Personal Productivity: How To Jump-Start Your Writing Projects

Generally speaking, thoughts and ideas need time to percolate. As such, it is not unusual to procrastinate and “spin one’s wheels” at the onset of most writing projects.

Needless to say, in the Business World, most of us cannot afford to wait for our ideas to crystallize as deadlines are often non-negotiable. In the same light, there are times when ideas and words just wont flow, no matter how long one stares at that blank screen.

A more productive and logical way to facilitate the Writing Process is to get in the habit of outlining your writing objectives.

This is an elementary writing technique for sure, but unfortunately, it is one that many modern Business Communicators tend to disregard. Granted, Word Processing Programs make it easy to edit as you write, but this ignores the merits of "planning your work, and working your plan".

The upshot is that when you take the time to articulate your objectives, it forces you to focus your energy and creative instincts on the task at hand. Simply speaking, it gets the project off “square one” by providing a framework for all the subsequent steps in the Writing Process.

If you have gotten out of the habit of planning and outlining your writing projects, why not reacquaint yourself with this valuable time-saving tool? You may be surprised at how this simple technique will help get your projects done on time and with less anxiety.

As you begin your next writing project, do the following:

1. Spell out your writing objective in clear terms.

2. Use this objective to outline your main points.

3. Collect and organize your supporting data, if applicable.

4. Construct a detailed outline.

5. Expand the outline into a working draft.

6. Review, edit and refine your document.

7. Finalize your communication.

As a final note, be mindful that the more time you invest in the preparation and planning of your projects, the more productive you will be in the long run. And outlining is the time-honored way effective communicators "jump-start" their projects. It beats staring at a blank screen.

Jack