This year I am doing things differently. I really am. No messing around, just taking ‘solid change’ by the horns. This year I am streamlining.
Each day I look back over the last 14-16 hours and ask myself the simple question, “What did I accomplish today?” That question usually branches out into, “How did I waste time? What could I have done differently? What can I effectively change in order to feel better about where I am right now, in this very moment?” You see, I realize, through ‘big picture’ thinking, that I will either achieve or fail to achieve through my personal daily choices. Did I sit down and hammer out 5 pages on my latest script? I achieved. Did I keep my desk clean as old and new information began to mount? I achieved. Did I spent 45 minutes jabbering when I bumped into a friend at Lowes – both of us simply planning to run in and out? I failed to achieve. Did I spend an hour chasing links from an “interesting” email? I failed to achieve. Sure, I discovered which DSLR monitor “Bob” likes to use when filming sloths in New Zealand, but how did that help me accomplish ‘anything‘ I set out to accomplish this morning?
Writing, for me, is one of the solid change items I am addressing this year. Writing is my first step in production. Yes, I still want to stay abreast of the fascinating advances in digital video and the latest in lighting, grip, and indie films, but I need to manage my day in such a way that link-hopping, Lowes-chatting, or any other number of time-escaping tasks don’t drain my precious boxcars. And by that, I am referring to the analogy I heard once about the 168 boxcars we have to fill in a given week – 168, being the number of hours in the week. If I determine to fill my boxcars with writing, developing, and producing, and then fail to actually go there, my boxcar ambitions have been drained, leaving me with empty boxcars – empty, as in there’s nothing in there that I can use at the end of the week.
Below is a link for Writers Store. It’s a freebie, nothing big, but perhaps it might help you to successfully achieve whatever you have purposed to do this year. Enjoy.
