Summer Writing Blues: Dealing with Distractions, Procrastination and Other Book Killers

 

Summer is here! And that means vacations, barbecues, lazy summer evenings, and bored kids at home watching the television all day and asking for endless snacks.

However, finding the time to write a book is definitely going to be a struggle.

Procrastination is even worse.  When you're writing a book and feeling just a tiny bit stuck, suddenly it seems much more important that you finish your laundry, brush the dog, or redesign your website than it is to sit down and write.  

 And when you combine the possibility of procrastination with a few of life's little distractions... well, you can see how it might take you several years to finally get the book written.  

To prevent this from happening to your author dreams work out a plan ahead of time.

Look at your schedule for the next two weeks; 

 Where can you identify pockets of time to spend even five minutes writing? This includes looking at the time before everyone's awake, mid-morning, mid-afternoon, evening, late evening.  

✔   When is your best time for being productive during the day? Are you a morning or night owl person? Write during your most productive time.  

✔   What can you cut back on or give up in the next 2 weeks? Instead of endless scrolling on social media, watching television or cleaning - open up a notes app on your phone and write your book.  

Procrastination is a little harder to deal with, because it's all on you. The key is to know what's likely to trigger procrastination, and design ways to keep yourself motivated.

Some ideas include:  

✔     Set some goals for the week whether it's a word count or page count. Sometimes, procrastination comes when we don't have a definitive goal to work towards.  

✔      Rewarding yourself with a favorite treat or trip to the bookstore after a week of good writing (or even a day if you're prone to procrastination). 

✔    Enlist the help of a partner to keep you on track.  

If you find the first five minutes to write you'll easily find more and for much longer. The reward for all this effort is that you will discover you can write a book.  

 Keep writing! 

About Rebecca

Rebecca Camarena is a Book Coach, author and editor who helps writers, creatives, authors, and entrepreneurs elevate their words with editorial and writing support and critique services.

Connect with me here, www.rebeccacamarena.com/contact

Create a Writing Schedule You Can Stick with

  Contributed by Rebecca Camarena

It's easy to say you want to write and publish a book. You could talk about writing a book for years. 

But that's not enough! 

You need motivation, accountability, and persistance to see it through. Follow these tips to start writing your book. 

Create a Plan

You need to create a plan that details how you'll write a book, otherwise it won't get done. 

But creating a writing schedule is boring, isn't it? Not necessarily. A schedule is a terrific action plan and accountability partner. It allows you to brainstorm specific goals and assign achievable deadlines to your project using these tips; 

Find Time to Write 

Create your schedule by first evaluating how you're currently spending your time. Take a look at the last two weeks and what each typical day looks like for you. Make sure to include both your personal and professional activities. 

After you're done, review your days and look for pockets of time that you could dedicate to write your book. 

Outsource Tasks 

If you're stretched thin and can't find any time to devote to your new goal, then look for tasks that you don't personally need to oversee.  For example, cleaning your home doesn't have to be done by you. You could also hire a company to do it. Outsourcing doesn't always work for everyone.  You can schedule cleaning for each day and do only the basic elements. Get kids involved in cleaning or a spouse, partner. You don't have to be the only one holding it altogether.  

Make a Temporary Sacrifice 

Look for areas in your day and week where you can make a temporary sacrifice. If you spend several hours binge-watching your favorite show on Netflix, consider giving this up until you finish your book. Cut back on other activities that don't have to be front and center in your day. 

Thinking about writing a book can make you feel a bit overwhelmed.  That's why you want to break it down into smaller tasks now that you've created time and space in your life for this project. 

Make a Calendar or Chart 

Now that you've identified time where you can write your book you want to  track it. Create either a daily word count goal or a time tracking goal. 

Set a word count goal for an hour, a day or weekly goal. Write down your word counts and watch how the total grows over time.  At this point don't worry about being perfect with your words just get them on the paper. 

Track your time instead of word count. Very often as it happens committing to a certain word count can bring on writer's block. To avoid this just sit down and get yourself to write something in the allocated time. Even if most of the time is daydreaming at least you are gaining momentum. 

Whatever your reason for writing your book be honest about and make a promise to yourself that you will try to reach your goals and then exceed them. The important thing to do is experiment with a writing schedule you can stick with. 

About Rebecca

Rebecca Camarena is a Book Coach and author who helps women write, publish and market their impactful books about their heartfelt story of the challenges they’ve overcome so they can be an inspiration to others by sharing their words, their voice, their journey.

As a best-selling author with her co-authored book Out of My Comfort Zone: Stories of Courage, Perseverance and Victory she helped women share their stories of how they got out of their fear zone to excel in their business.

Are you’re ready to turn your heartfelt story into your dream book and become the author you were meant to be? Connect with me here, www.rebeccacamarena.com/contact