ROW80 – Kim Koning

This year is all about Getting Things Done.
I have my focus word to drive me forward: PUSH
I have a writing plan set into motion for 2015.

So, of course, the next step was an accountability plan. It is one thing having plans and talking about them at the beginning of a year. But it becomes an “expectation” when you’re made accountable. I am lucky enough to have an incredible Story Sister in my friend Darcy Conroy. Every writer needs another writer that they can turn to. You could call it a critique partner, a writing partner, a colleague but most importantly for me we all need support and Darcy is this support person for me.

But sometimes you need further accountability and then something like ROW80 happens.
ROW80 = Round Of Words in 80 days

What is RoW80?
The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

Perfect for rewrites/writing/editing

I signed up for the last round, there are 4 rounds per year, last year but life interruptus happened and I was not able to get everything done I wanted to for ROW80.

So I have signed up again for the first round this year. I have a writing plan and focus that is very specific this year. But there is something about Writing Down an action plan in S.M.A.R.T. bite size chunks that makes your plan doable.

2015 ROW80 Rnd #1 ~~Resolutions~~ Intentions

1. Be kinder to myself

This year I am going to be kinder to myself both personally and professionally. As a perfectionist and a daughter of a German mother, most times I do not need any other critics because I am my own worst critic. I am “never good enough” and things I do are “never perfect enough”.
I am shaking off the old German professor on the side of my shoulder and I am going to go easier on myself.
I am not going to use the words: _____…~~not good enough~~ / ____…~~not perfect~~.

I am also going to stop beating myself up about work not done on days when the migraine monster comes calling. Instead I am going to work through the good days and on the bad days I am going to be kinder to myself.

2. Listen to my body, nurture my body

I have a tendency to push past pain until I create more pain. It is one of the reasons I have never needed a personal trainer to push me to train. Rather I need someone there to help me put the brakes on.

Last year I ignored my body’s messages for far too long and put my physical health at risk which impacted on my writing life.

This year I am making a firm decision to intentionally listen to my body and to intentionally nurture my body.

3. Unplug, destress, relax…more

At the end of last year I took a wonderful week off…a week off from the internet, the constant information overload, the television and got back to nature. I realised 1 week per year of this unplugging needs to be more.

So this year I am taking every Sunday/Monday back.
Every Sunday: Complete unplug. No internet. No writing. No television.
Every Monday: Unplugged (except for the first Monday/month when I co-host #Storycraft on twitter). No writing.

Intention #2015 – I want to take a whole week off (Sunday – Sunday) once every 3 months and unplug completely.

To PUSH forward I need to allow myself rest days where I stand still in order to energise myself for the next week.

4. Make more time to read

Last year I did not read as much as I wanted to. Mostly because I was battling sapping energy/concentration levels. This year I want to read more for pleasure. As a writer, I do read a lot but this year I want to read every day.
I’ll also be reviewing more books. I have baulked for a while about reviewing books but realised that before I am a writer, I am and have always been a voracious reader. So I am going to set an intention to have a Kaffeeklatsch, where I discuss my current reads along with what coffee I am drinking, at least once a month, aiming for two per month on Wednesdays.

5. Getting words done in S.M.A.R.T bite-size chunks

I have been looking for a productivity tool for a while now.
The thing is: I love being organised but I hate lists. But this week I found an app that just Zings for me.

It is called droptask.

It is the Visual task organiser/project planner/team collaboration tool that is built for some like me. It is visual, colourful and there is no list in sight. Instead of telling you I am going to show you what it does.

Along with Tappsana/Asana, Droptask and my incredible Lifetopix organiser – Aside: watch for a “Favourite Productivity Tools and “How I use them” post next week Thursday – I am completing small daily bite-size goals of words done/edited/rewritten instead of just focusing on a large, looming volcano of a deadline.

6. Accept “Good Enough” and Move Forward

Words are never “done” for me. I can edit until the proverbial cows come home and leave again. But…this year I am going to STOP at “good enough”. At the end of the day I need to accept what I have done and the next day “turn the page” and move towards the next goal-post.

