Dec 31, 2003 -- Your Get Organized to Write More in
2004 Plan...
Volume 2, Issue 39
The weekly ezine with a road map for
sidetracked writers.
"Be better writers today
than we were yesterday."
Welcome to our subscribers (new and old)!
Thought for the Week -
Your Get Organized to Write More in 2004(tm) Plan...
Here we go! Following are the first four days of the 2004
plan. I can tell it's going to be one of our best years
yet.
This week we are going to focus on what it is you really
want and getting our time and planners organized. Next
week we'll get into the nitty-gritty of how to get from
here to there.
P.S. "This week, I had the pleasure of reading The Organized Writer and interviewing author Julie Hood.
This is a book no writer should be without...."
-- Michael Knowles, http://www.WriteThinking.net
==> What's really, really REALLY important?
==> Your Master List and Writer's Planner
==> Your Personal Mosaic
Thu, Jan 1, 2004
New Year's Day
Day One - The New Year
Don't you just love New Year's? Parties, the apple dropping,
and clean calendars. And resolutions. And holiday bills in
the mail. Hmmmm.... maybe it's not so fun anymore?
I know every one of us has set a resolution for the new year,
and then blown it within a couple days. Let's make this year
different, OK?
First, you are allowed to jump on and off this goal-setting/
resolution wagon with no guilt. If life gets too crazy and
you quit writing for a few days, no big deal. Just jump
back on wherever you were.
Second (and this is really important), I want you to work
with yourself this year. Make sure everything you decide to
do in 2004 fits with your personality and your life. Make
sure you really, really, REALLY want whatever you're going for
this year.
Take a look back at your successes. What worked
for you in prior years? What was different about that event
from other events where you weren't as successful? What
motivates you to stick with projects even after the initial
excitement has worn off?
If you own The Organized Writer EBOOK: Ctrl-N, page 10.
Take the personality quiz. Are you a messy, piler, pack rat or
procrastinator? What other personality traits affect how you think
and work? Learn tricks for working with each personality type.
Tax Note: Set up two taxes folders - Taxes 2003 and
Taxes
2004. You'll be getting lots of tax papers over the next couple
weeks.
Then, run out to your car, and jot down your
mileage on two slips of paper.
Stick one copy in Taxes 2003 (your ending mileage) and one copy in Taxes 2004
folder (your beginning mileage). Or write it
on your Writer's Calendar.
Copyright Update: Then, hop out to your website, and
update all the copyright notices to include 2004. Updated
copyrights give the impression you are really on top of
things! Now, to fix all mine....
Day One Checklist:
___ 1. What successes did you have in the past year or prior years?
___ 2. What worked for you to help you succeed?
___ 3. What motivates you?
___ 4. Take the personality quiz on p. 10 and note your personality type: ______________________________________
___ 5. What tricks will help you with this trait?
___ 6. Set up your Taxes 2003 and Taxes 2004 folders.
___ 7. Note your beginning and ending mileage.
___ 8. Update the copyright notice on your web site.
Fri, Jan 2, 2004
Day Two - Your Master List
Where do you file your papers? What about your favorites on
your computer? Or your computer files?
What if I had one solution for all of these?
Consider using a Master List.
What is a Master List? The Master List, your organizing
bible, drives nearly everything you do. The Master List
categorizes your most commonly used topics into one
handy list.
The Master List is based on a pyramid scheme. The top of
the pyramid contains only a few Main Categories. They are
subdivided into Subcategories. At the lowest level are your
Ideas and Topics. You should have lots of these.
For more info, check out the excerpt from The Organized
Writer: 30 Days to More Time, More Money and Less
Frustration .
Today, create your own Master List, or update the one from
last year.
If you own The Organized Writer EBOOK: Press Ctrl+N and
go to page 14 to read about the master list. Page 18 has the
blank form, and page 19 has a sample master list.
Day Two Checklist:
___ 1. Make your own Master List, or update it if you already have one.
___ 2. Print copies on colored paper to put in your planner,
by your computer, and in the front of your filing cabinet.
Sat, Jan 3, 2004
Day 3 - Create Your Planner
If you haven't done it yet, get your planner in shape for
2004. I'm so excited. For those of you who keep saying, "I'm
going to get that planner put together," I've got the solution
for you. You can now buy a planner directly from
OrganizedWriter.com. Find out more. If you'd rather, buy your planner supplies. You need:
-- binder
-- dividers (15-20)
-- page/tape flags as subdividers
-- three-hole punch
-- clicker pens
Print planner pages from the file you received when you
subscribed. Not sure where it is? The file is called
writersplanner.pdf, and use Start > Search > For Files or
Folders... to locate it.
