Mind+Craft - Issue #4

If you want to start improving, start measuring.

Measure to Improve:

If you want to improve on something, start measuring it. If you want to improve a habit, start tracking it on a calendar.

• Want to lose weight: Measure/Weigh yourself at regular intervals

• Need to start or stop a habit: Track it on a calendar.

• Need to write more: Start tracking your daily word count.

You don’t have to measure for long to improve. The idea is to measure until you see a mindset change, which is usually quick.

Using the same principle: If you need to make more time for something, start measuring your time.

How to Make More Time:

1. Save a google spreadsheet on your phone.

2. Log your activity every half hour. Honestly, write down what you did each half hour. Do this for a few days to identify what is wasting your time.

3. You will automatically self-correct and create more time for your chosen project. This exercise changes your mindset.

I use Laura Vanderkam’s google spreadsheet to log my time. There are other formats available here (scroll down to step 2).

What did you measure to improve? I would love to hear. Comment or reply.

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This Week’s Writing Tidbits:

Reading is a fundamental part of your writing craft. If you are a writer, you should be more mindful of how you read to help improve your writing.

Anangsha Alammyan wrote a piece on this that is worth reading. She goes over some excellent tips:

How to read like a writer to become a more compelling storyteller

Paulette Perhach, author of “Welcome to the Writer’s Life” also has a valuable checklist/form on her website:

“Directions: Filling out this form, even if you’re not sure whether your answers are “right,” will help you analyze narrative structures and understand what makes them work. This form mimics the kind of close study taught in writing courses. The more of these you make yourself do, the faster you’ll start to pick up on how and why a book works (or doesn’t work).”

For a more detailed study, there is also the book:

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose

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What I’m Reading:

1. Stolen Focus by Johann Hari

   

   This book shows how social media and entertainment are reducing our attention spans. It’s an easy read, a good mixture of science and narrative. It emphasizes the importance of stillness and single-tasking instead of multi-tasking.

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Favorite Quote This Week:

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”
― Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing