I’ve been chatting with a friend about how to be more productive in 2010. (Yes, I had 5 print releases and 3 ebooks in 2009 and will have 6 ebooks and I think 2 print releases out in 2010, but that doesn’t mean I was at my peak. I want to do better next year.)

Here are things I’ve found helpful:
1. PBW’s Way of the Cheetah. Excellent book on streamlining life and writing to be more productive and focused.
2. Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer. Very good book on harnessing the power of the unconscious mind for story-production and developing habits to make writing less strain, more gain.
3. Eating my vegetables, drinking enough water, less coffee, more fruits, and enough protein. Harder than it sounds, but if you know what you should be eating and you shop to make it easy to do that, it’s a big help.
4. Regular exercise. Not to the Olympic athlete level, but I do weights twice a week and walk 5 days a week. This is enough to offset what sitting at a keyboard does to the body.
5. More carrot, less stick. I find it way too easy to engage in punitive behaviors and hard to reward what I should be doing. But this is creative death. Reward yourself. In fact, reward yourself FIRST, before you do whatever assigned task. See how much easier it is to create after.
6. Punitive behaviors vary. One man’s reward is another’s punishment. When you find yourself doing something punitive, stop and go do something else. Anything else.
7. Keep the creative well full. Read for fun. Write for fun. Hang out with friends and family and pursue hobbies. A well-rounded life and a full well lead to well-rounded fiction and a much easier time producing. Above all, remind yourself regularly that it’s okay to do creative things that are not “professional”. Paint, take pictures, make pipe cleaner animals. Play. The lower mental bar will carry over into work, encouraging more free flow, less “Oh my god, you’re screwing up”.
8. The timer. I love the timer. Give yourself 5, 10, 15 minutes on the timer, write nonstop until time’s up. Once time’s up, take a break. Then come back and do another 5, 10, or 15 minutes. When you’re writing a really hard section, taking it in small increments feels doable when “write this entire scene” is too overwhelming.
9. Keep the big picture in mind. If you know why you’re doing what you’re doing, it’s easier to stay motivated. It’s also easier to see if the projects you’re doing fit overall values, goals, etc. or not.
10. Remember that trial and error is part of life and so is failure. Failure happens, and when it does, it should be recognized for what it is, part of the process. Not the end of the world. I try to learn from my mistakes and keep improving, but I know I’m still going to make mistakes. I can’t let that stop me from doing anything at all.