseverance, this is what I found:

1. Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state–especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
2. Theology. Continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation.

The first defintion tells me that I have to keep on keeping on–even when it’s hard. When my job is driving me crazy and I don’t have two working brain cells left (i.e., “difficulties”), I still need to write. When I have family coming into town to visit (i.e., “obstacles”), I still need to write. When I don’t know where the story is going and I feel like everything I’ve written is garbage (i.e., “discouragement”), I STILL NEED TO WRITE. That’s perseverance. No matter what happens, no matter how you feel, no matter what life throws at you, you DO NOT STOP. Powerful.

And I really love the second definition–continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to salvation. I’d love to be in a proverbial state of grace regarding my writing, and I really do believe that achieving this goal will be a “salvation” of sorts for me.

Here’s my perseverance strategy:

• Believe in myself. Whenever that voice of doubt pops up (“You’ll never finish. You can’t do it. Just give up.”), I will use thought stopping and say, I CAN DO THIS.
• Remember what you’re working for. I’m not writing just to hit my daily quota of 3 pages. I’m writing to achieve my life’s goal of being a published author. Whenever I get discouraged, I need to come back to my real purpose.
• Plan ahead. I know the kinds of obstacles I’ll be facing over the next few months. I know that I have a ton of social commitments from now until June. I know that I’m going to want to be outside once it’s warm (instead of inside at my computer). I know that my husband and I might be moving and starting new jobs. I need to plan ahead and develop strategies for overcoming these obstacles.
• Believe in myself. Yes, I know I already said it, but it’s so important. Isn’t it easy to justify not pursuing your goals by saying, “I could never have done it anyway”? I know I’ve used that cop-out many, many, many times. WE CAN DO IT. Period.

What are the areas in your life where you need to practice perseverance? Do you have any strategies that work for you?

What a difference a few days can make! The past couple of weeks have been so stressful and frustrating. I’ve been struggling to maintain my emotional equilibrium and keep my head above water. At the beginning of this week, I felt so trapped and helpless. I didn’t like how things were going and I was angry about it. I was spending a lot of time complaining and indulging in self-pity. All I could think about was how miserable I was.

Then, I wrote this post. I don’t know exactly what happened, but writing that post and implementing those strategies snapped me out of my funk. Ever since, I’ve felt strong and positive and in control. The circumstances of my life haven’t changed (except that my husband is home from his business trip)–my job is still stressful, I still struggle with technical issues on my website, I still feel overbooked socially–but my outlook has totally changed. What is this wonderful magic, and how can I make more of it?

Giving up complaining and practicing gratitude have been critical in shifting my mindset. Focusing on the positive things in my life instead of the negatives has just… I don’t know, made me so much more joyful. It’s absolutely amazing how much of an impact this small change has had in only a few days. Recognizing what I can and can’t control has also been instrumental in improving my frame of mind. I had wasted a great deal of time and energy agonizing about things I simply can’t change. No more.

But I think it’s more than that. I think a substantial factor in my successful turnaround has been in achieving goals aligned with my purpose. Yesterday was the final day of my 21-Day Makeover. My goal was to write for at least an hour every day with the intention of creating a strong “writing habit.” I successfully completed that goal, and I’ve got to tell you, it felt great. I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.

And earlier this week, I created a forum for achieving weekly goals. I set a goal for this week of writing 20 pages of my novel by March 2. I’ve already written 12 pages since Monday–I’m over halfway there. (Interestingly, I also set goals unrelated to my purpose–exercise, for one. I haven’t been nearly as successful there. Coincidence? I think not.)

Achieving goals that are aligned with my purpose has been completely energizing and refreshing. Perhaps the key for me to be successful in other areas is to think about the goal in terms of my purpose. For example, my goal is to exercise for 30 minutes four times a week in order to give me more energy and mental stamina for writing. Hmmm. Something to try with next week’s goals…

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When you hear the words “goal setting” do you think, “Now that sounds like a good time”? How about strengthening your self-discipline–sound entertaining? Increasing your productivity? No? I agree. I think the biggest problem with personal development is that it’s absolutely no fun.

The basic principles of personal development are pretty simple, but most people (myself included) don’t successfully apply them. Why? Well, let’s look at self-discipline as an example. How would you go about strengthening your self-discipline? You’d start by doing something that you kind of don’t want to do (like get up an hour earlier). Once you’d successfully done that for a while, you’d take it up a notch and create a bigger challenge for yourself. You’d continue increasing the challenge until you reached the point where you had the self-discipline to do pretty much anything you set your mind to do. We’d all love to get there, but the process sounds so arduous and… well, un-fun.

So how can we fix this? How can we make personal development enjoyable? I’ve got a few ideas:

• Learn about YOU. If you’re anything at all like me, you love personality quizzes and career tests. There’s just something so rewarding about taking the Myers-Briggs and finding out that you’re an INFJ (any other INFJs out there?) and that’s why you’re such a freakin’ perfectionist. The insights you gain from these fun quizzes and tests could point you in a new direction if you’re struggling to find your purpose. Don’t spend too much time on them, but they’re definitely a fun addition to your personal development arsenal.
• Get a buddy. Find a friend who has a similar goal and work together. For example, two of my wonderful, fabulous online friends share my goal of being a writer. One of them suggested that we start a joint project that will allow us to write in a fun and supportive environment. I won’t want to let them down, so I’ll be sure to do my share of the writing. I’ll also get encouragement and critique and momentum from doing this. How could finding a buddy help you work toward your goals?
• Reward yourself. Let’s go back to the self-discipline example. My goal is to wake up at 5:00am, which requires self-discipline. I could set a reward for myself that, for every week that I successfully wake up at 5:00am, I get to spend a lazy, guilt-free two hours curled up with a book. Maybe if I make it the whole month, I get a new pair of shoes. Find a reward that motivates you and go for it!
• Don’t take yourself so seriously. Yes, personal development is important. Achieving your goals is important. Finding your purpose is important. But you know what else is also really important? Being kind to yourself. Laughing. Enjoying life. Finding the humor in your mistakes. Living in the moment.

