Most (probably all) writers I know want to increase their productivity. Whether we’re speaking of drafting more stories or building up our platform, we want to accomplish more in our writing life (and life in general) with our limited time.
As we discussed last time, many writers have day jobs, and that’s just normal—not a sign of failure. We might also have family obligations that take up our “free” time. Or maybe we’re struggling with health issues that cut into our alert time. (And maybe we’re dealing with all three!)
The point is that there could be many reasons why our time for writing is limited. Thus, we can have many motivations for wanting the make the most of the writing time we do have.
However, when it comes to our brains and our situations, advice won’t be equally helpful to everyone. We might need to dig deeper to figure out the right style of advice for us.
Good Advice Doesn’t Necessarily Apply to Us
I’ve pointed out before how we might need different types of motivational advice. Some of us might need pompon-waving “You can do it” messages, and others might need crack-the-whip messages. (And our needs might change with our moods.)
Similarly, there are different types of advice for increasing productivity, and not all will help our situation. For example, posts abound with advice for us to…:
- Wake an hour earlier to get in writing time.
- Use a timer to create focus.
- Turn off the internet to eliminate distractions.
- Write long-hand.
- Use to-do lists to focus on priorities.
- Create outlines and scene lists before drafting.
- Use X program to make our writing more efficient.
- Use Y tool to motivate our results.
None of those are wrong, but chances are many of them won’t help us. That gap isn’t necessarily our fault, and we don’t need to beat ourselves up about being lazy or whatever.
The truth is that we’re all different. Our thought processes are different (e.g., pantser vs. plotter). What motivates us is different (internal vs. external). The struggles affecting our available time are different (physical vs. mental).
Personally, my most productive time is at night, and I’m already waking up too *&%^ early every morning for my day job, so a morning writing schedule wouldn’t work. Similarly, neither would writing long-hand or creating outlines, etc.
But that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with that advice. It just means that it doesn’t work for me.
What’s Your Productivity Style?
So if we’re trying to be efficient about our writing, it only makes sense that we want to be efficient about figuring out which of this conflicting advice might work for us, right? *smile*
The answer might be in learning about our productivity style. (Here’s the official assessment quiz, but you need to provide your email to get your results, and it occasionally comes back with an error.) And yes, it’s possible to be a mix of these styles.
Prioritizer: Goal Oriented (Focusing on the What)
Do you like a logical approach to time management? (Maybe even figuring out how long different tasks take to create more accurate estimates?) Do you focus on the what of the end goal and don’t worry about the how?
If so, helpful advice or tools might concentrate on:
- daily goals,
- tracking activities,
- organizing information and tasks,
- timers, etc.
However, advice that might not help us increase productivity includes those that:
- seem counter-productive (“Create a scene list before drafting”),
- require communication or collaboration (“Find an accountability partner”),
- encourage stopping work before a goal is met (“Switch between tasks to stay fresh”), etc.
Planner: Detail Oriented (Focusing on the How)
Do you like the logical and organized approach of the Prioritizer but also enjoy digging into the details for how to implement goals? Do you thrive on schedules and agendas? (Maybe even writing a completed task on a to-do list, just to check it off?)
If so, helpful advice or tools might concentrate on:
- project planning tools,
- forming habits,
- tracking tasks and to-do lists,
- deadline calendars, etc.
However, advice that might not help us increase productivity includes those that:
- skip the details (“Focus on your end goal, not the steps to get there”),
- encourage spontaneous ideas or working on tasks out of order (“Work on each day’s passion”),
- require ignoring errors (“Don’t edit typos as you draft”), etc.
Arranger: Team Oriented (Focusing on the Who)
Do you enjoy collaborating with others to get work done? Do you accomplish more with a favorite office supply (like a special pen or notebook) or when using lots of colors to highlight tasks? Do you make decisions intuitively?
