November 1st.
A day that fills the internet writing community with dread and excitement.
The first day of NaNoWriMo.
For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, the annual November sprint to 50,000 words where writers sign up (for free) and do their best to write a novel in thirty days.
I don't know how many of these I've signed up for over the years. Probably a dozen.
I do know how many I've finished.
None.
It's not strange that I've never finished a NaNo project. I'm not consistent, and it takes consistency to bang out 50,000 words in thirty days. I tend to write in fits and starts, and have more uncompleted projects than completed ones.
I did have a solid year from April of 2021 through March of 2022 where I wrote fifty short stories and three short (40,000 word) novels. This was thanks largely to putting my money where my mouth is - I signed up for Dean Wesley Smith's short story and novel writing challenges.
Something about paying to enter the challenge kept me more consistent and motivated than I'd ever been, and having concrete goals drove me to continue. I wrote the short stories mostly on Sundays, sometimes taking all morning and a good portion of the afternoon.
I wrote the novels typically in the last two weeks before they were due. The longest took me thirteen days, and the shortest took me six. So yeah, I can write 40,000 words in six days, but I can't get 50,000 words in 30 days? Something is wrong here, eh?
I know what's wrong, though. I procrastinate. I lack discipline.
I find it easier to sprint through a project at the last minute than I do to commit to a daily writing routine.
This is a habit born of laziness, but driven by fear. When the stakes are highest, when my back is to the wall, I usually get done what I must.
But why do the stakes have to be so high?
This method of writing is exhausting.
Heck, this method of doing anything is exhausting. It's much easier, and far more productive in the long term, to be consistent and get a little bit done every day, to take smaller pieces out of larger goals until the pieces accumulate to a whole.
Then, even if you want to increase your productivity, you spend a little more time every day, increasing slowly, until you reach your desired output.
Simple, right?
Apparently not. And I know I'm not alone. There are plenty of last minute sprinters out there, banging away on everything in their lives at the last possible moment. We did it with school assignments. We did it with college papers, and many of us were rewarded with A grades for our last minute, late night efforts, which did nothing but reinforce our procrastinatory ways.
We continue to do it with doctor's appointments, haircuts, weekend plans, finances, work, and just about anything you can list that would benefit from a regular schedule but which we, instead, do at the last possible minute.
This is a tough way to live a life, and it drives out partners crazy!
I've worked on my procrastination habit for years, and I've mostly overcome it where work is concerned. I've turned into a systemic, habitual animal when I walk through the doors of my 9 to 5, and the daily tasks that used to spread across my day are now often done in the first two hours, leaving me more time to devote to grander pursuits that have been hugely impactful on my effectiveness and salary.
But there are still some things, less urgent things, that elude my best efforts to systemize. I'm still chasing these small, less important but often more impactful tasks down at the end of the month or quarter. These are things I should schedule, but because they are not daily and routine, I let them come and go as they will and often find myself scrambling to complete them at the last minute.
New guitar, same old song.
Well, here I am on November 1st. I've signed up for another NaNoWriMo. And I'm signing up for my own personal challenge.
30 Days of Change: Systemizing my life for better productivity
For the next thirty days, I'm scheduling everything. I'm planning out my days, weeks, and the entire month. I'm leaving very little room for flexibility. I'm going to bear down on my priorities and get to work, and I'm going to do it in a way that eliminates procrastination and guess work as much as possible.
I'm aware that planning is a skill. That's good news. Great news, in fact!
Skills can be learned.
I've shown I can learn to systemize the routine tasks of my work day. When I stick to that routine, I'm happier and far more productive at work than I've ever been. And even when it slips a little, I now have that stable model of routine to return to in order to refocus.
That's hugely valuable. My career has taken off in the last two years, and I see measurable, concrete results.
I want that for my whole life.
So, for the month of November, I'm going to be focused on setting up a system and sticking to it. I'm going to look beyond daily planning and work out not just daily routines, but weekly and monthly ones as well.
And every day, I'm going to tell you about the changes I'm making, the resistance I'm feeling, and the progress I'm making.
So what am I focusing on?
Well, there are four main areas I want to improve: Health, Work, Writing, Family and Friends.
How am I going to systemize and improve my quality of life in these four areas? And how am I going to eliminate procrastination from my life in the process?
The first change I made today was getting up earlier, and getting up with a purpose and a plan.
I normally wake up at 5 a.m. , walk the dogs, have some coffee, and read a little before breakfast. Sometimes I don't read, and instead spend time scrolling on Social Media. None of this, outside walking the dogs, is particularly productive. Enjoyable, but not productive.
Today, I woke up at 3 a.m.
I find that I can be very productive in the early morning when I want to be, which involves knowing what my goals are for the day and what my plan is, step by step, when I get out of bed.
I kept it simple today. I woke up at 3 a.m. with the intent to write.
I devised a simple morning schedule for myself, and I plan to stick to it for the entire month.
3 a.m. - 5 a.m. - Writing
5 a.m. - 5:30 a.m. - Walk the dogs
5:30 a.m. - 6: 30 a.m. - Gym
6:30 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. - Breakfast/Shower/Shave/Dress
7:30 a.m. - Leave for work
This morning schedule, done seven days a week, will lay the groundwork for a successful day, week, and month.
You will note that the morning routine addresses two of my priorities, Health and Writing, in a hugely impactful way.
Daily writing can only improve my consistent, quality, and productivity. And two hours to start each day provides a solid base on which to build a writing practice. And an hour at the gym each morning will have an immediate positive impact on my health.
I haven't even planned the rest of the day yet, never mind the week and month, and I've already addressed half of my priorities.
This morning, I got out of bed at 3, started a novel, wrote this blog, drank a full bottle of water,and have barely finished half a cup of coffee. Good start.
That's enough for today. It's time to walk the dogs.
See you tomorrow.
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