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quotes
We no longer keep an on-site archive of writing quotations, but here's something better. Download Musings©, an excellent tip-of-the-day type program offering inspirational writing quotes and creative writing exercises. Musings is a free download, with free registration required to unlock the entire program. (Download is 1.7mb) Very well reviewed by several shareware sites.
on writing columns
July 2001
Go Around the Mule
by Roger Reece
One of the most exciting activities you can engage in as a writer is goal setting. The future is bright and filled with endless possibilities, and by carefully planning a set of actions and milestones you can achieve nearly any goal you commit yourself to.
After you make your plan, the first few weeks are energizing as you see yourself moving toward the goal. Your vision expands and you can feel the positive energy as you visualize the future and your anticipated accomplishments.
But sooner or later it's inevitable that you will face an unforeseen obstacle that seems impossible to overcome. The obstacle may be financial in nature, such as unplanned expenses or a failure to achieve initial revenue targets. It may come in the form of a person or a group of people who stand in direct opposition to your plans. You'll know when you encounter one of these immovable obstacles when you find yourself feeling defeated. It's at this stage that most goals get derailed.
I think of these immovable obstacles as mules. Mules have three key characteristics.
1) They will completely stop your progress. They seem to wait until you're moving full steam ahead, and then step out in front of you to block the path to your goal.
2) They're stubborn. When you attempt coax them to move, they ignore you. When you try to move them out of the way, they plant their feet and refuse to budge.
3) They don't go away. They seem determined to keep you from achieving your goals.
When a mule steps out in front of you to block the achievement of your goal, you essentially have four options:
1) Abandon your goal. You can rationalize that the goal isn't really important, or you can simply give up and feel defeated. This is a common response to mules, especially for people who are in the early stages of working toward a goal. Hopefully, you're committed to achieving your goals and have the determination to overcome any obstacle.
2) Wait for the mule to go away. This will generally lead you back to option one, because if the obstacle is truly a mule, it won't go away. Goals, properly set, include milestones and are time-sensitive. The longer you remain in a stalled condition waiting for a mule to move, the more milestones you'll miss, and eventually you'll be forced to admit failure.
3) Move the mule out of the way. This will also generally lead you back to option one, because if it's really a mule, you won't be able to move it. One of the most common pitfalls in attempting to achieve a goal is getting de-focused. Trying to move a mule is a totally frustrating experience, and you'll dissipate your energy in the process. If you want to succeed, you've got to keep your eye on the goal and not on the mule. Remember, your objective is to achieve your goal; not to move the mule.
4) Go around the mule. This is easier said than done, because it's the mule's nature to completely block the path to your goal. Keeping your eye on your goal, you simply concede that the mule is truly a mule and will not be moved. Therefore, you find another path to the goal.
A Case in Point
Last year, my daughter came up with a business plan to set up an art gallery, a dream she had thought about for years. The cost to lease and renovate a space in a prominent location was well beyond her means, but after several months of diligent effort, she found a backer who was willing to invest the money to get her started.
She was so excited! After finding the perfect space, she began working out her goals down to the smallest details. She was finally on the road to achieving her dream. Then, just before she was to sign the lease agreement, a mule stepped out into the road. Her backer backed out of the deal. Without the finances, there would be no art gallery, and after an exhaustive search for another backer she was ready to give up in the face of an immovable mule.
Before the mule had exhausted all her energy and vision, she began refocusing on her goal, which was to start an art show business. A friend of hers owns a popular night club and offered to let her host an art show at the club on a week night. After a tremendous job of creative planning, she held her first show and completely packed out the club. It was a total success.
She recently finished her third highly-profitable, standing-room-only show, and is well on her way to building a successful art show business without the expense of a permanent gallery. In going around the mule, she found that she could eliminate the need for a major expense and at the same time take advantage of the established clienteles of successful night clubs. Today she's more fired up about her goal than ever, and realizes that the mule turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Learn to Recognize the Real Mules and Go Around Them
It's often difficult to spot a mule when it blocks the road to your goal. Unexpected obstacles often get in the way, and generally with creativity and determination you can successfully move or eliminate them. But when a real mule comes along, learn to recognize it by its stubborn, immovable nature.
