T is for Track

We have spent the month talking about strategies for how you can be a G.O.A.T. writer this year and meet your writing goals.

Our final letter T is for track. I believe that tracking your goals can be an effective way for growing your writing habit. I recently found this 100-day tracker on Mochi Things. With any tracker, you decide how to use it. Rather than recording daily, I’m using it track 100 days of writing daily and reading 30 pages.

I like trackers because they give you a clear sense of how you are doing. It’s quite easy to think you are doing more or less than you actually are. Tracking is also beneficial because it helps you see patterns. You can take that data and try to identify the root of your writing patterns.

For example, I know that around the middle and end of semesters my writing time decreases. That’s because I’m busy grading essays. It’s helpful for me to know when life evades my writing habit, so that I can be gracious with myself. But it’s also helpful so that I can strategize ways to maintain my habit, even if it looks differently because of life.

Maybe when midterm rolls around this semester, I’ll plan to give myself mini-breaks from grading and write for 15 minutes. Or maybe I will plan to get up a bit earlier. Or maybe I have no expectations for writing and I simply focus on grading. The tracker can give me some insight and direction into where and how I should focus my energy.

Here are some other trackers that you may find helpful. Austin Kleon has a free 30 day tracker aimed helping you practice more. I like this tracker because 30 days is a manageable amount of time. It doesn’t feel overwhelming. You can download it here.

I found this post it note habit tracker at Target. It was pricey, but since it was one of a kind, I bought it.

I hope these tips help you in growing your writing habit.

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O is for Organize

In a previous post, I talked about how finding your gateway habit is the first step in becoming a G.O.A.T. writer. Now, we are going to talk about the O: organize. 

Let’s be honest: the blank page or empty screen can be intimidating. As writers, we can spend more time thinking about writing or procrastinating and little time writing. Organizing your writing time can help you become a G.O.A.T. 

I want to offer 5 ways for organizing your writing time. Take what sparks and leaves what dulls.

Organize your writing time by studying a poet. 

Pick a poet’s whose work you want to learn from or who inspires you. Begin your writing time by reading and/or analyzing a few poems from the author. Use a few of their lines, titles or topics to jumpstart your writing. 

Organize your writing time by studying a form. 

Learn about the form and view examples of poems using the form. Then, write your own poems in that form. You can also revise a poem to be in the particular model your are studying. 

Organize your writing time around a project. 

I like to work on multiple projects at once. I have a binder for each project. The contents of the binder vary based on the project, but I like to have a few sections in each binder. Typically, I have poems or writing related to the project, research or images. You can read my blog post here on how I organize my projects.

Organize your writing time around a toolkit.

Sometimes I want writing to feel more like play and exploration. I have a box of photographs that I can select an image and write a poem inspired by the image. I also have a writer’s notebook of lines from other poets that I use as writing prompts. I keep a notebook of titles and words I want to include in a poem. When I sit down to write, I pick one of those tools to inspire my writing. 

Organize your writing time around a schedule. 

Create a list of what you plan to do each day. Now, when you write, you don’t have to figure what you will do during each session. Revision and research can be a part of your writing schedule. 

The goal of organizing your writing time is not meant to be rigid or restrictive. It simply to give you a starting place, so that you can do more writing. It’s meant to help you do more of what you love. 

Let me know how you plan to organize your writing time. Leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you.