Clean Out the Garbage First
How I’m Organizing my Writing for the Next Year, Part I
I begin my writing for 2019 in February, not January. January is a month of preparation and organization, reflecting on the last year and cleaning up all the pesky hangers-on that stick to me and slow me down. From taxes to the simple act of Q1 goal-setting after the holidays amidst the plethora of familial communications and personal resolutions, there are too many distractions in the first month to begin new projects. I’ve burnt out on New Years’ resolutions plenty of times, I don’t want my writing to follow those habits.
Taking a page from military and religious history, I am this year first seeking to throw off the weight that so easily entangles me and only then launching after my new projects, styling my policy after the OODA loop by the highly-accomplished John Boyd. The OODA loop is his expression of the gap between thought process and action, and is fundamental to improving our performance and mental agility.
First we “Observe” which is to say take in information: What is going on? Next we “Orient” and lay ourselves into a perspective on all that information: How do I feel about this and what does this mean for me? I say enough is enough! Then we “Decide” and this year I’ve noticed that there is too much going on and I need to slam some of this gunk out, finish it off, and get it out of the way before I truly can begin. We follow this up with an “Act” step to actually follow through with the plan. A lot of my planning in the past has been an excuse to avoid something difficult for me, and it is easy, easy, easy to constantly shift my plan instead of actually accomplishing a goal. Don’t fall into that trap. Stick with it and see it done.
Make a fresh start not by trying to hit the pause button, but by taking the necessary time to orient and organize before launching your energy at an objective. Get the garbage out of your way, and prepare for the year ahead. For me, that means setting the first month aside for work behind the scenes and tying off loose ends. Here are some questions I thought about:
What is the one most important or central theme of your year’s organization? Any new resolution or old idea or goal sitting around collecting dust that you can bring out and finish off? How are you plotting out your writing for the year?
Use questions like these to motivate yourself toward your goals this year. Set yourself up for success by getting the garbage out of the way. We all have to deal with it.