When you initially define a goal, you should attempt to anticipate the obstacles and roadblocks you'll meet along the way, and plan accordingly. But once you get started, when you run into an unexpected mule, step back and focus on the essence of your goal. Get creative. Look for high ground and assess the landscape. There may be an even better path to your goal that you've overlooked, and if you can find it you'll have the mule to thank!
Copyright ©2001 by Fuddwhacker Consulting. All rights reserved.
About the author: Roger Reece is a motivational speaker, marketing consultant and freelance writer. He delivers entertaining and challenging keynotes, seminars and team-building programs as himself and as Buford P. Fuddwhacker. Buford is a high-energy, down-home, country bumpkin philosopher and geek, and is Roger's unique way of motivating people while helping them laugh at themselves. For more information about Roger and Buford's motivational programs, visit http://www.fuddwhacker.com
July 2001
Throw Obstacles At Your Characters
by Laura Backes
Successful children's fiction begins with the main character.
Many writers create a biography or detailed character sketch,
listing every physical and personality trait imaginable, so they
have a clear picture of who their character is. Then they give
their main (and important secondary) characters a list of goals.
What does he/she want to accomplish? What does he/she need to do
in order to grow as a person? The goals must be believable
within the realm of who this character is. These goals are as
important in picture books as they are in novels. How your
character reaches his large and small goals provides the bare
bones of plot.
But in order for a story to be really interesting, your character
can't just think of a goal and then effortlessly reach it. As a
writer, it's your job to throw obstacles in your character's way.
By developing obstacles that make sense, you add conflict and
tension to the plot. If you progressively raise the stakes for
your character throughout the story, you'll keep your readers
turning pages to see what happens next.
The first obstacle your character will encounter is that of the
critical situation.
This is the point in the beginning of your story at which the
character's life changes. Without this critical situation, the
character's life would have gone on as before; but with it the
character is forced to experience the story's events and
challenges. This critical situation should relate directly to the
character's goals, creating major shifts in the character's life.
Once you select the critical situation, get out your list of
goals and select several that lend themselves to creating
opportunities for relevant obstacles throughout the story. Some
of these obstacles can be developed into sub-plots. For example:
* Does the character have to be somewhere at a specific time?
Make him late, or make him miss the appointment altogether.
* Does the character need to find something? Make the search
difficult or fruitless.
* Does the character need to communicate with someone? Have the
note destroyed by weather, stolen by a bad guy, or misinterpreted
by the receiver.
* Does the character need to be alone? Make sure she's surrounded
by people.
When developing an obstacle for your character to overcome, you
can examine the obstacle from various perspectives:
1) The character can experience the obstacle himself, or choose
not to experience it, which might result in different problems.
For example, your character may experience bicycle trouble,
making him late to a vital class or appointment, or he may choose
not to participate in a family gathering or holiday celebration.
2) The character can be the victim of the obstacle, with the
obstacle being done to or used on the character, which requires a
reaction from the character (i.e. your character may get ambushed
by the neighborhood gang).
3) The character can witness something which provokes a reaction,
decision or conflict. For example, she may witness a robbery by
the neighborhood gang, but some of the members are her friends
and she must decide whether or not to report the incident to the
police.
Another way of creating obstacles is to ask yourself the
following questions:
1. What could go wrong when trying to achieve or obtain the goal?
2. Who or what could hinder progress toward this goal?
3. When could things go wrong? Name the worst times.
4. Where could things go wrong? List a location and three
obstacles that could occur.
5. How could things go wrong? List the process or sequence of
events, or the mechanisms involved.
Also think about the obstacle's placement in the story. What
needs to happen before the obstacle takes place so it can have
the most dramatic impact? What should you foreshadow? And what
information does the reader need to make this obstacle
interesting and believable?
Finally, does anything about this obstacle lead the character
into the next goal and the next obstacle? Ideally, the character
runs from one problem to another until finally he either succeeds
or fails at his goal.