So I have come up with a plan for myself. Every day I am going to print off the page/s I have completed and file them. That means I am not allowed to go back over those pages on the screen once I have printed them. I am also filing them away digitally in my Dropbox as an added backup.

7. Finish and Submit

I have the intentional goal of finally finishing my Rewrite on Tattooist and submitting it to publishers. I am itching to get this rewrite done and dusted and off my computer screen onto a potential publisher/editor’s screen so that I can move on to something new and shiny. I already have a loose plot for book #2 in The Blood & Ink series and even have a working title. So the sooner I finish the rewrite on The Tattooist (Book #1) the sooner I can get going on book 2.

The long-year goal for this year is to find a publishing home for Tattooist (Book #1) and secure a publishing home for “The Blood & Ink” series.

8. PUSH forward

PUSH : My intention and focus for 2015. PUSH forward with each new day’s task. Focus on the small goals in order to Push forward to the large goals. Push past procrastination and perfectionism and get to Progress and Achievement.

PUSH = Persist Until Something Happens

Check in with what the other writers are doing for #RoW80.

Tell me: What are your intentions for 2015?

Embed from Getty Images

“People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they’ll go to any length to live longer. But don’t think that’s the reason most people run. Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive then in a fog, and I believe running helps you to do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that’s the essence of running, and a metaphor for life — and for me, for writing as whole. I believe many runners would agree”
― Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

I thrive on sport and athletics. There is something highly addictive (for me) about getting your blood pumping, add in the competition and trusting your body to do the work and get you over the finish line.
I particularly love marathon/cross country running and sprint-hurdling.

Blame it on being an Aries baby but I thrive on competition, deadlines and work best under stress. The competition does not even need to be with anyone else, I am highly motivated at beating and exceeding my own personal bests.

So why not incorporate my need and passion for body fitness and deadlines into my writing life. Yes, there is Nanowrimo but for me I need a longer race to run to make sure life does not encroach or get in the way because of a too-short finish line.

The ultimate inspiration is the deadline. – Nolan Bushnell

So I have decided to sign up for this final 2014 round of RoW80.

What is RoW80?
The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

Perfect for rewrites/writing/editing

The key difference between Nanowrimo and RoW80 is that you are not limited to track just a word count or meet a specific word count goal.
Instead RoW80 slots beautifully into whatever goal you have in your writing life: Word Count or Time Spent Writing / a combo of the two (or any other trackable goal) if you’re in the midst of editing/rewriting (like I am currently.) It has a much more doable timeline of 80 days and if you miss one round or are late to start, you can jump in any time during the 4 rounds that take place annually.

“A deadline gets a writer’s work done done better and faster than any inspiration, if only because inspirations don’t always come, but the deadline is always there.”
― A.A. Patawaran, Write Here Write Now: Standing at Attention Before My Imaginary Style Dictator

A Daily Writing Clock-in

I have also recently signed up to Write Track: the goal setting community for writers where you finish what you start.

Write Track is a genius little social “writing” community where once you have signed up and created a profile you can log in individual writing goals. Then each day you accomplish steps towards that writing goal – you track it. It’s a great little accountability tool with the added benefit of a community if writers. If however you just want your own private accountability or private goals , you can adjust your privacy settings to Public, Private (viewable only to your friends) and to Hidden (your eyes only).

“I don’t need time, I need a deadline.”
― Duke Ellington

Look me up if you’re on/going to sign up.
I’m on there: KimKoning @ Write-Track

I’ll check in once a week here on this blog: RoW80 (You can also find a link in the site menu.)
My Goal: Finish my final rewrites on The Tattooist
Butt in Chair = 5x days/week

You can cheer on the other RoWers here…

Are you a deadline chaser?
Are you a writing tracker?
Tell me how you track your progress?

Tag: ROW80

PUSH: Getting Things Done in 2015 #ROW80

Running Writing Fit #RoW80 | Deadlines, Startlines and Finishlines