Tools for the business of writing

by Julie Hood

Home Book Store FREE Articles Writer-Reminders Resources Media Room
    Home > 2003 WOW!

     

WEEK ONE - Let's Get Organized!


Welcome to Week One of the 2003 WOW Challenge

You're on your way to becoming a Wildly Organized Writer...


Your Get Organized Plan...

Here is the free version of the 30-day 2003 Get Organized Plan. Each day has suggested tasks to lead you on your way to a more organized writing business so you can write and publish more. 

Whenever you see BOOK listed below, you can see a few tasks from my ebook, The Organized Writer:  30 Days to More Time, More Money and Less Frustration.  You'll need to purchase the book to complete these exercises.  

Find out more about the Booklocker.com bestseller and buy the ebook for only $14.95.

 

 

 
All the best in the year ahead,
Julie Hood
julie@organizedwriter.com

    

 

  
Wed, Jan 1, 2003
New Year's Day
Day One - The New Year

It's here! The new year -- I'm writing this on 26th, but I'm already getting excited about it! I *love* starting over - anytime I can get a clean slate and feel like I'm starting over, I jump on it.

For January, we'll have special topics related to two things: first, your resolutions and goals and second, getting organized. Some days will have assignments, and I'll work along with you and give you my perspective at the end. 

So our first topic of the new year is "Your Personality." Your assignment for today is to think about what in your personality has helped your goal-setting in the past. We want to capitalize on those traits.

1) What personality traits helped you achieve a goal?

2) What personality traits helped you be more organized?

Here are my answers:

1a) Stubbornness/persistence - when I really, really, really want something, I stick with it to the point of driving everyone around me crazy!

1b) Being able to define a project with the individual steps involved. One of the best skills I learned in college was how to define the steps of a project.

2a) The ability to think in categories. My mind is always categorizing things and assigning things that belong together.

2b) Being able to remember where things are located (most of the time). My husband will say, "Where's the hammer?" and as long as I was the one who put away, I'm more likely to know where it is than he will.

2c) I'm always looking for a better way. This is good and bad. I know some people set something up and just use it forever. But I get bored and want a new or different way to organize. This is perfect for you (I can tell you six different ways to organize your recipes and the pros and cons of each!) but I lose efficiency because I'm constantly trying out something different.

BOOK
In Acrobat, press Ctrl-N and go to page 10. Take the personality quiz, and pick the solutions that work for you.

Tax Note

First, make sure you have a Taxes 2002 folder set up for all the tax papers you'll be getting in the next month. Then, run out to your car, and jot down your mileage on two slips of paper. Stick one copy in Taxes 2002 (your ending mileage) and one copy in Taxes 2003 folder (your beginning mileage for next year). 


Copyright Update

Then, hop out to your website, and update all the copyright notices to include 2003. Updated copyrights give the impression you are really on top of things! Now, to fix all mine....
  

Thu, Jan 2, 2003
Day Two - Your Master List

What is a Master List? The Master List, your organizing bible, drives nearly everything you do. 

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. 

Did you catch the excerpt about a Master List on Writer's Weekly on the 18th? If not, you can read it here:
http://www.writersweekly.com/articles/121802-01.html

1) Make your own Master List, or update it if you already have one.

BOOK
In Acrobat, 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.
      
Fri, Jan 3, 2003
Day 3 - Create Your Planner

1) If you haven't done it yet, buy your planner supplies.

You need:
-- binder
-- dividers (15-20)
-- page/tape flags as subdividers
-- three-hold punch
-- clicker pens

2) 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. 

Or, as a subscriber, you can access the file at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Writer-Reminders/files/

Clean out last year's used pages, and start fresh for 2003.

Download and print the 2003 Writer's E-calendar (feel free to forward the calendar to your writer friends).

3) No ink in your printer? Send your documents online to Kinko's or Office Max, and ask them to mail them to you.

http://www.kinkos.com
http://www.officemax.com and click on the Print@CopyMax tab at the top. 

I've used both places, and I had the best experience with Kinko's, but OfficeMax is closer to my house so we'll see who gets my business!   
    
Sat, Jan 4, 2003
Day 4 - What Works for You

Ask yourself the following questions:

1) What's the most unorganized, most frustrating "thing" for you? 

2) What's the most organized part of your life? Why?

Compare the two, and determine what works for you.

BOOK
In Acrobat, press Ctrl-N and go to 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.
  
Sun, Jan 5, 2003
Your Time Map

Do you know how you spend your time? Or do you just think you know? 

Start your time map today. Make a grid with the times down the side and the days of the week across the top. Fill in how you spend the different hours of your day.

BOOK
The Time Map Form is on page 54. Color code your map as described. Which color is the most dominant?  

Thought for the Week- - You Cannot Fail...

Do you know who....

-- Failed in business
-- Filed for bankruptcy
-- Sweetheart/fiancee died
-- Had a nervous breakdown
-- And was defeated in elections, *eight* different times?

But still he persevered?

Thankfully, this man was Abraham Lincoln, who was elected president of the United States in 1860.

You cannot fail... unless you give up!

 

Continue with Week 2 ....

  

Buy the ebook now - instant download - for only $14.95! 

Click to buy The Organized Writer!

A key to effective writing is eliminating time-wasters -- but reading Julie Hood's The Organized Writer is definitely not a waste of time! Hood's quick quizzes will help you identify your own "organization personality" (are you a flinger or a packrat?) and thus the strategies that will help you organize your writing (and your life). Each chapter gives you a day of easy-to-
accomplish tasks that are designed to turn you into a more productive, organized writer in a single month. Especially impressive are the well-thought-out forms that accompany every chapter (and every task); just print them out and you're on your way!

-- Moira Allen, Writing-World.com and author of The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals and Writing.com: Creative Internet Strategies to Advance Your Writing Career
Search this Site
PicoSearch

Free Planner


For weekly tips, tricks and resources, sign up for the free weekly newsletter,  Writer-Reminders!

Get the FREE ebook, 
The Sidetracked Writer's Planner, when you subscribe. 

Privacy policy


or email.

For advance notice of site updates, new products, and special offers, sign up for the Organized Writer newsletter!
Privacy policy


or email.

Tell a Friend

Like this site?  Tell a friend:
[ FREE referral systems! ]
 

Home  |  Book  |  Store  |  Free Articles  |  Writer-Reminders  |  Resources  |  Media Room

Terms of use/Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | About us
© Copyright 2001-2008, Finally Organized LLC
All Rights Reserved. E-mail: julie@organizedwriter.com

Home | Book | Store
Free Articles | Writer-Reminders
Resources | Media Room