The Discipline of Checking In

I failed to meet my goal for the writing group this week for the first time. What really matters, though, is the discipline of checking in every week, even when the goal is not met. Staying in the game. Averaged out over the year, a few unmet goals really don't matter very much. I could probably miss my goal 10% of the time, or 5 times in 52 weeks, and still have an amazingly productive year.

Simplicity (2)

The writing group is really helping me, even though it only puts into practice principles that I developed myself from reading Thomas's blog and working along similar lines in SMT.

When I observe others attempting to put these principles into practice I also notice where they are successful and where they are not. This helps me too.

Some members propose several goals for a week, whereas I make sure that my goal is always a single one related to both the short term and long term project. I like to be single-minded and clear about what I want to get done and whether I get it done or not, and it seems to me that multiple goals cloud the waters a bit. I might even have a few secondary goals, but I don't bother to write those down.

That way I always have very clear sight of the relation between long term project, short term project, and weekly goal. I can juggle three balls very easily, but four is beyond my competence.

Writing Group (switching to private blog)

I'm switching the writers group to a private blog. I will invite each member to be an author of the blog, so please send me you email address to jmayhew@ku.edu. The blog is there already, but only authors will be able to read it.

The idea is that writers might not want their senior colleagues / dissertation advisors to see their private struggles with writing. Also, by giving other members of the group full posting privileges, I won't have to do that with SMT itself.

Writers Group FAQ

Nobody has actually asked me a question, so these are not really Frequently Asked Questions.

1. Who can join?

You.

2. How does it work?

You post a comment in the comment box once a week, following the very basic, easy-to-follow instructions.

3. What are the rules?

Follow the instructions or a reasonable approximation of them and don't be an asshole.

4. Do I have to post every week?

No.

5. What is the role of the moderator.

I am the moderator and I post simple instructions every week. I might offer brief encouraging comments. I also post on my own progress.

6. Can I comment on someone else's comment?

Yes. The point is encouragement, so anything that is encouraging and non-judgmental is fine.

7. Can I contact you backchannel to ask your more questions?

Yes. jmayhew arroba ku.edu.

9. What is an arroba?

It is the Spanish word for the graphic sign @.

10. What are the benefits of the group?

If you set weekly goals and evaluate what you get done each week (and why you don't always meet those goals), you will improve your work habits and productivity.

11. Why couldn't I just do that on my own?

You could. The group creates a motivational incentive and an encouraging environment that some people might find useful.

12. Why be so "non-judgmental"? Why is that important?

My idea is that judgment just gets in the way. Feeling really bad about how little you get done doesn't really help, in my experience. It is a form of egotistical thinking. You can view the problems of writing instead as a set of pragmatic issues. What's helping you, what's holding you back? What is under your control? What is out of your control?

13. What do you know about any of this?

Not much. But I have had some success writing academically and also have had non-productive periods. I've made every mistake at one time or another, from procrastination to emotional self-sabotage. Some people seem to find my blog Stupid Motivational Tricks useful, so who am I to argue with them?
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1st meeting of the Writers Group

This is how it is going to work. In the comment box below, each participant will tell us the following.

Who are you? (Field of study, current status, etc...)

What is your long term project. Book, dissertation, series of articles, etc...

What is your short term project? (Chapter, articles, book review)

What do you want to get done this week, before next Monday?

My basic philosophy is to distinguish clearly between external obstacles to writing and internal ones. We have considerable power over internal obstacles, so we can work on those. We have less power of external factors, so we can either work to change those or circumvent them, or some combination of the two.

Not having a lamp to read by is an external obstacle to scholarship. Not bothering to buy a lamp from office depot to solve this problem, however, is an internal obstacle. If we only have internal obstacles, we are in good shape, because those we can learn to control.

Rules of the Group:

1. Don't be judgmental of yourself or others. Don't disparage someone else's field, project, work ethic. A fine restaurant doesn't need a sign saying "don't spit on the floor," so I don't need to make rules saying not to racist, sexist, or generally an asshole. A lot goes without saying.

2. Be honest about yourself. If you didn't get done what you wanted to, just try to figure out why and see how the next week works out. See if you can do better. Report on your progress every week even if you got little done.

(The members, so far, are Jonathan, Clarissa, David, Jon, Franklin, and Brownen. If you want to join you can.)