How to get it done

When I coach authors on reaching their goals, I’ve noticed that many immediately bring up what they need to “fix."

The reality is, most of us know what we could improve—and spend way too much time thinking about it. In most cases, we're far better served giving ourselves credit for what we’re already doing. This isn’t about back-patting or ego. Feeling good fuels productivity; feeling lousy does not. 

One simple way to acknowledge how you’re showing up for your goals is to track your progress. 

I used to do this, but fell off the tracking wagon at some point. But when one of my clients (shout out to B.K.) shared her spreadsheet, I realized it was time to return to the practice in order to finish my next book. So last month, I used a simple Excel spreadsheet to track a few key priorities: exercise, sleep, marketing, and of course, word count.

Friends, I wrote more than 30,000 words in July—even though I was in Puerto Rico with my family for a significant chunk of that time. And because I wrote that much, I finished the first draft of my eleventh book. (Spoiler alert: it’s a weeper and I absolutely love it. I hope to be able to share more soon.) I don’t think I would have realized that, let alone celebrated it, if I hadn’t had that data right in front of me on my computer. 

Measuring what matters makes a difference. Here are three more ways to reach your goal: 

*Put first things first. I’m a morning person, but I don’t like to write right away; I’d rather exercise and answer email before I start drafting. But because I knew most of my time was spoken for in Puerto Rico, I let go of how I like to do things and did what made the most sense, which was to write as soon as I'd made myself coffee. The result? I hit my word count well before lunch, and was able to spend the rest of the day with my husband, kids, and our extended family. 

*Do less of everything else. In July, I cleaned my house less, posted on social media very little, said yes to far fewer blurb requests than I normally do, didn’t record my podcast, and let emails linger. And guess what? The world didn’t fall down around me. In fact, I had more clarity—and energy—than I’ve had in a long time. 

*Stop making it a you problem. Are you really “easily distracted,” “a procrastinator,” or “lazy” … or do you just have too many tabs open? The human brain hasn’t evolved at the same rate technology has (gifted link if you want to read more about this); we’re literally not built for the amount of stimuli we’re inundated with. Make it easier to follow through by putting your phone in another room when you write. Turn off notifications (you’re going to check email and Instagram whether you get pinged or not, so why be reminded of them in the middle of drafting?). Use noise-canceling headphones if your kids are hollering or your neighbor’s doing construction. I wrote the draft of this email by hand on a notepad. Why? Because I knew I’d do it faster if that was the only thing I had to look at.