Remember, for an obstacle to work it must be logically and
intricately connected to everything else that's happening in the
story. But that doesn't mean it has to be predictable. The
obstacles can be humorous, suspenseful, and above all,
surprising. Then you'll have characters your readers will want
to root for.
Copyright ©2001 by Children's Book Insider, LLC. All rights reserved.
About the author: Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the
Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about
writing children's books, including free articles, market tips,
insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's
home on the web at http://write4kids.com
July 2001
What is Copyright?
by Craig Lock
INTRODUCTION AND AUTHOR'S COMMENT:
This article (which is an extract from the writing course I
ran at the local polytechnic was developed about five years
ago) was written for the "OFFLINE and real world" here
in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It covers general
principles of copyright and may also be applied to the USA.
Publishing on the world wide web (writing articles on your
field of expertise is a most effective form of internet market-
ing, incidentally!) is very different to the "real world".
In the online "wild west culture" standard
copyright rules are far harder to enforce, as the subject of
copyright is constantly evolving and rapidly changing , like
the "net" itself. It appears that on the www virtually "any-
thing goes" with many varied opinions and it's very hard to
get common rulings and agreement on this complex issue.
My advice would be to apply the same "strict" rules regard-
ing copyright, when writing online as offline,
as I explain in this article.
With these guidelines we can all do our bit to bring some
order into the "lawlessness" prevalent in copying other
people's work on the www. By following these guidelines,
I'm sure no-one will be able to criticise "sqeaky clean you".
COPYRIGHT:
What is copyright? No one can reproduce your work with-
out your permission - not even a personal letter. How much
of a writer's work can be legitimately used? A poem of 40-50
words is generally considered to be OK. Usually one is not
allowed to copy substantial amounts of another writer's work
without their express permission.
* But then what is meant by the word "substantial"? It is
widely open to interpretation and opens up a literary and
legal "minefield" (that's a metaphor, by the way!).
There are no hard and fast guidelines about the rule of copy-
right. The following is a rough 'rule of thumb':
You can take approximately 300 words from a book or any
other lengthy work of writing. You can also quote 150 words
from a magazine article. Fifty (50) words quoted from a news-
paper article is generally considered to be "fair use" without
requiring either permission or a fee. Copyright lasts 50 years
after your death.
You can use what is termed 'fair dealing' in writing reports,
or research material. I always advise acknowledging sources
in your reference section.
It's all very unclear - the entire subject of copyright, so I
won't say too much. Just use your common sense and
discretion (if you have some)... and be HONEST by fol-
lowing your heart. Don't copy other author's material and
purport (nice word, eh?) to be the author. One should not
paraphrase a substantial amount of another author's writing,
nor use that writer's points without due ACKNOWLEDG-
MENT. Hint hint!
If you get into a dispute (oops!), there are specialised trade
and copyright laywers (or solicitors as they call them here in
'civilised' NZ) in the big centres. If in doubt, get advice...then
DON'T infringe copyright.
Send requests to use material to the permissions editor of a
magazine, newspaper or book publisher. Book publishers
usually have a small department which deals solely in this.
Give them as much information as possible about your article
or book, your publisher, as well as other books or articles
written by you. Tell them what quotes you want to use and
why and so on. Say you will give them due acknowledgement
in your writing. They'll usually oblige.
There is sometimes a small fee payable. Always acknowledge
the sources of your quotations - then you've kept your word,
your side of the "bargain".
Also keep copies of your correspondence in the event of an
unlikely dispute.
Now a bit for Kiwis (and Brits)...
No one can reproduce your work without your permission.
New Zealand law closely follows British law. In NZ copyright
is usually protected for 50 years after the author's death. If a
book is published posthumously (nice long word that),
copyright extends for 75 years after the time of the author's
death. After that the work can be freely used by anyone.
No hope for me then... but perhaps my great great grand-
children!
