A Strong Finish after a Slow Start

I had made so little progress by Wednesday of this week that I didn’t bother to post anything. I am going to nip that in the bud.

I attended a writer’s conference yesterday and came home, as usual, all fired up. I’m ready to finish my novel and ready to edit my devotional. I’m looking at the calendar, thinking summer is almost over and I have a ton of stuff to get done before the end of the year.  

One of the speakers at the conference spent a lot of time talking about procrastination and ways to get things done when you have too much to do and your mind is all over the place. I might revamp my system of goals so that I get more done. A while back I did a thing like “deal-a-goal”, where I listed each goal on a card and then moved it to a different pile when it was accomplished. It seemed quite a convoluted system at the time, but I think I got more done that way. I may have to revisit that.

I. READING

A. Weekly goal

1. Read my assigned blog posts as a ROW80 sponsor.  I think I did this.

2. Read ten hours a week in one of the books I am reading.  I don’t think I did a lot of reading early in the week, mostly because I wasn’t reading anything that really pulled me in. Late in the week, I started reading “The Two-Edged Sword”, by Caye Bartell, a woman I know from another writer’s conference. It is much better reading than what I had been plowing through.

B. Goals for the Round                           

1. Have finished reading five books.  I am still at three, “The Boy at the Museum”, “Years of Stone” and “Sell Your Book Like Wildfire”.   

II. WRITING

A. Weekly goal

1. Finish writing those last three chapters in my novel, “Tale of an American Woman”. At the conference yesterday, I had a “ah-ha” moment which helped me finish chapter 29 last night. I know where I want to go now right up to the end, I just need to keep BICFOK (butt in chair, fingers on keyboard).

2. Edit “The Early Life of Jesus in 40 Days”, the second book in the Bible Stories in 40 Days series. I got up early this morning and edited one day. I know 39 more to go!

3. Write two blog posts here and three posts to my other blog, The Dino Chronicles. No, I only wrote once here, but powered through three posts on the Dino Chronicles. I have my thoughts for topics going forward but nothing else written.

B. Goals for the Round.  

1. Have finished the first round of edits for “The Early Life of Jesus in 40 Days”. No.

2. Start editing my novel.   No.

III. REACHING

A.      Weekly goal.

1. Promote either one of my books on one other site or in person. I had my books for sale at the conference yesterday. Unfortunately, I stuck with my track record, which has been buying other people’s products so that I just break even. Oh, well. I still told lots of people about both books as well as my daughter’s nonprofit. Gave out some business cards too.

2. Comment on my assigned blogs for ROW80. Being out of town both earlier in the week and late in the week, I wasn’t on line much, so I don’t know if I got this done.     

3. Research markets for an hour. Yes. One of the speakers yesterday was from Splickety magazine group. They publish flash fiction, which I thought – yeah, I can do that. So when I got home last night, I studied their website, and I still think, yeah, I can do that.  

4. Walk several streets of town, taking pictures and blogging about it.  Nope, I don’t think I did. I kind of hoped to run to town today, but as I write this, I can’t currently see that happening

B. Goals for the Round

1. Have submitted three pieces somewhere. Still at one submission, but I promise to get that article to Guideposts this week and I know what I am going to submit to Splickety, I just have to revise it some.  

2. Have sent a copy of “The Early Life of Jesus in 40 Days” to my clergy-friends for their input. No.  

3. Have finished walking every street in my town.  No.

IV. PERSONAL

A.      Get in Shape

1.       Continue exercising four times a week and running three times a week. Let’s just say NO.

2.       Keep off that five pounds I worked so hard to lose. I’m still going to say NO.

B. Nonprofit – Tumaini Volunteers

1. Host another picnic or other friend-raiser. We canned this idea. Everyone is just so busy and time is going so fast and now my daughter is all nuts making wedding plans, even though they set their date for one year from now and she insists she wants to keep it simple. I need to get her head out of the clouds.

2. Attend a craft show to sell our Kenyan crafts. Still shooting for the Flea Market on Labor Day weekend.

C. Sewing -- Finish one project this Round. Yes! Friday morning I finished the adorable dress which I wore yesterday, and which people could not stop talking about!

D. Church -- Our college kids will be leaving for school before you know it, get them all mentors. I got three addresses, two mentors and one match all matched up. This is a better start than I have ever had before. 

 The most adorable dress. Too bad I couldn't find a better model for it. 

 The dress is reversible, so it's like getting two-for-one. 

 My daughter and her fiance. She is obviously not focused here - just like her momma. 

 Attendees at the writers conference - all in their places with bright smiling faces. Almost. 

Our wonderful speakers. Dorothy was a little quiet, but the rest made up for her.