What do you want out of your writing and life? Have you ever taken the time to ponder the possibilities? It’s your life, it’s your dreams on the line, and you’re the master of your destiny. What do you really want?
A new decade. Technically, it’s still another year away. Since when do we start at 0? So, really it’s 2021 that will be the start of a new decade. Does it really matter though? In the grand scheme of things probably not. For the detail-obsessed it will drive you crazy. Whichever view you take, it’s still the start of something new.
2020. How the hell did that happen?
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been thinking about the New Year for a good month. What can you achieve? How can you improve on the year (or decade) that was? What are you going to different? How are you going to grow?
My 2020 plans are in flux. Do I want to set audacious goals and not reach them, again? Noooo, my brain is screaming. It’s not going to happen. This year will be different. But why? What makes this year so special?
The biggest difference is my change in thinking.
Something has clicked. The realisation dawned on me sometime in early December and became clearer as the month went on. If I don’t change, the world around me doesn’t stand a chance of changing.
We are the masters of our universe.
The tools we need are within our reach. We get given opportunities every day and it’s our responsibility to grasp them or let them go in writing and life.
The last few years I’ve been blinded by my own preconceptions, misconceptions, prejudices. I’ve missed so many opportunities by focusing on what I don’t have rather than what I do have. Often we try to look forward so much that we forget to smell the roses. We forget to enjoy the fruits of our labour. Life gets away from us and then we wake up one day ten years older stuck in the same spot we were in a decade ago.
That is exactly how I feel today. I do not want to feel that way at the end of 2020.
Change is coming.
In 2020, I’m focusing on two main things that will, hopefully, transform every facet of my writing and life, and ultimately making me feel more successful, happier, healthier, wealthier and wiser.
- Create better habits.
- Become a better writer
Let me explain.
Create Better Habits in Writing and Life
It’s easy to lie to ourselves and believe that we’re healthy, we’re looking after ourselves and there’s nothing to work on. While we shouldn’t become a pet project of our own, it’s important to continuously work on personal growth. Growth prevents stagnation. That’s the truth for every aspect of our lives whether it’s writing, fitness, finances, work, self-care, family or relationships. There’s always room for improvement.
Excuses are easy. But they make us feel like shit.
If one area of our lives is in conflict, the spillover effect to other areas can be enormous. Our health and fitness impacts our work and relationships. Finances impact our daily lives and the choices we make. Unfulfilled goals and dreams can lead to depression and issues in our personal and professional life.
Good habits are key.
Whilst it’s impossible to work on every single habit at the one time, it’s possible to develop 3-4 sustainable habits per year by focusing on one habit every three to four months. It’s fallacy that it takes only 21 days to form a habit. Twenty-one days is just the start, the foundation. The next twenty to thirty days form the habit. The final few weeks enforce it.
What are 3-4 habits that you’d like to form in 2020?
Take a moment to reflect on your current habits. Consider these areas:
- Writing/Business
- Health and fitness
- Finances
- Relationships
- Work
Are you happy with your habits? What something that you could change?
For example, maybe you put writing or exercise as the last thing to do in the day, which more often than not means that you don’t do it. You could work on developing the habit of writing or exercising as the first thing you do when you get out of bed. Start with 10-15 minutes. At the start it’s not about the length of time, it’s about developing a habit.
Maybe you avoid talking to people and want to change that. We live in a world of over 7 billion people. Relationships are important. Social connection is vital to our health and wellbeing. Why not create a habit of talking to new people by smiling at someone, starting a conversation, inviting a colleague out for coffee?
Start small. Do one little thing each week, then each day. You’ll be amazed at the difference it will make to the quality of your life.
These are just some examples. Create habits that will work for you and your lifestyle. Figure out the habits that will evolve your writing and life.
