Sometimes its AOK to be an armchair quarterback, especially when it comes making calls about how you could better use your time. And the best way to do this is to look back over the day or week that has just passed. This process need only take a moment or two; simply take note of where your time has gone, making special note of:

* Time wasters (e.g., watching TV, reading the newspaper, cleaning, engaging in activities done by habit rather than choice)

* People wasters (e.g., telemarketers, folks who don’t respect boundaries, people with agendas that don’t mesh with yours)

* Energy wasters (e.g., tasks that can be delegated, to-do’s that are always being put off yet hang over your head)

Just knowing where you’re letting time slip away gives you a heightened sense, and thereby a greater ability, to stop the “slow leak.”

Follow this advice BEFORE you write a single word.

When you submit a query to an editor, the editor will respond in one of three ways: yes, no, maybe. This podcast will help you convince the editor to say “yes.”

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After a few decades of writing, I have learned to trust the creative process. Blocks aren’t solid (if, indeed, they exist); procrastination often is hibernation. To everything there is a season, and you’ve got to go with the damnable flow. Wringing your hands or railing at the heavens accomplishes nothing. You must be patient.

As you wait, send your ideas into the universe. Know that they will circle back more fully shaped. Be there to catch them. Carry them to back to your desk, then write.

Can you really write a novel in 30 days? Maybe, maybe not. I do know, however, that you can write a novel in 30 years. Here’s how:

1. Spend the next 29 years talking about writing your novel.
2. Wait for a guarantee that your book will be universally acclaimed, not to mention profitable.
3. Determine ahead of time every plot twist, turn of a phrase and punctuation mark.
4. Write and rewrite your first chapter until it is perfect. Once perfect, rewrite it.
5. Wait for all the significant and insignificant people in your life to put your aspirations before theirs.
6. Never share your work with anyone of discriminating taste.
7. Read every book ever published on procrastination.
8. Resolve all of the childhood issues that keep you paralyzed.
9. Clean out your office once and for all.
10. Ignore your dreams.

Want to add to the list?