Wow! Women on Writing

10 Ways to Spring Forward in your Writing Career
By Christina Katz

It's that time of year again when we throw open closet doors, scour junk drawers, pillage attics and go spelunking in garages and basements all in search of stuff we no longer need. Has the spring-cleaning bug grabbed a hold of you yet? If not, chances are good that it will eventually. One morning when the birds are crooning, the trees are bursting and the daffodils are tossing their yellow manes in a perfumed wind, the urge will rise up and carry you along like a wave to purge, purge, purge.

This list will help you ride it out, so you can get out and enjoy the sunshine sooner.

1. A place for everything and everything in its place
Start in your office or writing area. Clean your desk, floor, and surrounding shelves of any messes that have accumulated over the winter. Keep whatever is purely decorative and fills your heart with glee. Otherwise, find the most functional place to store items, papers, receipts, etc. so any can be easily be retrieved when needed. Containers that work well for me are three-ring binders, file folders, file pockets, accordion files, index card files, photo boxes, clear plastic tubs, drawers, and magazine holders.

2. Make a clean sweep
Did your childhood home smell of Lemon Pledge on cleaning days? Then dusting may be more fun if you use it. Banish the dust bunnies, vacuum or sweep floors, and polish glass surfaces. Break out that computer vacuum and clean your keypads with a cleanser-dampened cloth. Ah, that's better already.

3. One drawer (shelf, closet, etc.) at a time
No doubt you are aware that the phrase "One day at a Time" helps a recovering person withstand the trial of time. The same principle works for big cleaning jobs. I can't do my whole office in one day, but by starting with one drawer at a time, I just might get the whole desk cleaned before lunch.

You may even wish to try one drawer at a time. Tackle the one that suits your mood (ie. really in the mood to purge = super-nasty junk drawer, fairly reluctant = easy electronic gadget/supplies drawer that is already pretty organized). Dump the drawer out into the middle of your nice clean room (you made need a towel to protect your clean rug/floor or a vacuum later). Then sort back into the drawer only the items you actually use.

4. Repetition is how we learn
Remember that it's not enough for paperclips to be loose in a drawer with lots of other small items that are impossible to find when you need one. Each grouping of tiny items needs a home within a home. Depending on which side of the brain you lean toward, paperclips can go in something playful (like an antique tin) or something practical (like one of those drawer trays you can get at office supply stores).

5. Get reacquainted with your filing cabinet
I have a love/hate relationship with my filing cabinet. I love my metal, four-drawer model. I even decorate it with cheerful magnets and pictures of friends. However, I hate when I don't look in there for…let's just say a long time…and my "To File" pile starts to look like the leaning tower. Ironically, once I start filing, I actually enjoy the process and wonder why I don't do it more frequently. Go figure.

6. Create organization systems that work for you and update them quarterly. Being a visual-type, I like any method that keeps my work in progress visible and orderly. A three-ring binder for clips and a box for tear sheets. File folders for research, contracts and work-in-progress. Files divided up into "current" and "storage," determines if they go in the stacking files I keep handy, or back into the file cabinet. When completed article files go into storage, new file folders get labeled for projects I have in mind for the upcoming quarter.

7. Give it away, give it away, give it away – now!
If the "junk" you uncover is not worth saving, go ahead and chuck it. And there's nothing wrong with donating random stuff to Goodwill. But look a little deeper and you might find something you can give away more intentionally. This might be an outdated computer system or a bunch of articles you know you'll never try to sell again. If you're stumped, just ask around. A friend or family member may be able to think of someone who can use what you no longer need.

8. De-clutter your computer
I can always tell how I feel by looking at my eMac desktop. If there are 23 random files cluttering up my peaceful blue screen, then I know I'm frazzled. Luckily, files can be sorted in a jiffy. Trash bins can be emptied from the desktop and from inside e-mail. Saved e-mail and favorite Internet sites can be sorted into folders, so I can find them when I need them. Writing files need to be backed up daily.

9. By now you have probably noticed something wonderful happening. The more you spring clean, the better you feel. Quick, take that momentum and channel it into making an appointment with a financial planner, who can help you get feel as squeaky clean about your taxes as you do about your orderly office. If you don't need one, update your profit and loss statement and create the appropriate files for storing business receipts and bills that will later turn into tax deductions.

10. Last, but not least, assess your progress on your goals in the first quarter. How do you feel about your growth? If you continue in the same direction you've been going, how will you feel at the end of the year? Spend some time reflecting on more productive ways to use your time, revision the outcomes you'd like, and make adjustments to your annual goals. Put them in writing and post them where you will be able to see them often.

Now that wasn't too painful was it? And the results are worth the effort. When you cross your personal finish line, treat yourself to something wonderful like a new pair of walking shoes, a massage or a book by an encouraging author. You deserve it!

Christina Katz is the author of Writer Mama, How To Raise A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (February, 2007, Writer's Digest Books). She has been doing just that for the past five years and has published over 200 articles in magazines, newspapers, and online publications. She teaches eight nonfiction-writing classes a year and is publisher and editor of the online monthly zine, Writers On The Rise, voted by Writer's Digest as one of the “101 Top Web Sites” for writers. Christina is a graduate of Dartmouth College and has an MFA in Fiction from Columbia College, Chicago. Visit www.writersontherise.com or www.christinakatz.com or www.thewritermama.com for the latest about Christina.