Now, go forth and do something FUN this weekend!

Update: Day 16 is done. I didn’t wind up getting up at 5:00 am because I was up waaay past 11, but I did get up at 6 and get an hour of writing in.

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(Cross-posted at BlogHer) 

Today as I was struggling to get my writing done, answer my emails and phone calls, draft an entry for this blog, and manage my workload at the office, I really wished there were more hours in the day. There’s so much that I want and need to do, and there’s so little time. For example, I’d love to do some more writing after work, but I’m heading directly from the office to my volunteer commitment. Maybe tomorrow evening? Nope. I’ll be at a celebration dinner for a friend who just started a new job. Arrrrgh–I need more TIME!

Then it occurred to me–why not just make more?

There are a few ways to go about this magical feat:

1. Wake up earlier (if you’re a morning person) or go to bed later (if you’re a night owl). You’ll be adding an extra hour of time to the period when you feel your most bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Early birds may find themselves going to bed a little bit earlier. That’s OK–early birds aren’t at most productive at night any way. Likewise, night owls might find themselves sleeping in. Also fine.
2. Eliminate distractions. You know the hour you spent playing Spider Solitaire yesterday? Remove the game from your computer. Your marathon blog-reading sessions (I mean, you HAVE to catch up on all your e-friends)? Trim them to no more than 30 minutes. Your nightly ritual of watching three Law & Order SVU reruns in a row (my personal addiction)? Allow yourself one episode, tops.
3. Work smarter. Let’s say that I’m in the middle of editing a document for work. I’m rolling right along when my blackberry goes off–new email. I stop what I’m doing and reply. Now where was I? Hmm… I’ll just reread the last paragraph I was working on and– Phone rings. I answer it and spend 15 minutes discussing an unrelated topic. OK, now back to my document. This is THE WORST way to work. Women are excellent multitaskers–it’s one of our natural advantages, but don’t multitask yourself into non-productivity. Do one thing at a time. ONE. Give it your complete, undivided attention. You will find that you work much quicker and more efficiently than when your brain is bouncing around like a ping pong ball.
4. Plan ahead. Cook a week’s worth of lunches and/or dinners on Sunday afternoon. This will save you AT LEAST an hour a day. Organize your errand-running so that you aren’t driving back and forth across town. Make daily and weekly prioritized to-do lists. It’s amazing the difference that planning and organization can make in your life.
5. Learn to say no. If you find every night of your week filled with social commitments, activities/events for your kids, volunteer obligations, etc., then you need to learn how to say no. It’s tempting to try and do everything for everyone who asks (especially your kids), but the truth is, you just can’t do it all. Be selective.

Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to start waking up at 5:00am every day (yes–even on the weekends). I already wake up at 6-6:30, so it’s not like it’s that huge of a difference. This would allow me to get an extra hour of writing done in the morning. The only time that I will sleep past 5:00 is when I’ve been up later than 11:00pm (I know that I need at least 6 hours in order to be functional).

What can you do to create some extra time?

* Day 15 was a success!

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I have what I like to call “Selective Short Attention Span.” When I’m doing something that I consider entertainment, like watching a movie or reading a good book, I can focus for hours. When I’m doing other things (i.e., work, paying bills, writing), I’m as distractable as a 3-year old in Toys R Us. (Example: I’ve already stopped to check both my work and personal email accounts while writing the FIRST PARAGRAPH of this post.)

Part of this is a self-discipline issue, I’m sure, but I believe that part of it is due to the increasingly frantic, disjointed nature of working and playing online. I carry a work Blackberry with me at all times. If I get an email, I immediately stop what I’m doing and check it. Same with the cell phone. If I’m reading an article online, and there’s a link mid-paragraph to another article, it’s not at all unusual for me to spend 40 minutes following links to read seven articles when I meant to spend five minutes reading one. Madness!

I’ve been doing some research (online, natch) to try and understand this problem and develop strategies for improving it. I’ve listed below some of the tactics I plan to try:

• Exercise: Studies have shown that aerobic exercise elevates chemicals that ADD brains are short on.
• Practice deep breathing: I found a ton of material that recommended deep breathing as a way to maintain focus. I know that I tend to take tight, shallow breaths, so I figure that–even if it doesn’t help the old attention span–it certainly can’t hurt me.
• Improve memory and observation skills: I don’t know about you, but my short-term memory is SHOT. I tell people the same stories over and over again, and I couldn’t tell you what I had for lunch today. A few sources recommended memory exercises (like studying a picture for a few minutes, then trying to list all the items in the picture). This will improve memory and observation skills, which will in turn improve focus and attention span. Makes sense to me.
• Cut down on TV and Internet time: Numerous studies have highlighted the link between increased TV/Internet time and decreased attention span in children. I think it stands to reason that it could have a similar effect on adults.
• Meditate: For some reason, meditation is something I’ve always avoided. It always seemed like such a waste of time to just sit and do nothing–not even think. But I think it could make a huge difference in my life. (This will be my next 21-day makeover.)

I’m hoping that implementing some of these strategies will improve my attention span and increase my productivity both at work and in my writing. If you have any ideas or tips, I’d love to hear them!

Oh, and I successfully completed Days 12 and 13 of my 21-day makeover–almost to the two-week mark!

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