It’s time for an Annual Review at your writing corporation of one.

It’s time to take a staff meeting… with yourself.

As writers, we are our own bosses. Even with deadlines and other outer expectations, we are ultimately accountable to ourselves. We create our own schedules, map out our own workdays, and are ruled by our own mental and physical abilities. There’s no one to whom we can delegate writing work (though there may be ways to delegate other work). For most writers, that feeling of being autonomous, of mastering oneself and one’s habits, is appealing. But there’s a major drawback: it’s hard to create distance between your writing self and the self that demands accountability.

It’s vital to see these parts of you as separate entities. I used this “separation of powers” to great effect recently when I was feeling absolutely horrible and wondering if I should take a sick day. As myself, I couldn’t make the decision. But then I thought, “As my own boss, what would I tell myself to do?” And the answer came to me instantly: “Take the day off to rest and go to the doctor, before you get even worse and need to miss work later in the week.” (My “boss” included a few other choice words, like “you’re an idiot” and “don’t be a martyr.”) Besides providing me with a quick decision, this strategy also alleviated my guilt over missing work. (After all, it was my boss who made the call, not me!)

In the last few weeks of this year, I invite you to sit down and give yourself an annual review. Answer each question, then flag the ones that give you the most concern. At the end, return to those answers and start devising a strategy to improve that area of your life or work in 2016 and beyond. For example, if you realize that you’re constantly overtired, think about setting a nightly alarm to remind you to put yourself to bed. Or if you’re not happy with the level of community you’ve built as a writer, set aside time in your schedule for community-building activities: a new writer’s group, attending a conference, or connecting on social media.

Writer’s Annual Performance Review

Let’s start by going over your last year’s performance.

• Did you set any goals for yourself at the start of the year?
• Did you achieve those goals, set them aside, or feel a pull to refocus on any of them?
• Are you proud of your work over the past year? Your process? The number of finished projects?
• Are you currently where you believed you would be in your writing life?
• Where do you think you need to go next?

Now let’s discuss your physical well-being.

• Are you getting enough sleep?
• Are you exercising? Do you get off the writer’s chair often enough during the day?
• Are you consuming too much sugar and other stimulants?
• Are you paying attention to your body’s needs on a regular basis?
• How is your physical health affecting your writing life?

Moving on to your mental well-being . . .

• Do you feel satisfied with your level of investment in your writing career?
• Are you happy with your work, your relationships, and your sense of self?
• Do you feel fulfilled by family, friends and spiritual connections? Are you fulfilled by your writing work?
• How is your mental health affecting your writing life?

Finally, let’s set some goals for moving forward

• Does the way you spend your time reflect your priorities? (If you’re not sure, take a week or two to track your time usage, and then study it; it’s very illuminating. I recommend reading 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam for assistance in this area.)
• What ARE your priorities? If you had to list them, what order would they be in?
• Within your life, what are your biggest goals? List them in order.
• Within your writing life, what are your biggest goals? List them in order.

Now that you’ve answered the questions for your boss, step back into your writer shoes. Consider your boss’s intentions: she wants you to be physically well, happy and fulfilled, and progressing in a direction that meets your lifestyle and professional goals. Do you always seek the same things for yourself? Are you successfully implementing beneficial work habits?

I’ll be asking myself the same questions as 2015 comes to a close, and hope you’ll join me in our annual performance reviews.

When they’re over, we can all complain about the boss over at the water cooler.

Leanne Sowul writes historical/literary fiction and teaches music in the Hudson Valley, NY. If she had a water cooler in her home office, she’d always be taking trips to it. She usually thinks her “boss” is pretty cool, but sometimes wishes she were allowed to sleep in more often.

Connect with Leanne at her blog/website, Words From The Sowul, via email at leannesowul(at)gmail(dot)com, or on Twitter @sowulwords.

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Not sold on the concept? Here’s how a writing challenge can help you write more, write better, and write smarter.

