Everyone has a productive zone, i.e., a time in which they prefer to work. They may not recognize it as such, but they have one. It’s that time of the day where ideas start to come together. It’s when the ideas are flowing faster than the person can write them.
Productivity
Why You Need to Keep a Notebook
I am the keeper of many notebooks. I have one that stays in my purse. It isn’t a Moleskine, but it does the trick. I have notebooks beside my laptop. I have another in my living room, and it’s reserved for poetry. I then usually have one or two on my nightstand; I never know when an idea might visit, and I’ll need to record it.
Death to Busy Work
I’m not sure I can adequately describe my feelings regarding busy work. Hatred? Disgust? Loathing? Yes, perhaps loathing is the word I seek. I loathe busy work.
First, a definition of busy work. Busy work does not equal mundane task. Mundane tasks, such as balancing the checkbook or analyzing the number of visitors to a site or the number of new e-letter subscribers (Are you a Write Right subscriber?), serve a purpose. They may not be the most fun of tasks, but they do have a goal.
You Have to Be Mercenary
Note: I did not say you have to be “a mercenary.” I said you have to be “mercenary.” The two do not mean the same thing.
How to Write and Publish More Often
I didn’t awaken one morning and decide to publish posts five days per week. I had to work up to that number. I had to train for it.
Your Life Is not a Checkbook – Quit Trying to Balance It
Many people talk about having a work-life balance. I’m not one of them. I don’t believe in a work-life balance. Life and work are too messy to be in balance. The two can’t be placed in some sort of ledger and be made to cancel each other. They are not parts of an equation that can be balanced. I’m not even sure that they need to be balanced, at least not in the way the word “balanced” usually is understood.
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