A Slice of Orange

Another January, another set of resolutions some of us will never keep. Is it futile?

I wish I knew the answer to that age-old question.  I suspect resolutions and/or yearly goals work for some people but not others. Or maybe they work some years but not others. There are organizing methods that work for some people, but not everyone. All I do know is that I have to try doing something different this year to make some sense out of my messed up schedule. That won’t eliminate the chaos in my creatively messy mind though.

In the interests of organization, I signed up for the current OCC/RWA online class Going the Distance: Time Management for the Writer taught by our own Kitty Bucholtz. The class has just started but I’m hopeful of learning new techniques to use my precious time more productively. Goal setting will be part of the process. I’ve had good luck with that technique before, when I’ve paid attention to my goals and taken steps to meet them. Goals somehow seem more serious than “New Year’s Resolutions” which have a bad track record, plus goals can be revised or abandoned in favor of something better. Once a New Year’s resolution is abandoned, it’s all over until the next year. Right?

Here’s a blog article by James Clear (recommended by Alina K. Field) that I found interesting:

Why Trying to Be Perfect Won’t Help You Achieve Your Goals (And What Will)

Rather than worrying about goals and resolutions he recommends focusing on repetitive behavior, i.e. creating habits that will keep you moving towards whatever it is you want to accomplish.

Author P. J. Sharon wrote a blog this week on sticking to your plan that you may find interesting.

Tough Love

I swear this was all easier in the 20thy century. Nowadays social media is such a distraction. I set out to read my email in the morning, but keep finding interesting links to click on, or something that cries out to be tweeted, and before I know it, I have seven or eight tabs open in Firefox and two hours have disappeared, never to be seen again.

In the cause of taming the social media monster, here are links to a couple of blog posts you may find helpful. Don’t be put off by the title of the first. It’s a pretty good beginner’s guide to Twitter, and I found some helpful ideas in it.

The Ultimate Twitter Guide to Crush Your Competition

Infographic: The Secrets of a Killer Blog Post

At the Marketing for Romance Writers blog, Erin Moore asks: Newbie World: Do I Really Need Social Media? Good advice for the new author.

Middle Grade author Chris Eboch on A Year of Success contains more links to older blog posts on the subject.

If anyone reading this post has any brilliant ideas or getting or staying organized, please let me know. Will you be setting goals? How did you do in 2013? I’d love to hear about your successes.

Hope to have some progress to share next month.

Linda McLaughlin / Lyndi Lamont

Linda McLaughlin grew up with a love of books and history, so it’s only natural she prefers writing historical romance. She loves transporting her readers into the past where her characters learn that, in the journey of life, love is the sweetest reward.

She also writes erotic romance under the name Lyndi Lamont, and is one half of the writing team of Lyn O’Farrell.

You can find her online at http://www.lindamclaughlin.com or http://www.lyndilamont.com.
Blog: http://flightsafancy.blogspot.com/
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