1) Write More

Most writing challenges focus first and foremost on making you write more words or pages. This is because writing more is the first step to getting that book published and in the hands of your readers. The only way to get there is to start putting words on the page. But wait, there’s more.

Writing is is like Newton’s 1st Law of Motion. The more you write, the easier it is to keep writing. Just as “objects in motion stay in motion and objects at rest stay at rest,” the more often you write, the more momentum you build up. Writing regularly also helps you build stamina and mastery. You’ll be more confident each time you sit down to write because you know you can do it. After all, you just did it the day before.

On the flip side, if you haven’t written in a while, it can be harder to get back on the bandwagon with each passing day. Here’s the good news: you can use a writing challenge to jumpstart your writing or get back in the groove after a long break. Just make sure you’re gentle with yourself, especially in the beginning. The last thing you want is to try leaping too far too soon. If you do that, you risk setting yourself up for failure, which in turn might make you feel miserable and maybe even give up.

2) Write Better

While many writing challenges might seem like they focus on quantity, they can also have an impact on the quality of your writing. The more words you write, the less precious each one will feel and that will make it easier for you to rewrite or cut things altogether. Writing is re-writing, and every true writer knows that the first draft supposed to be an ugly mess. The key is putting words on the page so you have something to work with later on. You can fix just about any problem in revision, but you can’t revise a blank page.

While you may not produce a polished piece during a challenge, that habit of writing regularly will improve your skills and techniques. In fact, it’s not uncommon for the later parts of a draft to require much less revision than the beginning. This is because when you first start a project it takes time to find your voice and figure out the direction of the story. After you get in the groove, though, the writing may flow more easily and become better overall.

The #1 way to increase your odds of getting published is to write the best book possible. There are many factors that play a part in getting you published: talent, luck and the quality of your writing. Unfortunately, you can’t control how much talent was handed to you at birth and luck is just… luck. Skill, on the other hand, now that’s something you can work with, it’s something you can control. The better you get at writing, the better your book will be. And if your book improves, so will your odds of seeing your name in print.

3) Write Smarter

One of the best ways to approach a writing challenge is to treat it as a testing ground for writing habits that you can continue after the challenge is over. After all, let’s be realistic. Unless you live in a cabin in the woods and do nothing but write, there are likely other things in your life that take time away from writing. A writing challenge forces you to find the time to write and make all these pieces of your life fit together.

It might be tempting to put real life on hold while doing a challenge, but I would caution against it. Instead, try to establish sustainable writing habits so that you can keep up that momentum for the long haul. Otherwise, you might find the challenge will give your writing a momentary boost, but it won’t have a lasting impact.

Also, make sure you have a before-during-and-after plan for your writing. The “before” piece is all about easing yourself into a challenge so you build mastery and avoid setting yourself up for failure. And the “during” component is also straightforward since most writing challenges have a structure to guide you through. The trick is figuring out what to do after the challenge is over. This is why you need a plan.

Whatever writing challenge you choose, make sure you sketch out a few milestones for the months after it’s over. This will give you a set of goals to work toward after the safety net and structure of the writing challenge is gone. I see many writers get stuck in that “serial first draft” rut where they keep jumping from challenge to challenge, producing new drafts but never following through and submitting the manuscript. Other writers query too soon and don’t take time for that all-important revision step after the challenge and wind up with a slew of rejection letters.

Instead, take time to map out your post-challenge goals before the challenge even starts. Just assume that you’ll finish the challenge and plan your next steps accordingly. Not only will this give you a roadmap to follow after the challenge is over, but these goals will motivate you even more to win the challenge in the first place.

Conquer the Craft in 29 Days!

Speaking of  challenges, check out Conquer the Craft in 29 Days (#CTC29).

It’s a prompt-a-day challenge designed to help you write more, write better, write smarter.
There’s still time to join, but it’s happening now so hurry and sign up. Click the link for more info.

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