As from 1989, New Zealand copyright law requires 3 copies
of every NZ publication to go to the National Library in
Wellington. One of which goes to the Alexander Turnbull
Library, one to the National Library for bibliographical pur-
poses, while the third is kept at the Parliamentary Library in
the capital in Wellington.
Sometimes a publisher might want copyright in exchange for
a fee. My advice: It's your work of art. So always retain your
copyright... unless you are in dire financial straits, like this
aspiring writer. *
In the next lesson (and article) we will look at the subject of
plagiarism . Wow, that's a big word and I hope I spelt it correctly (especially for you "slick Americans")!
No , I don't mind you using my material and I feel, it may be
very hard for another "writer" to closely copy my rather "wacky style
of hopefully informing and entertaining at the same time".
Anyway, isn't "imitation the sincerest form of flattery"?
Copyright ©2001 by Craig Lock.
About the Author: Craig Lock is an author of numerous books and the
creator of the ORIGINAL online creative writing
course.
http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/creative.html
He has been writing for the past "lucky" seven years.
Craig has had five books published on various subjects
with another 12 manuscripts being published and mar-
keted on the internet.
Craig's various books are available from:
http://www.novelty-gift.com/
or
http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/books.html
June 2001
How To Review Anything
by Magdalena Ball
Taste is subjective. What makes for a good book, painting, CD,
concert, or product? The music your nephew raves about is probably
not the same as the sounds you swoon to, and a quick glance at the
worldwide bestselling of books will probably leave you astonished. So
how do you write a review which is helpful and applicable to a wide
audience? Well first of all, you have to accept that there will be a
range of people who completely disagree with your opinion, such is
the nature of assessment. There are some basic rules to follow
though, if you want a following of like minded people who look to you
as an arbiter of taste, style and guidance, and if you want to market
your work.
The Art of Assessment: How to Review Anything will guide
you through the complete review process, from reviewing in depth,
what a review actually is, through the rules of writing good reviews,
how to use interviews to add depth to your reviews, tips for
obtaining review copies or products, how to market your reviews, and
plenty of examples and references to help you become a working
reviewer. If you are already a reviewer, you should find some
tricks to make the process more consistent, or to branch out into new
markets. If you are a writer who wants to get started in reviewing,
this report will provide you with the tools you need.
Choose Wisely
Do not review genres or products with which you are uncomfortable or
unfamiliar. If you hate science fiction, do not review it. If you
do not have a vested interest in having good books or CDs on the
market for toddlers, stick to those geared for adults. It is
virtually impossible to provide an adequate review of items which
have no relevance for you. You simply do not have the criteria to
make a judgement. Sometimes this means having to turn down reviews.
I have, on a number of occasions, been sent videos designed for teens
and books designed for the young adult. Since my children are
preschoolers and my own reading habits tend to the sophisticated
adult, I really could not judge the relevance of these items. I had
to send them back.
Experience the product like a real consumer
It is not always easy to allow yourself the simple pleasure of
reading or listening if you are an experienced reviewer. When you
write a lot of reviews, often the sentences and judgements are
forming from the first word, note, or look at an item, sometimes even
before the item arrives. It is important to simply experience the
book, concert, CD or use the product as any consumer would, putting
oneself in the role of target market. In most cases the reviewer
should be part of the target market, that is why he or she has been
chosen to do the review (or why they have chosen). Simple, almost
childlike pleasure (or dissatisfaction) in the product is an
important first step. Always experience the whole product. Read the
entire book, listen to the entire CD, several times if necessary, use
the item for a few days. You cannot make a judgment until you know
all of it. Listen to the whole CD. Mark or note passages or areas
of concern or delight as you come across them. Note your impressions
as you experience the item. Then allow yourself some time to
assimilate your experience, to think about it, to view the item in
its entirety. This is particularly important with books. Some
particularly good books require time before their full meaning
becomes clear. The meaning is a seed left in the readers which grows
in that sacred space between reading and understanding. The reviewer
should not become so sophisticated that they can not experience that
space.
