2015 - A Year of Less

Less clutter.

Less worry.

Less busyness.

Less striving.

Less of me.

More of Jesus.

That pretty much sums up my goals for 2015.

What do you want less of this year?

Girls' Guide to Getting More Done

For quick weekly productivity tips sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my Girls' Guide to Getting More Done emails here: http://eepurl.com/80Oi1

We all have things that are important to us that we struggle to fit into the day--whether it's spending more quality time with your kids, chasing your dream, exercising, or pursuing a hobbies like crafting or reading.

Join us as we focus on overcoming the traps of busyness and pursue joy and purpose.

Courage

Motivation

 

I want to hear from you. What do you do to keep yourself motivated when things get tough? 

Do Great Things

Inspiration from my new writing friend Debora Dennis.

10 Ways to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolution

1. Make sure you have the right goal. Is it measurable? Is it realistic?

2. Focus on one or two resolutions at the most – not a list of ten. Changing a habit is difficult and the more attention you can give it the better.

3. Make a concrete plan. If your goal is to exercise more, buy the gym membership or home video and set specific days and times to exercise.

4. Write down your goal and track your progress. Putting things on paper is powerful. Post your resolution and daily updates on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror where you can look at them every day.

5. Replace bad habits with good ones. It helps to have a healthy habit to turn to whenever you have to say no to something. If you’re giving up soda, make sure you have some great teas or a new water bottle to replace it. If your resolution is to complain less, write down something you’re thankful for each time you want to say something negative.

6. Identify the motivation for your resolution. Why do you want to eat healthier? To have more energy? To live a longer, healthier life? To be a good example for your children? Knowing the why will help you get through the tough times.

7. Remember that it won’t be easy. Setting proper expectations for yourself can help you get over the hurdles you’ll face.

8. Reward yourself. If your resolution is to work on your novel every day, reward yourself with a new book or a coffee from Starbucks each month that you write 20 or more days.

9. Visualize success. Envision yourself on December 31, 2013 after you've successfully reached your goal. How will you feel? What would that look like?

10. Don’t be afraid to fail. Resolutions are hard. If you get off track, get up and try again.

Are you setting New Year’s Resolutions this year? What are they? How do you plan to stick to them?

Writing Productivity: Guest post by Jennifer Shirk

I'm so excited to host multi-published author Jennifer Shirk. If you're not familiar with her blog, go check it out today! It's full of fun stuff.

Hi, all! Jennifer here!

Julie was kind of enough to have me on her blog today so I could talk about 

WRITING PRODUCTIVITY.

I’ve noticed lately that perception has been a key factor in me writing more. 

What does that mean exactly?

Well, one of the things that I learned when I took The Fast Draft class earlier this year was how much more doable page count sounded than actual words. For example, if I set a daily goal of “2 pages” that sounds like nothing, right? (For some it is. But 500 words for me is decent unless I have a few hours to write)

But… when I sit to write “500 words” instead of “2 pages” (same exact thing), I tend to agonize over each word to make sure they all add up. And if I end up writing 490 words instead of the 500, I feel like a failure and it actually DEPRESSES ME.

However, if I pledge to write 2 pages, I don’t get hung up on writing the individual words and I actually tend to write faster and sometimes even more. Before I know it, I’ve written 2 pages and I have the rest of my day to myself. I made goal and I’m done. 

What happens more times than not is that after I write the 2 pages, I go and do errands or clean and because I have the time, I can sit and write another page or two not worrying if I do or not because I already made my goal anyway.

See? Mind over matter.

It’s funny that I need to resort to tricking myself. But it seems to work for me and I don’t get stressed about writing or not writing enough.

Try changing your goals to page counts instead of words and see if it works for you, too!

By the way, I have a new sweet romance out with Entangled today called 

KISSING KENDALL. 

I’ll be happily giving away an ebook copy to some lucky commenter!

Here’s a little bit about it: 

Kendall Grisbaum is finally taking charge of her life—pouring her heart into opening a new bakery business and even allowing her best friend Georgie to play matchmaker for her. Trouble is, the one guy she secretly wants is Georgie’s older brother, Brad.

Brad can’t seem to get his little sister’s best friend out of his mind. He and Kendall used to be close friends, too, though they drifted apart years ago. But as a local policeman, Brad can’t help but play protector, looking out for Kendall. And when he offers to help her renovate her new bakery space on the side, their attraction flares back to life.

