Today’s tip talks about how learning how to shift tasks is essential for writing. It’s the fifth article in our series on writing productivity based on the book Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life: Train Your Brain to Get More Done in Less Time by Paul Hammerness, M.D., Margaret Moore, and John Hane. The first...Read More

Today’s tip talks about how improving your working memory is essential for writing. It’s the fourth article in our series on writing productivity based on the book Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life: Train Your Brain to Get More Done in Less Time by Paul Hammerness, M.D., Margaret Moore, and John Hane. The first three...Read More

Over the winter holiday, Jocelyn Koehler and I agreed to try a social media fast during January. Even though I had a much tamer plan than Jocelyn, I suffered from withdrawal symptoms almost immediately. You can read about my experience at Jocelyn’s blog, Teamblood. To learn how Jocelyn stayed off the net nearly all day...Read More

Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days. —Zig Ziglar According to psychiatrist Edward M. Hallowell, our fast-paced world filled with hundreds of immediate demands on our time and attention can cause an inability to focus on a single task or attention deficit trait.  In Organize Your...Read More

For the past several years, I’ve been concerned by all the new research that says that sitting is bad for one’s health. It seems that once we writers overcome the challenge of getting our butts into chairs, we need to work on getting out of that chair and moving! Today’s guest blog post from author...Read More

Last fall, I wrote an article called, “Fifteen Minutes a Day” based on a wonderful idea I found on author Laurie Halse Anderson’s blog. She challenged writers to write fifteen minutes a day (WFMAD). That’s it. There were no additional rules, no word count goals, no projects to complete—just write for fifteen minutes every single...Read More

Today I’m delighted to welcome guest blogger Nina Amir, author of How To Blog a Book. Interested in winning a copy of her new book? Enter by noon on Monday, June 25. The winner will be announced on the blog on Tuesday, June 26. Each of these steps will gain you a separate entry into the drawing:...Read More

Today I am delighted to welcome guest blogger Sarah Allen. I met Sarah on Twitter in December, checked out her amazing blog, and wrote her a fan letter–hoping she would guest blog for me. And here she is! When you are done reading her words on attitude versus aptitude, please check out her blog, From...Read More

I’m delighted to welcome my friend and colleague Peg Rousar-Thompson to the blog. Last summer at WriteCamp Milwaukee, she spoke about the art of procrastination—and I thought it would make a great blog post. Enjoy! The Art of Procrastination by Peg Rousar-Thompson I procrastinate.  It’s probably what I do best.  And I’ve done it all my...Read More

Yesterday morning, I tried to write. But my mind kept jumping from thoughts to tasks to temptations—Facebook, Twitter, cookies, chocolate. I knew my time was limited—I had a full day of coaching calls ahead of me. I couldn’t move my writing time to a better slot later in the day. And I had a lot on...Read More