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The Steve Laube Agency

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Home » Career » Page 2

Career

Stop Procrastinating—Right Now!

By Bob Hostetleron July 13, 2022
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In my last post on this amazing blog (Steve Laube requires me to say that at regular intervals), I opined about seven consequences of procrastination. You may not have gotten around to reading it yet, but I promised in that post to follow up with some helpful tips or techniques for preventing procrastination. So, without further ado or delay, here are some ideas:

  1. Pray.

Of course, right? But seriously, pray about your procrastination. Pray for deliverance from procrastination. Pray for those who might be affected if you procrastinate. And so on.

  1. Make a list.

Several of the comments on my previous post (“I’ve Put Off Writing This Blog Post Long Enough”) mentioned the value of making to-do lists and keeping them handy. (Thanks, Deb Gorman and Andrew Budek-Schmeisser.) I use a bullet journal to list my daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual goals. (Yes, I am OCD; wanna make something of it?)

  1. Carry it over.

When you don’t accomplish something on your daily to-do list, copy it to the next day. And then the next. And the next. This is a good reason not to use a digital to-do app that does this for you, because the repetition and annoyance of repeatedly writing that same task can spur you to get it done, so you don’t have to keep writing it.

  1. Ask why.

Commenting on my previous post, Susan Brehmer said, “I review items left dangling on my to-do list and consider why I haven’t completed them yet. That often leads to a simple step to get started.”

  1. Exercise your faith.

Envision what it will be like when you complete the tasks you’ve been procrastinating. A deep sigh of relief? A sense of accomplishment? A break from the space it’s been taking up in your head? Renewed self-respect? You might go so far as to verbalize this: “When I finish ______, I’ll experience ____.”

  1. Break it down.

Are you procrastinating because the task ahead is intimidating? Too big? Too hard? Break it down into incremental steps, and place those steps in your schedule or to-do list. Remember, according to the old joke, that’s how you eat an elephant: “one bite at a time.”

  1. Bundle tasks.

Sarah Hamaker posted this comment on my previous blog post: “Bundling my least preferred tasks (like social media and marketing!) in blocks of time on a weekly or monthly calendar also allows me to both forget about those tasks and do them in a single block of time.” Pairing tasks you tend to procrastinate with those you enjoy (for instance, enlisting a friend to partner with in some of your least favorite tasks) can turn procrastination into anticrastination. (So sorry.)

  1. Schedule “sprints.”

Schedule a time and place for short bursts of focused attention on your most-pressing and/or most-often-procrastinated tasks. It’s easy to put off something when you have “all day” or “all week” to accomplish it; that can feel like a marathon. But if you tell yourself that you’re going to “sprint” for fifteen or thirty minutes in order to get Task A done, you might actually do it.

  1. Shut the door.

Never in history have we had more ways to allow ourselves to be distracted from the things we ought to do: phone calls, emails, text messages, Facebook, doorbells, YouTube, YouNameIt. But there are also ways to counter those things, by putting your phone on “Do Not Disturb” or “Airplane Mode,” for example. So take that thing you’ve been putting off, shut the door, silence everything, and don’t come out until the thing is done.

  1. Build in rewards.

If you’re as OCD as I am, checking off task after task (and thus moving them out of my limited brain space) is its own reward. If you’re not, promise yourself a commensurate reward for getting it done. A donut, perhaps. Okay, so it doesn’t have to be donuts. It could be a nap. A walk. A purchase. Even a sticker, just like in first grade.

I’m so glad to get this post written, I can’t even begin to describe it. So I won’t. Instead, I’ll check it off as “done” and head to the donut place.

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Category: Career, Inspiration, The Writing Life

I’ve Put Off Writing This Blog Post Long Enough

By Bob Hostetleron June 30, 2022
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I wear many hats (so to speak) as an author, blogger, game writer, speaker, literary agent, and man-about-town. People sometimes ask me how I get it all done. Usually I answer with something self-effacing, such as, “I’m just awesome that way.” But when pressed, I’ll attribute whatever productivity I have to careful organizing, scheduling, and—most importantly—maniacally avoiding procrastination. …

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Category: Career, The Writing Life

When You Hit the Wall of Discouragement

By Steve Laubeon June 6, 2022
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by Steve Laube
 
I recently received the following question from a client (an award winning author):
Is it common for an author to hit a wall of discouragement? To feel as though they're working so hard for so little? To question why they're doing this?

Unfortunately it is quite common. Doesn't mean it aches any less. Sort of like getting old…everyone does and it aches, but it is a common …

Read moreWhen You Hit the Wall of Discouragement
Category: Book Business, Career, Personal, Writing CraftTag: Career, Discouragement

Publishing in Generalities

By Dan Balowon May 25, 2022
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While agents and publishers accept book proposals because they contain a number of specific things they like, most book proposals are turned down because of a general reason. For example, refer to the “Who We Are,” section of this website. Each agent has a set of filters we use to focus our efforts. The filters reflect our strengths and/or personal preferences. Outside of these, we decline. …

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Category: Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, Inspiration, The Writing Life

The Way Publishing Never Was

By Dan Balowon April 21, 2022
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In 1999, the book The Way Things Never Were: The Truth About the “Good Old Days” by Norman Finkelstein was published. I have a copy. My family grew weary of me referring to it in every conversation twenty years ago, so there it sits on the shelf. It is less than 100 pages, with plenty of pictures, so no one has the excuse that it is too long and complicated to read. Chapter titles …

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Category: Book Business, Career, Publishing History

Be Proactively Lazy

By Bob Hostetleron April 7, 2022
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In James Clear’s excellent, bestselling book Atomic Habits, he writes about a man who set up a number of systems and habits that impressed others, who commented on his energy and hard work in getting so much done. He shrugged off the compliments, however, saying something like, “I’m actually not that hard-working; I’m just proactively lazy.” I love it. I think “proactive laziness” is a good modus …

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Category: Career, Encouragement, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Chemistry Matters

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 24, 2022
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We’ve all heard about the stars who turned down roles that turned out to become cultural icons. For instance, at least six actors turned down the part of Neo in The Matrix.  Perhaps those who turned down roles might say, “Wow, that could have been me! I missed a great opportunity!”  Maybe. Or maybe not. Why? Because those films wouldn’t have been the same with the other actors. Perhaps the …

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Category: Career

Fearful Writing

By Dan Balowon March 23, 2022
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It is important for Christian writers to be bold, not worrying so much about who might be offended by the gospel or who might take biblical truth the wrong way. Despite society being fragile these days with so many people triggered by the littlest thing, this situation shouldn’t stop us from proclaiming God’s truth. We all need to be more fearless in the way we live and communicate. After all, as …

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Category: Career, Christian, Inspiration

Not Only the Lonely

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 16, 2022
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Since many publishers ask that authors have a robust online presence, I’m revisiting a topic that, sadly, hasn’t gone away since I wrote about it a few years ago. This article is worth everyone’s time if I can save even one person from being scammed. Recently, I received a private message on Facebook from a man I didn’t know, saying that he liked my profile and would like …

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Category: Career, Social Media

A Is for Agent

By Steve Laubeon March 14, 2022
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by Steve Laube

I thought it might be fun to write a series that addresses some of the basic terms that define our industry. The perfect place to start, of course, is the letter "A." And even better to start with the word "Agent."

If you are a writer, you've got it easy. When you say you are a writer your audience lights up because they know what that means. (Their perception is that you …

Read moreA Is for Agent
Category: Agents, Book Business, Book Business, Career, Creativity, E-Books, Legal Issues, Publishing A-Z, Writing CraftTag: Agent, Book Business, publishing
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