Amid the temptation of doughnut muffins and blueberry cobbler, a new temptation draws them both closer. Can two friends take a chance on love when it means risking everything?

How do you set your writing goals? By page count or word count?

12 Days of Christmas for Writers

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me

12 Fulls Requested

11 Muses Musing

10 Plots-a-Flowing

9 Bloggers Blogging

8 Hours-a-Writing

7 Editors Editing

6 Tweets Retweeted

5-STAR REVIEWS

4 Best Sellers

3 Query Letters

2 Agents Calling

And a Contract to Fill you with Glee!

Merry Christmas to all my wonderful writing friends!

What do you want for Christmas this year?

Productivity Tools

Recently my favorite tool for getting more done is the stopwatch on my iphone. I start it every time I'm working on my manuscript and stop it any time I get distracted or sidetracked. It gives me a clear measure of how much I'm spending in my work in progress each day. It has been eye opening and keeps me accountable.

What's your favorite trick or tool for getting more done? 

November

I know November is a busy month for a lot of you. So tell me -- What are your plans and goals for the month of November? 

Protect Your Time

I don’t know anyone who says there are just too many hours in the day, and they don’t know what to do with all their free time. Our culture seems to admire busyness, but if we’re going to reach our dreams, we need to learn how to step out of busyness and into living out our purpose.

Make Your Goals a Priority. Faith and family definitely need to stay at the top of the priority list, but if our dreams are important to us, we need to make sure they’re not getting buried by less important things. Once you’ve identified your priorities, determine a specific time and space for accomplishing them.  

Learn to Say No. Give someone else an opportunity to host that get-together or to chair that committee. Try making a list of the areas in your life where you want to spend your time. When someone asks you to add something new to your schedule, refer back to your list before making a decision. 

Identify Time Zappers. Sometimes I waste precious time without even realizing it. Keep a log of where you spend your time for two days. It may reveal time wasters you hadn’t noticed. After we identify those things, we can put measures in place to control them. Set a timer by your computer while you’re searching on the internet. Only allow yourself to watch shows you’ve recorded on DVR instead of surfing channels. Turn off your cell phone during certain hours of the day. 

Does busyness threaten to keep you from reaching your dreams? How do you protect your time?

Live Out Your Dreams

What would it look like for you to "go confidently in the direction of your dreams?"

Summer Olympics

I'm so excited to watch the 2012 Summer Olympics. The buzz leading up to the Opening Ceremonies has brought back a flood of memories for me and my husband because our son was born just before the 2008 Summer Olympics. We would be up at 2:00, 3:00, or 4:00 in the morning, feeding a hungry baby and watching the events live from Beijing.

I'm not much of an athlete, but I can respect anyone who dedicates their lives to the pursuit of a dream. But be warned, if you ever watch the Olympics with me, I'll probably cry. Four years ago I thought it was the combination of post pregnancy hormones and exhaustion, but my family watched a special on some of the greatest Olympic moments of the past, and I teared up during those. I don't have anything to blame it on this year. :)

Do you watch the Olympics? What's your favorite event?

A message to Me

Today is my 32nd birthday. This morning I received an email ... from myself. :) 

The following is an e-mail from the past, composed 5 years ago in 2007. It is being delivered from the past through FutureMe.org

Dear FutureMe,

You may not remember writing this, but this is you at 27. There are several good things going on right now in my life. Kevin and I just bought a new house and are trying to have a baby. I want to be a writer and a mother so bad that it hurts. I hope those things happen for me in the future. If not, I hope that I'm trusting God and clinging to my relationship with Kevin.

I hope that by the time I read this again that I will have learned how not to worry so much. So, my biggest message to you right now is to relax. God is in control. Love ya'.

J

What would you tell your future self?

A Baby Turtle

This is what it feels like to edit my latest novel.



How's your week going?

10 tips for waking up earlier

With busy lives, jobs, and families, it can seem impossible to fit in time to pursue our dreams. The best time for me to follow my dream of writing is 5:15 a.m. Before my three-year-old climbs out of bed and before I get ready to go to my day job, I make my way to my desk to follow my passion. It isn't easy to leave a nice warm bed, but here are my tips for teaching yourself to wake up earlier:

1. Place your alarm clock on the other side of the room.

2. Use an alarm clock without a snooze. I use my Iphone and disable the snooze.

3. Go to bed at the same time every night. I go to bed at 10:15 almost every night. It may sound early to the night owls out there, but it makes a huge difference in my energy and productivity the next day.