If so, helpful advice or tools might concentrate on:
- increasing focus,
- using incentives, accountability, and community,
- organizing collaboration,
- visually appealing office supplies, etc.
However, advice that might not help us increase productivity includes those that:
- focus only on facts and logic (“Figure out each task’s priority”),
- don’t allow for social/community downtime or incentives (“When under deadline, ban yourself from all social media for the duration”),
- require strict adherence to a plan (“Follow these steps to increase your word count each day”), etc.
Visualizer: Big-Picture Oriented (Focusing on the Why)
Do you enjoy working on multiple projects at once? Do you like thinking of possibilities and how to integrate different ideas? Do you struggle to keep a clean desk but know where to find things?
If so, helpful advice or tools might concentrate on:
- turning dreams into reality,
- mind-mapping,
- eliminating distractions,
- visually appealing organizational supplies, etc.
However, advice that might not help us increase productivity includes those that:
- focus on single project at once (“Don’t multi-task”),
- require lots of details and repetition (“Track where your time goes every 15 minutes”),
- don’t explain the why behind the tips (“Don’t get creative; stick to this tried-and-true method”), etc.
(This article by the author of the book includes links to specifics tools for each style.)
Can Knowing Our Style Help Us?
I’m definitely a mix of styles:
- Prioritizer: When it comes to drafting, don’t waste my time with plotter-outlining stuff. My writing-by-the-seat-of-pants drafting style gets me to the goal of a finished book, and that’s all that matters. *grin*
- Planner: When it comes to specific projects, I’m a list-maker and detail oriented. I can plan logical and sequential projects and processes in my sleep with one arm tied behind my back and only a slow computer to use for organizing. *smile*
- Visualizer: When it comes to everything else, I analyze the why and the big picture but get bored with the details. (There’s a reason I don’t offer copyediting services, even though I can do it.)
Before coming up with this list, however, I would have labeled myself as a Planner for “everything else.” Thinking about it deeper, I realized that’s not quite true.
I’m shockingly (disgustingly?) organized about a few select things (I use color-coded spreadsheets to schedule my time at conferences), but outside of that specific list, I’m kind of a Visualizer mess. Seriously, I have piles a foot high on my desk. *smile*
Editing-wise, this means that I’m gung-ho for any type of edits where I can see the evidence of improvement (proof makes it easy to understand why the editing time is worth it). But those self-editing programs that go through every sentence drive me up a wall because it takes up too much time for edits that might not make a difference. I can’t—don’t—use them. Instead, I rely on my editors to find the nitpicky stuff I’ve missed.
So what does my mix tell me about increasing my productivity?
- My drafting process works. I’m a Prioritizer for drafting, and I love the daily goal aspect of NaNoWriMo. I’ve used timers to narrow my focus and enjoy word sprints because they make me stick to my goal of writing.
- My editing process works. I have fantastic editors, and I trust their changes will improve my work. And I’ve narrowed my self-editing tools down to ones where I can see the evidence of improvement. (As mentioned here, I use a modified version of Jordan McCollum’s GrabbingCrutches macro to find weak actions and verbs and fix with the Weak Verb Converter Tool from Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.)
- Everything else? That needs help. *smile*
I think what my analysis tells me is that I have to find a way to make my Visualizer style more productive or I have to convert more aspects of my life into specific projects that get my Planner side going. I’ve never been one for mind-mapping or the like, so my best bests are eliminating distractions or engaging my Planner side. Either way, I now have specific strategies to try, and that’s always a good thing.
Whether we’re primarily one style or a mix of styles, by learning more about what helps us be productive, we can be more efficient with our time. Just as importantly, we can know what “never fail” advice we can safely ignore because it won’t work for us. *smile*
Do you struggle with productivity? What causes problems for you? Which of these productivity styles resonate most with you? Can you identify different circumstances in your life when different styles might apply? Did this post give you any ideas for how to increase productivity for your style(s)? If you’ve tried productivity advice, was it appropriate for your style and did it work?
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