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Archive for the ‘determination’ Category

Is there too much to do?  Are you not getting enough done? Do you jump from task to task on your to-do list but never seem to make progress on your main writing goals? Is your dissertation still on your to-do list? As a client said to me, “Which end of the tube am I squeezing?” [...]

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A giant construction project disrupts the lives and the commute of many people who use the Washington DC (or Capital)  Beltway and the business routes between the Beltway and the Dulles International Airport.   This same construction project also raises hope among many travelers that one day they can take the metro the full 30 [...]

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Is there a writer who isn’t lured and waylaid by the distractions of the internet and email? Is there a writer who hasn’t written about those same distractions? How about you? How well did you do today? Did you stay on task and reach your writing goal for the day? Or did procrastination and Facebook [...]

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 Mental toughness, self-control, willpower, grit— I turn again to these compelling strengths. Why? Because distractions, especially electronic distractions, complicate the writer’s life.  The struggle for self-control over distractions takes up more and more of your mental space.  What can you use to free your mental space in order to concentrate on your writing? What can [...]

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What could help you have an easier time starting to write and sticking with the writing? In the new book Willpower, psychologist Roy F. Baumeister and New York Times science writer John Tierney present research that willpower is limited, in part because you use the same resource for so many different things.  Since you can’t [...]

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When did you first hear of “decision fatigue”? Perhaps, like me, it was when the New York Times Magazine published an article on decision fatigue and you started getting emails from your friends and family with links to that article.  In fact, you probably received many links, and maybe the term “decision fatigue” has even [...]

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You have a long-term goal—say, writing a dissertation or a book.  And the going gets tough.  This is one huge project. It’s a long haul—it may mean months or years of coming back to that same project. It’s been going on for quite a while.  Have you stuck with it?  Have you kept coming back [...]

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How do writers manage their time and produce writing, even if they are taking on a subject new to them and are raising young children?  When I learned of an upcoming interview with Gretchen Rubin, the writer of the New York Times best-seller Happiness Project, I was curious.  I had come across Gretchen Rubin’s blog, [...]

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How has your summer been so far?  Are you meeting your writing goals?  Or are you uneasy as you look at the calendar?   Unfortunately, the best of intentions at the beginning of summer can sometimes get waylaid.  If you have met your writing goals or if you are on track to meet them, congratulations and [...]

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 In a recent blog, I sang the praises of writing whenever you are taking a plane somewhere.  The quiet, distraction-free atmosphere makes flying perfect for writing, or so it seems to me.  I heard from a dissenting reader. She said, “I’d love to be able to devote myself to writing while on a plane, but [...]

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