With a September 1st deadline looming for my next book, I’m spending several hours a day in front of the word processor. Here’s a bit of what I’ve learned:
1) First things first. If I start my day with email, I’m screwed. To make real progress, I have to close Outlook, start Microsoft Word, and begin writing as soon as I sit at my desk. On mornings when I start writing right away, I get more work done in less time … and it’s work of higher quality.
2) Take short breaks at least once every ninety minutes. On days when I skip my breaks, my feet and legs feel exactly like they do when we go on those trans-Pacific flights. Better yet, after I take a break, whatever problem I’ve been working on always seems to fix itself.
3. Step away from the machine. After spending all day at the computer … it’s all too easy to keep sitting here. I start surfing, or reading blogs, or fiddling with installing that hideous Real One Media Player that never, ever works the way it ought to … and, before I know it, an hour’s gone by. My new promise to myself: when not working on something for the book or this weblog, I’m getting away from the machine. (By giving up surfing, I won’t miss much. Oh, except for MetaFilter. And MetaCritic. Sigh.)
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