Stop Self-doubt from Stealing Your Time

Self-doubt plagues many writers. Even bestselling authors like Cody McFadyen suffer from it. In an article he wrote for The Tome Traveller's Weblog, he said, “…the day to day act of sitting down and making the words appear … is a doubt-fueled activity.”

The trouble with self-doubt is that it is like an annoying parrot sitting on your shoulder constantly squawking, “You’re not good enough, bra-c-k.” Worse than that, we believe it—which leads us to procrastinate instead of sitting down to write.

Is there anything you can do to stop it?

You bet there is! Let’s talk about how you can silence that squawking parrot and end the cycle of self-doubt that steals your time.

Set Realistic Goals

So much depends on our ability to set realistic goals. We’ve discussed setting goals using the S.M.A.R.T. method in the past.

Unobtainable goals feed self-doubt. Discouraged by disappointing results, you begin to think you’re not up to the task, when the true problem lies in not setting S.M.A.R.T. goals.

Once you begin using the S.M.A.R.T. method, you’ll find how much easier it is to obtain your goals, which motivates you to keep going.

Accept Horrible First Drafts

Whether you’re writing your next article or beginning the first chapter of a novel, the writing will not be perfect. Let the words flow off your fingertips and don’t waste time analyzing each word. If you get stuck, insert a little note to remind you of what you want to place there and move on.

Stopping to analyze your writing encourages self-doubt. Expecting even your first draft to be perfect will stifle creativity, and you will find yourself making excuses not to sit down and write.

Get Rid of Negative Self-talk

If there is one thing I am guilty of, it is negative self-talk. At this point, I don’t even realize what I’m saying, but when I hear my daughter shout in frustration, “Oh, I’m so stupid!” I know exactly where she gets it’s from.

Speaker, author, and life coach Judi Moreo wrote an article titled, "How to Develop Charisma." She states that in order for you to make a change, you have to stop putting yourself down. She suggests using regular positive affirmations to help build your confidence. Instead of saying, “I’m not good enough,” say “I can do this!”

Don’t think you’re guilty of negative self-talk? Carry around a voice recorder for a day or two and record yourself while you write. Listening to it might be an eye-opening experience.

Overcome Your Weaknesses

Many writers are stronger in some areas than others. I used to feel more comfortable writing non-fiction because I struggled with showing versus telling. That didn’t mean, however, that I could not write fiction. I simply had to work harder at it.

Many colleges and universities offer writing courses. In addition, the Internet has opened up the door for writers to take online courses to hone their craft. Improving those areas you struggle with will make you more confident in your abilities.

Ask Others for Constructive Feedback

We are often our own worst critics. Whether you write with a partner or join a critique group, constructive feedback can go a long way to ending that cycle of self-doubt. Local communities and libraries often have writer’s groups. You can also find online groups.

Self-doubt isn’t all bad. It encourages us to improve our work. There is a fine line, however, between letting self-doubt help you and allowing it to control you.

Using the tips found here, you can end the controlling aspects of self-doubt and be more productive than ever.



Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of four children’s books including, A Christmas Kindness, released by 4RV Publishing. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com

Turning Busy Time into Productive Time

You all know the busy bee. No matter what day you ask, she’s busy.  If you ask how she’s doing, she’ll provide a laundry list of things left undone that she’s working on. 

Problem is: next week her laundry list will probably be the same … or worse. 

Why?  Because she’s busy, not productive.

Just because we have a lot to accomplish, doesn’t mean we are approaching our to-do list in a productive manner. In order to be productive, you have to make progress. Busy bees don’t. They flit around in all directions until they feel so overwhelmed they procrastinate. 

How can you stop the busy bee syndrome?  Here are some great ways to get you started.

Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals is the first step toward turning busy time into productive time. S.M.A.R.T. goals are ones that are: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.  For more information on setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, you can view this video.

The reason goal setting is so important to productivity is that you need to focus on what you need to accomplish. Without a plan, you’re like a driver trying to maneuver a car without a steering wheel; you have no control over where the car is going and eventually you will crash. 

Prioritize Your Goals

Just like you wouldn’t put slacks on before your underwear, you shouldn’t try to attack your goals without prioritizing them first. 

Review your goals and consider which ones you need to work on first. Deadlines help you prioritize goals, but when you accept a new project with a closer deadline, you need to consider if this is a new or repeat client and what the future impact might be on your career when accepting this new project if it impacts other deadlines. 

