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They want to dedicate half a day or even (shudder) an entire day to writing.They need to see an enormous stretch of time yawning in front of them before they put fingers to keyboard.<\/p>\nOr “I know that white paper is important, but I just can’t seem to get around to it.”<\/p>\n
And while writing, say, a short report or article is daunting enough, when faced with a longer piece of work\u2014like a white paper\u2014these people really tie themselves in knots.<\/p>\n
They want to dedicate half a day or even (shudder) an entire day to writing.They need to see an enormous stretch of time yawning in front of them before they put fingers to keyboard.<\/p>\n
Can you spell\u00a0M-I-S-T-A-K-E<\/strong>?<\/p>\n But the world of publishing does provide an interesting lesson: People who quit their day-jobs to write books usually end up with half a manuscript buried in a drawer.<\/p>\n But every year, thousands of books are published by people who continue with their regular lives and write in their spare time.<\/p>\n Just as the cactus thrives in a hot, dry environment, writing thrives in the absence of time.<\/p>\n Yes, you read that correctly.<\/p>\n I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but you probably recognize the principle from other areas of your life.<\/p>\n For example, if you back up your hard drive or weed the garden every week (instead of once a month) the task doesn’t become so daunting.<\/p>\n Writing, like many other jobs, is easier if you do a little bit regularly rather than a whole bunch at once. Here’s why…<\/p>\n This is the principle that says work expands to fill available time. Block off a week to write something and, guess what? It’ll take a week.<\/p>\n But if you “sandwich in” your writing whenever you have a spare moment, you’ll have more focus.<\/p>\n You’ll be less likely to waste the time procrastinating, staring into space or re-reading your previous work.<\/p>\n If you write fast enough, you can often out-run and out-write this negative blather.<\/p>\n Not only does it allow me to get ideas out of my head and on paper when they’re fresh, it also gives me a big payback down the road.<\/p>\n That’s because when I go back to the report, letter or article, I often discover my work is much further ahead than I’d realized. And best of all, I’m not facing a blank page. It’s a great feeling.<\/p>\n Permit me one small equivocation, though. I think it does make sense to dedicate a good block of time to self-editing.<\/p>\n That’s a different job from writing: more time-consuming and requiring more concentration. So sure, if you want to schedule that, be my guest.<\/p>\n But when it comes to writing, think in small increments, not big chunks.<\/p>\nI’m not claiming you can write a white paper in three hours<\/h3>\n
Writing not only can be done quickly; it is better done quickly<\/h3>\n
You don’t fall victim to “Parkinson’s Law”<\/h3>\n
You’re less likely to get blocked by negative thoughts\u00a0<\/h3>\n
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You know what I mean: That chatter in your head that tells you your work is no good, or that you need better ideas, or that you didn’t do enough research.<\/p>\nMe? I love writing in 10-minute bursts<\/h3>\n