Make your bias obvious
Since the review process is a subjective one, it is critical that you
let your readers know what your biases are. We all have them. My
taste in literature tends towards the challenging, perhaps even
elitist work - work which is highly original, startling, and very
creative. This means that I tend to be critical of some of the
simpler narratives which fill the best-seller lists. My bias is
primarily language and theme based, and I favour good
characterisation over good plot. Another reviewer may be looking for
a rapid pace, a turn of events, a moral, whatever. It is important
that your readers know how their own taste aligns with yours so they
can work out whether or not they are going to trust you. The same
holds for music, products, food, etc. Make your bias clear, and
focus your review accordingly.
Use Objective Criteria
While everyone has biases, it is critical to use objective and
consistent criteria for assessment. There is really no such thing as
pure objectivity in the assessment process. We all have different
tastes and there are so many factors influencing our judgements that
it is impossible to separate our love of certain music for example,
from the experiences we had while listening to it growing up.
However, there are always objective points which we can use to assess
the worth of an item. Poetry is particularly difficult, since it is
almost always personal, usually heartfelt, and representative of long
hours of soul searching. But good poetry is that which is
universally meaningful, has a rhythm and beauty which stands alone,
and speaks clearly to the reader, avoiding cliches, didacticism and
trite sentiments. There is also what I call the shiver factor. Some
moment, some shared understanding, which causes the hairs on your
neck to rise. Something happens. This is what good poetry should
do. The same goes for good novels and good music. There are a whole
range of objective criteria such as the effectiveness and consistency
of the narrative voice, the originality of the language, the plot,
the characterisation, the theme, the power and beauty of the prose.
With some authors, the meaning, the turning point does not come until
the book is finished and you walk away from it. For non-fiction, the
use of language may not be so important (although good prose is
always good prose, regardless of the genre), where clarity and the
lessons being taught are as critical as any story. For a list of
specific criteria relevant to each genre, see chapter 3: How to
Review Anything.
Pre-writing thoughts
Before starting to read, watch, listen or use the item, it might be
helpful to consider the following:
1. What does the title or item name suggest
2. Who is the author, composer, director, etc and what is their
background, and what else have they done.
3. What is the overall purpose of the item.
Set High Standards
There is a lot of good material out there. There are books which are
astonishing. Music which is gorgeous. As reviewers, I think we have
a responsibility to frown upon the cliched, the mediocre, the
meaningless, the poorly crafted. Time is precious and people are
looking to us to provide a judgement. Integrity is the stock in
trade of a reviewer. This is not as obvious as it seems. A reviewer
might feel uncomfortable panning products sent for review. They
might perhaps worry that the publisher or company will stop sending
me products if the reviews are not kind. However, as long as your
review criteria is clear, and as long as your criticisms are
constructive in the main and well worded, you have a responsibility
to be honest in your assessment. A reviewer should set the same high
standards when reviewing music for children as for music for adults,
for non-fiction as for fiction, rock music as for classical, although
of course the audience is different and that needs to be taken into
account.
Do not forget humour
Of course you cannot forget that you are also an entertainer. Your
work is being read, not only for usefulness, not only to inform, but
also to give your readers pleasure, and your own writing needs to be
humorous, interesting, and also to avoid cliches, repetition, typos,
poor grammar, poor syntax, a shoddy narrative voice, etc. In fact, a
reviewer is in the unenviable position of being judged by criteria he
or she sets. You cannot call a work pretentious while sprinkling
your English review with bits of French (pas moi) or Latin. Oh, and
do not ramble. Mea culpa.
Copyright ©2001 by Magdalena Ball. All rights reserved.
This excerpt is from The Art of Assessment: How to Review Anything,
which is now available for sale at The Compulsive Reader,
http://www.compulsivereader.com.
The Art of Assessment is a complete guide to the review process, from
how to write good reviews, how to use interviews to add depth to your
reviews, obtaining review copies, marketing your reviews, and plenty
of examples and references to help you become a working reviewer.