If you are working on a project without a solid deadline, create measurable and timely tasks to keep you on track.

Write a To-do List

You’ve set your goals and prioritized them. Now, you need to break them down into monthly or weekly to-do lists. 

The first thing a to-do list does is give you a way to focus on smaller tasks so that the larger goal doesn’t seem so daunting. A to-do list also allows you to feel a sense of accomplishment when you check off a completed item — which is a huge source of motivation. 

After using to-do lists for several weeks or months, you’ll also be able to better gauge how much you can truly accomplish during a specific time period. While it might vary depending upon the size and complexity of the projects you are working on, it will still give you a good overall picture of whether your writing schedule is working. 

Create a Writing Schedule That Works for You

Speaking of writing schedules, you need to create one that works best for you. If you’re more productive in the morning, then that’s when you should be writing. I realize my most productive hours are after 9 pm, so when my girls were younger I would wait until they went to bed to sit down to work.

For those who can’t write during their ideal time frame because of other commitments, use lunch hours and wait times before doctor appointments to increase productivity.

Track Your Time

Allowing distractions like email, your phone, and the Internet to steal your writing time will leave you feeling overwhelmed when faced with a deadline. Letting family and friends invade the time you’ve put aside for writing will also keep you busier than normal. On the reverse side, taking time dedicated to family and using it to catch up on writing projects can leave your family feeling resentful of your career. 

Take out a pen and pad or create a spreadsheet to track your time for the next five days. This will help identify exactly how much time you spend on each task and where time is wasted. Identifying what distractions and interruptions keep you from obtaining your goals will help you eliminate them. 

Keep a careful eye on how much time you spend working on projects where you just couldn’t say, “no.” Volunteering in your community and taking on special assignments can often make you feel good, but if you commit to more than you can realistically handle, you’ll soon feel the pressure and  procrastinate. 

Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals and prioritizing them, maintaining to-do lists, creating a writing schedule that works best for you, and tracking your time will help you be productive rather than chronically busy.

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of four children’s books including, A Christmas Kindness, released by 4RV Publishing. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com

Three Steps to Meeting Your Goals

At the beginning of year, many writers create a list of goals. For the first few weeks we are all gung-ho and working feverishly. Then something happens. Life gets in the way. On top of that, our calendar is filled with unrealistic goals or goals that aren't specific, timely, or measurable enough to accomplish them. We get discouraged.

How do we stay the course? How do we work our goals into our daily schedules and make them happen.

Look at your calendar and find an hour. Maybe it won't take that long, but give yourself time to truly consider the goals you have set. Bring your calendar and your list of goals with you. I prefer to do this outside of my house--libraries work well.

STEP ONE: Review your goals one at a time and make sure they are S.M.A.R.T. 

In order to move forward, your goals need to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Let's say your goal is to publish your first article in 2019. That's great, but it's too vague. A S.M.A.R.T. goal would look like this: I will publish my first article by the end of 2019; researching my topic and writing the article by February 1, having a final draft by March 1, and performing market research in April to begin submitting to select magazine publishers by May 1.

Why is this important? Deadlines are marks on the calendar. They are dates you can see and shoot for. Just as important, instead of having to wait until that article is published to feel like you accomplished something, you have these targets along the way that keep you motivated.

STEP TWO: Break down your S.M.A.R.T. goals into small tasks.

Now, let's take that S.M.A.R.T. goal and break it down into small tasks. The to-do list to research your topic might look like this: perform online research, set up interviews with experts, conduct interviews with experts, and visit the local library for additional resources. Then you need to estimate the time necessary to complete each task.

STEP THREE: Time block your calendar.

Pull out your paper or electronic calendar. It's time to get serious. The best way to accomplish your goals is to structure your time so you work most effectively and efficiently. Time blocking will help. There are plenty of online templates to make this easier. I prefer a weekly planner in half hour increments.

The first thing you do is plug in all the things you know you can't change: the day job, picking up the kids from school, exercise time, doctor appointments, etc. The empty blocks are where you tuck your small tasks in. Maybe Monday morning at nine you have half an hour to perform online research. Wednesday at noon might be a great time to call or email those experts to set up interviews.

What's the best part about time blocking? It shows you where time is being wasted, so you can reclaim it.

If you want to meet more of your goals this year, create S.M.A.R.T. goals, break them down into small tasks, and then time block your calendar. You'll be glad you took the time to set yourself up for success.

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Little Shepherd, A Christmas Kindness, Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving, and Amos Faces His Bully. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com