How did I write 4 books in 2 years?
The power of focus, time management, and a passion for what I'm doing along with a specific goal and vision.
Before I tell you how I did it, let's get some ideas from other successful time managers to see how to best manage one's time. A critical component to anyone's success.
People often spend their time in one of three ways or some combination thereof: their schedule, other people's schedule, no schedule. Unfortunately, most spend their lives working on no schedule or other people's schedules. Big mistake.
But if you want to accomplish, and I'm not talking about mere I'd-love-to-play-the-piano-but-not-really-because-I'll-never-make-the-necessary-sacrifices lip service, but true commitment to accomplishment, it takes discipline, focus and practical applications.
What does that specifically mean? I seldom will merely talk theory, but rather practical application. The collective mind-scape is littered with discarded books of academic theory written by those genius abstract theorists floating above the masses literally and figuratively on their Island of Laputa. Knowledge is great but we need practical, down-to-earth, I can really get things done with this stuff skills and attitude.
Let's get to the specifics.
Dan Kennedy, tops in his field in coaching and prodding others to market successful, knows how to manage his time. If everyone did what he did, we'd all be uber-successful. He generally works by himself, having one employee who telecommutes several states away. But people are often amazed by how much he gets done. How does he do it?
First of all, he doesn't have a computer--Internet, email--or a cell phone. Most reading that gulped like I just took away their remote for a week or canceled their Netflix membership; but yes, moderns, it can be done.
Why does he do it? Less distraction. He believes that the easier it is to communicate the more likely people will send a communication when they have something on their mind, ending up sending several messages a day. Kennedy's belief is that the harder it is to communicate the more likelihood there is that people won't communicate as frequently.
Kennedy actually has people communicate via fax or mail, forcing people to put more messages in fewer transmissions. Instead of getting a dozen calls or emails a day, he gets one fax or piece of mail with all the messages / questions / concerns listed rather than broken up randomly in several disjointed emails or calls.
Another thing he does is schedule his phone time for just a couple of hours each month with people, set with specific beginning and end times with the end time strictly adhered to.
Ultimately, when he's working he's doing just that, working. Go into any office you will see so much time wasted on idle chat, distraction, delay, and general downtime. One of the biggest wastes of any company is time loss. To achieve, you must be able to do what it takes to manage your time.
But what if you aren't motivated? What if you just can't get going, get to work? What do you do?
Well, if this happens often, quite your job or fire yourself and do what you're passionate about, for the most successful often don't view what they're doing as work. It's usually the burned out desk jockey who's forced himself to believe that he's' stuck with his "lame job" and that's that. Unfortunately, if you aren't doing something that keeps you awake at night because you just can't wait to get to it, then not only do I feel sorry for you, but you're living someone's lie. Either you or someone else has convinced you that it's OK to do what's not the greatest thing on earth, according to your description.
Why is this important in regards to time management? I think you know the answer to that.
But the point I brought up is pivotal to your focus, for if you don't have a deep passion for what you do, then the chance of achievement, even with the greatest application of time management techniques, will be minimal. If you want to maximize these time saving devices, then first and foremost find what you love to do.
To continue with our examples, a man by the name of Isaac Asimov who was a scientist and writer wrote some 500 books in his lifetime. Yes, 500 books. 500 books over roughly a 50 year span. How did he get this done? Well, according to his suggestions to writers, in a book co-written with his wife, he tells writers to "get rid of distractions: junk mail, television, and "if it's a nice day outside, well, just close the blinds and get to work."
Here's someone who truly knew the gift of industry.
But you're probably saying to yourself, gee I don't want to be sequestered away all day writing books that would drive me mad. Of course it would, but if you find that which you're passionate about, that which you love to do, you will want to do that thing more than anything else, thus enabling your change for not only success but greater success, greater than you've probably even imagined.
Finally, how did I write 4 books in 2 years? Yes, certainly, the power of focus, but let's get into specifics.
When I was writing, sometimes I was writing at home, sometimes I was writing at a college where I taught, but there were always distractions. But so seldom did I give into them that I was able to write, write quickly, and write a lot.
My wife tells me that at times she'll be talking to me and she swears my brain has transported out of the room leaving my body behind. You need that level of focus and concentration to succeed in this world. That is if you want to reap the joys and benefits of doing so.
But back to practical techniques. When I sit down to write, I always know what I'm going to write, and I generally know how much copy I need to generate before I call it quits. So if the phone rings, a knock comes at the door, a colleague walks into the room and starts shooting the breeze with someone else, what do I do? That's right, I keep writing. Very seldom if ever do I get out of work mode until I've accomplished what I've needed to.
Oh, another point of note. While I was writing those 4 books I was also generating dozens of pages of copy for my web page that consisted of time-consuming methods, techniques, survey questions, and a proprietary system of considerable complexity.
How did it get done?
- Love of work: dedication, passion, commitment
- Elimination of distractions
- Objective that consists of specific quantities
- Known start and stop times and sticking to them
- Ignoring of distractions if they do arise
- Having goals: monthly, weekly, daily, hourly
- And a clear vision of where I am, where I'm going, and when I'll get there
Here's to getting things done. Good luck.
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