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Tag: decisions

How to write an article that goes viral

Quitting everything to go to Nepal is one of the scariest pieces I have published. I felt like a gutted fish, open and raw, when I wrote it. I had just come back from my first trip to Nepal, and I had so many thoughts swirling in my mind. I didn’t know how to share them and no one wanted to hear ALL of my stories, so I started to write. And write. And write. Writing has now become a daily compulsion.

I didn’t set out to write a viral article. I wanted to talk about what was trapped inside of me, experiences I wanted to let go of. I was a shaken can of soda and decided it was time to rip the lid off. The more I wrote, the easier it was for me to see common themes in my writings: family (lack of), love (searching for), work (wanting to do something meaningful), fear (of everything), risk (daily choices and big, lifetime decisions). I know I’m not the only one whose dreams have suffered because of one or all of these issues.

I remember counting to three before I clicked “publish.” My stomach was in knots, I had read and reread and rewritten and read again, over and over and over. I thought the post was going to ruin me. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I knew deep in my bones that I had to write. Fear wasn’t going to stop me. Intimidation wasn’t going to stop me. Lack of confidence in myself and my choices wasn’t going to stop me.

As a writer, that’s what you need to do. Tell the story that hurts, the ones that make your skin prickle. Write the lessons you’ve learned that caused you pain and made you stronger. Ignore that obnoxious voice that whispers you’re not good enough, experienced enough, smart enough, important enough. Tell that voice to go to hell and write. Rip the lid off and write. Readers don’t want prefabricated lines. Give them YOU — your honest, messy, unrefined self.

Are you spending too much time at work?

The eight-hour workday was designed to get the most out of workers in order to run around-the-clock business. After observing inefficiencies of exhausted workers, Robert Owen split the day into three eight-hour blocks: work, play and rest. Even Henry Ford mirrored this formula. Yet bonuses, overtime pay, and office bragging rights have incentivized long work hours. As a result, fatigue is common in workplaces across America.
Are all those hours at work really beneficial?
Research shows that after hour fifty, workers burn out, make mistakes and get hurt. The more hours spent at work, the less work actually gets accomplished. Overtime nurses misdiagnosed patients, and hospital interns were more likely to be involved in automobile accidents after long hours on the job.
Mayo Clinic recognizes the dangerous combination of exhaustion, insecurity and hopelessness; job burnout is a big problem, even resulting in depression and insomnia. If projects are piling up on your desk, if you’re feeling irritable or dissatisfied – even work is going well – take a step back. You’re worth way more than OT.

Priorities

Without a clear list of priorities, you will be sidetracked. Fixed, clear goals help you say yes when it supports you and no when it derails you. Priorities steer your ship in the direction you want to go as oppose to being blown around by life’s unavoidable forces.

Commit to at least three areas in your life and move them to the top of your “to do” list. Once you have these goals identified, you can work backwards to set monthly, weekly and daily actions. After all, one hour each day adds up.

Commitment

I was speaking with a fellow writer today. He has two kids, a humongous garden, several horses, two rambunctious dogs and a wife. “Commit to a schedule,” he said. “It’s the only way to get anything done.” He told me that we have to trick our minds. That by establishing the practice of sitting down and writing every day — even if it is two hours of futzing around with one paragraph — is important.

We commit to partners and pledge to causes and sign contracts. Why can’t we make a commitment to ourselves, to our art?

If you want to finish anything you’re proud of, you have to commit to it. Reserve that hour, set up a monthly schedule, make your work a priority. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t pay. It doesn’t matter if it feels selfish. This is your art. Commit to it.

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