For more information, or to purchase a copy for the special price of
$12.95 (USD), visit http://www.compulsivereader.com
About the author: Magdalena Ball is a freelance writer, analyst,
poet, fiction writer, reviewer and interviewer. She is Content
Manager for http://www.compulsivereader.com, a web site devoted to
new release literary fiction reviews, author interviews, profiles and
literary criticism, Contributing Editor at Suite 101 for Australian
Lit Reviews, http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/10111, and has a
regular review spot on 5UV Writer's Radio which is syndicated to
20
community radio stations around Australian and broadcast live in real
audio at
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/5UV
June 2001
Is Your Idea a Story?
by Sherry D. Ramsey
Every story or article starts with an idea. Maybe it's a full-blown plot, maybe it's a single scene, a character, or an unusual object. Perhaps it's an issue close to your heart, something you saw on the news, or a personal experience. We find ideas all around us, every day, and they start us wondering, "Is there a story in that?". Ask yourself these simple questions to help you determine if your idea has what it takes to grow into a fully-realized piece.
1. Does it have a direction? Is there somewhere you can take that idea that has a beginning, a middle, and an end? Can you visualize it in scenes, playing out a series of events to a climax? Does it make a point, teach something useful, or reveal a truth? Is it really a story, or is it a personal essay, or a vignette, or just an idea with nowhere to go?
Sometimes, on closer inspection, an idea is just that-only an idea. It's static, just an interesting element with no real story possibilities. Or it doesn't have enough depth for an article. That's okay. File it away in your idea book. Some day in the future it might click with something else and grow beyond its beginnings.
2. Will it speak to someone? Does someone stand to lose, or gain, or be changed by the idea? Will it teach a lesson or provide information that someone will find valuable? Who? Will readers want to know what happens? Do you want to know what happens?
There's one thing for certain. If you aren't interested in your idea, your readers won't be, either. A story or article has to hold some appeal for you or that indifference will find its way into your writing. Save your words for the writing that intrigues and involves you most.
3. Is it a story you can write? Do you have the knowledge you need to write this story, or are you willing to do research to get it? Can you distance yourself emotionally from the topic, or is it too personal for you? Can you deal fairly with the idea, and write the story it deserves?
You can't cut corners with your writing, because there is always someone out there who will call you on it. If you don't have or can't get the facts you need, it's not your story to write. And often if you're too close to the story, your bias shows too strongly through your writing. Be certain the idea is right for you.
4. Why do you want to write it? If it's for personal satisfaction only, that's the only reason you need. But if you would like to publish it, is there a market? Is it timely? Does it cover new ground or deal with an issue or situation in a new way? Has the story been told already?
Many, perhaps most, of the ideas we have won't end up as stories. But they make us think, keep our minds open to possibilities, and help develop our instincts as writers. By asking ourselves these questions, by scrutinizing our ideas and examining our motives and abilities, we can better decide which ones will evolve into the best things we can write.
Do it! Make a list of five ideas you'd like to write about. Then apply the above criteria. Are they ready to evolve into stories for you?
Copyright ©2001 by Sherry D. Ramsey. All rights reserved.
About the book: Designed to help new writers find answers fast, The New Writer's Guide to Just About Everything features more than sixty sections, providing essential advice on topics like developing ideas, the craft of writing, techniques for editing, basic rules for submitting work, and a little bit of philosophy about writing. Learn more or order your copy today at Booklocker.com.
June 2001
Take Control of Your Time
by Archie Lawhorne
If you're ever going to take control of your life
and make it grand, you'll need to start by taking
control of your time. Without question, effective
time management is fundamental to succeeding in any
area of life. In fact, it is often the main difference
between life's achievers and those who, although
always busy, never get anywhere.
Not surprisingly, an entire industry has been created
out of the need to better manage our time. But if you
look a little deeper, you'll see that its not so much
about time management as it is self management. Because
in reality, you can't control time, but you can control
yourself and what you do with each moment of time.
Most experts agree that success is the result of habit.
Therefore, the first step in improving how you use your
time starts with your habits (self control). And your
habits start as consciously made decisions (i.e. what
time you get up, what kind of books you read, etc.).