4. Wake up at the same time every day ... 7 days a week. Okay. I know I lost a few of you here. If you can get your sleep patterns into a normal rhythm, it helps a lot.

5. Don't make a decision about whether or not to wake up while you're in bed. Trust me, the bed will always win. I don't let myself decide whether or not I'm going to stay out of bed until I've brushed my teeth and put in my eye drops. By this point, I'm almost always ready to stay up and get my writing done.

6. Create a routine. I do the same thing every single morning. At this point, I'm on autopilot when I'm starting the coffee and making my way to my office.

7. Make it enjoyable. For me that means staying warm. I have to have my warmest blanket, my slippers, and my coffee. Figure out what works for you.

8. Have an accountability partner. My husband also wakes up early to run and work out. I also have a few writers who keep me accountable. You know who you are ;)

9. Know why you want to get up earlier. Set your goals and look at why they're important to you. It's a sacrifice to give up sleep to pursue your dream. Remind yourself why you're doing it.

10. Just do it.

When do you write or pursue your dreams? Do you wake up early? What are your tips for fitting it all in?

Bragging

I have to take a minute to brag on my awesome husband. Not only is he an amazing husband and father, he also runs marathons. I took this photo just after he finished the marathon (that's 26.2 miles) in 3 hours and 20 minutes. Can you tell I'm proud of him?

NaNoEdMo

It's official. I need goals...and a deadline. In the past three months since National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) I've added 15,000 words to my manuscript and edited four chapter. Not terrible, but at this rate it will take me all year to finish this book. That's why I'm embarking on the NaNoEdMo / Novel Track Editing challenge this year with a goal of editing for 50 hours during the month of March. I'll be updating my status on the NaNoEdMo page I created.

Whether you're editing, writing, or have a completely different goal, I'd love for you to join me. Post your goals and your progress in the comments of my NaNoEdMo page and we'll cheer each other on!

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo or NaNoEdMo?

Ten Ways to Procrastinate

In honor of week two of NaNoWriMo, I’ve made a list of ways to procrastinate instead of writing. I’ve even added justification for the procrastination in the parentheses. Bonus!

If you’re not participating in NaNoWriMo, I’m confident you can use this list to learn new ways to procrastinate on all kinds of things. The sky is the limit!

1. Write a post about how to procrastinate (Blogging is marketing.)
2. Sign up for Pinterest (For inspiration, of course.)
3. Clean the house (This will help your spouse forgive you for all the time spent on your novel.)
4. Create a new Pandora station (You need music to write, right?)
5. Visit the NaNoWriMo forums (75,000 other NaNo participants are on there right now. Why shouldn’t you be there?)
6. Go to the store and buy more chocolate and coffee. (What will you talk about on twitter and the NaNo forums if you don’t have these things on hand?)
7. Check Twitter and Facebook (Because you need to make sure no one else is procrastinating.)
8. Check your email (Someone important may have emailed you at 11:32pm or 11:34pm or 11:37pm.)
9. Go shopping on Zappos.com (Research! You need to accurately describe your character’s shoes.)
10. Check your word count again (Maybe it magically increased while you were reading this)

How do you procrastinate?

Ten Reasons to sign up for NaNoWriMo

1. It’s fun to see the look you get when you tell someone you’re writing a 50,000 word novel in a month.

2. Those characters who have been talking in your head will finally have a purpose.

3. Writing fast and furious can release creative juices you never knew you had.

4. It gives you an excuse to procrastinate on things like cleaning the toilets.

5. It’s the perfect opportunity to write that weird time travel, pirate, romance novel that has been plaguing you.

6. You’ll have something to do while everyone else is taking a nap on Thanksgiving afternoon.

7. At the end of the month, you can say, “I wrote a good book!”

8. It’s a great way to get to know other crazy writers.

9. For years, you’ll know that 50,000 / 30 = 1,667 (because that will be your daily word count goal).

10. You don’t have to edit or work on a synopsis for an entire month.

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? Do you plan to in the future?