3 Habits I’m Focusing On in 2020
- I’d like to return to daily exercise. I feel better when I exercise for at least 30 minutes per day. That means running, cycling, swimming, weight training. It’s a habit that I need to return to. Regular training makes me a happier, healthier and saner person and it allows me to participate in triathlons and fun runs.
- Writing. I want to write daily and focus on my writing business. Yes, I’d like to write full-time one day. The key word is one day. I actually do enjoy my day-job, I like the challenges. I like the people I work with. The social aspect is pretty good too when I actually participate. At this stage of my life I need it and want it. My job makes me feel successful and there are many opportunities that I want to take advantage of. Writing full time is a 10-year plan. Ten years to create a portfolio of quality work that I’m proud of. (That’s one of the ways my thinking has changed. It’s a big one.)
- In 2020, I need to be more conscious about spending. My writing business, my work life, my spending. It all needs to go under the microscope. No more excuses. It’s about being responsible and creating a life of your dreams that doesn’t have to be supported by the day job.
Each of these areas will have spillover effects to other areas of my life. They will improve my relationships, my sanity, my life.
Assumptions are the mother of all fuck ups. Our brains are very good at making false assumptions.
10 Tips to Creating Better Habits in Writing and Life
- Focus on 3-4 habits per year
- Break down the habits to quarterly tasks
- Focus on one habit at a time
- Give yourself 90 days to enforce the habit
- Go easy on yourself, just because you stuff up today, doesn’t mean you can’t restart tomorrow.
- Quit comparing yourself to others.
- The FOMO effect is real. Get over it.
- Focus on what’s important to you. Who do you want to be? How do you want to live?
- You are awesome, but there’s always room for improvement.
- Remember to live your life and stop to smell the roses.
What habits are you planning to develop in writing and life for 2020?
Related: The First 100 Days Are The Most Important
Become a Better Writer
The second thing I want to do in 2020 is become a better writer. I want each book to be better than its predecessor. Each blog post to be stronger than the one before it.
I’ve been writing for over 20 years. On and off. Mostly on. You’d think I’d have this writing thing down pat. I don’t. There’s so much to learn, so much practice to put in. There is still so much room for growth in writing and in life.
Writing is a habit. It’s a talent. It also requires practice. Lots of it, otherwise like muscles in your body, the writing muscles will grow stagnant and lazy.
I believe that writing is something that can be taught. Talent is not enough. Practice and perseverance are more important.
I’ve become a lazy writer, especially when it comes to my fiction. It’s taken a lot to actually admit this to myself.
It hurts. But sometimes we have to be real with ourselves and forget the fairytales.
The number one thing for me is to become a better writer. Whether that means I produce one book or four in 2020. The number is irrelevant. The key is to produce a body of work that I’m proud to market and hand out to family, friends, colleagues, and strangers to read.
How do you become a better writer?
Read a lot. Write a lot.
That’s the old age advice. But that’s not enough. I read fifty plus books per year. I write around 500,000 words per year between fiction, blogging and personal journaling.
It’s not enough.
The more important thing is to put in practice what we learn. Instead of doing the same thing over and over again, we need to find ways that work.
I’ve stumbled on a fantastic book about writing fantasy novels that can be used to write any other genre also. Step by step. I’m going to not just read it but follow the steps. I’m going to work on creating a book that I’ll happily broadcast to the world. I will also use it to edit/rewrite my current books.
Tricks to Becoming a Better Writer
- Read lots of books. Good, bad, fiction and non-fiction. You can learn from them all.
- Write a lot. Try out new genres, different techniques.
- Analyse your own writing. Focus on dialogue, description, setting, showing vs telling.
- Get someone to read your work and give you feedback. Singing praises isn’t going to improve your weaknesses.
- Take time to work on your weaknesses. Put in 10-15 each day to practice showing vs telling or dialogue or blurb writing. Practice will make perfect, eventually.
These are just some of the things that will help improve your writing. They are some things that I will focus on this year.
It’s going to be a good year. A productive year.
2020 is setting the foundation for the next decade.
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