Once established, good habits become second nature. In
many cases, success is not so much the result of doing
the unusual, but rather the result of one's ability to
"master the mundane." By consistently performing all of
the little rudimentary tasks that are important, over
time these activities transform into huge achievements.
Here are some simple rules to follow for better time management:
Don't procrastinate. Do it now. When people put things
off, it kills momentum, slows achievement of current goals
and restricts future opportunity as time is clogged up. The
way to tackle procrastination is to set deadlines by which
goals should be achieved. The way to avoid last-minute
deadlines brought on by procrastination is to set
intermediary goals which must be achieved and then
steadily track progress.
Track your activities. Memory is a poor guide when it
comes to assessing how you spend your time. A better
way is to record your activities throughout the day,
listing everything you do. Most people will find that
they have about three hours each day that can be used
in a more constructive or efficient manner. Take stock
of the time you spend chatting on the phone, flipping
though magazines or aimlessly surfing the Web, and
eliminate all that isn't necessary.
Concentrate on results. Many people spend their days in
a frenzy of activity, but achieve very little because
they are not concentrating on the right things. Don't
confuse working efficiently with working effectively.
Activities can be tension-relieving, but not goal-achieving.
By concentrating on fewer "major" priorities regularly,
you can achieve a lot more in less time.
Remember the 80/20 principle: 20% of your key activities
will give you 80% of your results. Your aim is to change
this to ensure that you concentrate as much of your effort
as possible on the high payoff tasks.
Use travel time wisely. It's easy to overlook time spent
traveling in your assessment of time management. Consider
carefully whether this is time that you could use more
productively. For example, if you opted to take the bus
or train to work, would this provide an opportunity to
make better use of your commute time? Or if you do drive,
are you listening to educational or motivational tapes
(rather than the Top 40) which could help improve your
skills and make you a more productive and well-rounded
person?
Develop action plans. An action plan is a brief list of
tasks that you have to complete to achieve an objective.
It differs from a "To Do" list in that it focuses on the
achievement of a goal, (and the specific steps to get
there) rather than just on the goals to be achieved in
a period of time. Whenever you want to achieve something,
drawing up an action plan allows you to concentrate on
the stages of that achievement, and monitor your progress
towards that realization.
Respond quickly. For example, take care of your mail as
you receive it. Don't let those bills and letters pile
up on you. If you're unable to respond to a letter
immediately, file it in a special place that's visible,
and note on the envelope the required action and date
you intend to resolve it. When possible, act on requests
the same day you receive them. Don't let your computer,
your desk or your mind become clogged with useless things.
Be Decisive. Learn to say no to people. Your time is
important, so don't let other people impose or use you
to compensate for their poor planning. Eliminate
distractions as much as possible. Close your door,
turn off the ringer on your phone or simply ask not
to be disturbed.
Schedule time to relax. When you're organizing your time
and your business, make sure to set aside some time for
relaxation. If you plan for it in advance, it's less
likely to come up spontaneously and distract you from
other tasks. (No, sitting at your computer with a mouse
under your hand does not qualify as relaxing).
Your first step toward better time management is to take
stock of the time you waste each day and from there,
reorganize your activities to maximize every minute.
(Essentially, it boils down to exercising better self
control - it's simple, but not easy). Above all, stick
to your plan. Your schedule will work only as well as
you commit to it. Keep it with you everywhere you go and
refer to it often. By following these tips, you'll create
more space to be, do and have more in your life. Best of
all, you'll approach life in a more proactive and
intentional manner.
Copyright ©2001 by Archie Lawhorne.
About the Author: Archie R. Lawhorne, APR, is an accredited public relations
professional, marketing writer and consultant. Archie's
FREE 7-Day MLM Crash Course uncovers the dirty
secrets and exposes the ugly under-belly of MLM like you've
never seen before. Don't make another move or invest another
dime until you read this material. For instant delivery, send a
blank email to: MLMInsights@infogeneratorpro.com, or visit
http://www.profitleader.com. FOD: 403-934-6061 (Doc. 362104).
comments? criticisms? would you like to respond? email scriptorium@thescriptorium.net
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