Tag Archive - Biological Prime Time

4 Ways Writers Can Be Productive When Their Energy Sags

We’ve been looking at biology: the “B” in the Productivity ABCs. To be a super-productive writer, you need to first “know thyself.” Taking a look at your natural biological ups and downs, learning when you have peak energy and concentration, is needed in order to make adjustments in your life and schedule so you can crank out books.

I hope you read last week’s post that explained what your biological prime time is and how to determine those hours when you’ll be most productive. This is the first step. Most of us “kind of know” when we can do our best writing. But I’m urging you to go deeper and broader with this analysis so that you can streamline your daily schedule, overall, to be the most productive and the happiest in your writing pursuits.

Forcing yourself to write when you just aren’t at your peak, and then laying on the guilt when you don’t produce good work or enough pages, is self-destructive. We’ve touched a bit on attitude (though we’ll circle back around to it later), and you’ve seen how important it is to change the negative self-talk into positive, and that it takes work to break out of those habits.

All this may take some time and work, so be patient and just start somewhere. Continue Reading…

Preparing the Ground to Become a Super-Productive Writer

Before a farmer plants seeds, he has to prepare the ground. It’s hard for seeds to sprout and grow into healthy plants if soil is depleted or rock hard. If you’re hoping to grow some beautiful, highly producing vegetables, you must first ensure that soil is perfect for that type of plant.

See, not all plants are created equal when it comes to soil needs. Some plants need acidic base; others need alkaline. Some need the soil very porous, and other do well in claylike ground.

If you plant your seeds in the wrong soil type, they won’t sprout. Or if they do, they’ll die before they make it to maturity.

You can liken your attitude to soil preparation to some extent. But there are other factors that go into “preparing the ground” for productivity. Continue Reading…