The planner pages are listed in the appendix. Be
sure to print the 10 new forms you didn't get when you
subscribed to this newsletter:
-- Idea Grabber,
-- Publication Analyzer,
-- Time Map,
-- Three new accounting forms (income and deposit records,
expense records, and credit card payments),
-- Pre-designed Hanging Folder Labels,
-- A proofreading checklist, and
-- A query checklist.
Day Three Checklist:
__ 1. Buy your planner or planner supplies.
__ 2. Print planner pages or send pages to a copy center.
__ 3. Clean out last year's planner.
Sun, Jan 4, 2004
Day 4 - What Do You Want?
Today you get to put together a mosaic of what you really,
really want.
Remember how much fun it was in kindergarten to cut out
pictures from magazines and catalogs? We're going to do
that again for a couple reasons. First, our minds tend
to think in pictures so the more vivid you can make the
images for your mind, the better.
Second, I want you to visit that fun time when you were
a child and got to pull out the scissors and glue (and
crayons and markers, if you like!).
As you flip through the magazines and catalogs, look for
what appeals to you, things you love. One writer cut
out the New York Times Bestseller List and added his book
and name to the list.
What can you do with all these pictures? You can glue
them to posterboard or a presentation board. You can
also collect the pictures in a scrapbook. Pick whatever
appeals to you.
I'm pulling together several pages for each area of my
life: writing, hubby, kids, other family, home, financial,
time and organization, business, health, philanthropy,
spiritual, and FUN! I love quotes so I'm adding my
favorites.
I did a simplified version of this last year, and
I was amazed at what I got. I wanted a portable of my own (my
husband and I were sharing one). Well I didn't get a new
one, but he did, and I got the old one all for myself --
yay! I also wanted a new handheld PDA (personal digital
assistant), but I knew there was no way I could afford
it last year. Guess what? My hubby gave it to me for
my birthday! Yes, this is the man who gave me a hard
drive for my computer when we were dating <grin>.
What amazed me was how these two items materialized
in my life even though I was certain they would not
when I cut them out.
Ctrl-N, p. 41 - What works for you? Fill out the
assessment form with ratings from 1 to 10 to see which days
over the next month will be the most helpful for you.
Day Four Checklist:
___ 1. Create mosaic of what you want for 2004.
___ 2. Determine which days over the next month will be
most helpful for you.
Here's a virtual toast to your success this past year and wishing you many more in 2004!
Happy New Year! Julie
Like Organized
Writer.com? You'll love the ebook.....
"Julie, I love your book. I have read (or at least opened) more than a trunk load of books about writing over the years. Yours is the first I have seen that gives readers so much in one place. For me, the Master List and putting that together was more than worth the cost."
-- David Stoddard
Motivational writer, trainer and publisher of the
Terrific Life Concepts ezine.
http://djstoddard.net
M T W T F S S
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1. Declutter (only 5 minutes)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2. Read (only 5 minutes)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3. Assess (30 seconds to 5 minutes)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4. Write (at least 5 minutes)
Weekly Checklist
For freelance writers: Use this weekly checklist to find, write and send a query every week of 2003!
Monday
__ Make notes on a new idea.
Tuesday: Accounting Day
__ Post your accounting records.
__ Pay bills.
__ Follow up on outstanding invoices and queries.
Wednesday
__ Find a new market using links below.
Thursday: Errand Day
__ Make copies.
__ Return books to library.
__ Make deposit at bank.
Friday
__ Finish query and submit.
__ Match your query to the market.
Saturday Weekly Review
__ How was this week?
__ What's up next week?
__ Review your Projects list in your planner and check the
status.
__ Jot the next action steps for your projects on next week's
calendar.
__ Backup your computer files.
__ Virus scan your computer.
__ Update windows software at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
__ Update Microsoft(R) office software at http://office.microsoft.com/officeupdate/default.aspx
Sunday
__ Relax and enjoy!
__ Do something fun today!
Thanks for visiting Writer-Reminders! If you have comments,
success stories, or suggestions, reply to this message or e-mail
me at :julie@writer-reminders.com
Your privacy is very important to me. Your email address will never be
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