Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : [If you want to become] a productive writer, you are in the right place, [because] that’s exactly what we’re talking abiout today. Stick around, [and] if you’re on the replay you can tap hearts too! You can let me know if you like this content, and if it’s helpful — sorry, I’m just getting myself settled. It’s Monday morning.
Welcome everyone as you’re joining in. I saw Joann, [and] I think I saw someone new. Good morning. As yáll are coming in let me know if you’re new, so I can give you a shout-out. Jessica is here. Welcome guys. I hope everyone is having a good Monday…Keesha’s here. [It’s] so good to see you guys. Are yáll like ready to be productive? The week has only begun [laughter]. We have so much time to do so much writing. It’s fantastic!
Alrighty guys. We’re going to hop right in, and as more people come we’ll do, kind of, a recap… Gene is here.
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : So much potential!
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … “So much potential.”.. I know. Some people hate Mondays, but I LOVE Mondays, because I’m like “There’s so much I can do!” [laughter] It’s occasionally a little overwhelming, because there’s so much I WANT to do that I have to like calm myself down. BUT, if you are not feeling that this morning…
JeanWise ( https://twitter.com/Jeanwise ) :Fresh starts
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …”Fresh starts.”.. Exactly.
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : Lol. Simmer down
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … [laughter] I know, I need to simmer down… So, if you’re NOT feeling that jazzed this morning let me give you some insights to how you can tap into this feeling of jazz and buzz and, “I can’t wait to start the week!”
Okay. So this week we’re going to be talking all about productivity. So all of like my best tips I can give you for getting more word count on the page, and just feeling really purposeful as you’re writing. A lot of times that’s the HARD part about writing. We can get words down, but [then] we’re like, “How am I going to USE this?”, [and], “Is this really getting me CLOSER to finishing this book?” and that sort of thing. So I want to cover productivity BOTH in terms of actually getting more words out, AND making sure that those words are helping you to write this book that you feel CALLED to write.
JeanWise ( https://twitter.com/Jeanwise ) : One of my favorite topics. Productivity.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …I know. Me too, Jean. I have to admit [that] I’m very tempted to just get sucked into productivity books, [that] I have to like back off [laughter]. But, let me take some of my obsessive research and give it to YOU guys in a nice little Periscope package.
Okay. So this is like ultra important. If you are going to start getting more productive you have to start your day out on YOUR terms. . .
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : A control freak favorite word. Lol.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …”Control freak”. Yeah… So if you currently wake up at the very last second that you HAVE to wake up – or in MY case, when a baby starts crying [laughter] – then you’re not starting the day off on your terms. So some people think that productivity is all about doing more in less time, and that is true, but the funny thing is that when you start to take control, and to pick and choose and prioritize what you are going to do, and do less stuff but focus on what’s really, truly important…
MIguel Rubbio ( https://twitter.com/MiguelangRubio ) : Hi Morgan how was ur weekend?
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Hey Miguel! Welcome I DID have a good weekend. I had a VERY fun weekend, actually. We went camping [laughter] in our backyard. It was fun… When you PICK what’s most important to you, you find that you actually do LESS stuff. So you don’t need to do more stuff in less time, because you don’t want to do as much. You want to do what is truly, most important to you.
Well, when in the world are you going to decide what’s most important to you? At the end of the day when you’re tired? No. I’m going to recommend that you get up in the morning and YOU prioritize what is most important for YOU to accomplish that day. And if you’re interested in writing, writing is going to be one of those things you do that day.
So, here’s how I recommend you start your morning… …Thanks for the hearts guys… So if this is resonating with you; if you’re like, “Uh, yeah. I really need to do this.” throw some hearts on the screen.
Kesha76 ( https://twitter.com/Kesha76 ) :I need more control of my mornings
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … You need more control of your mornings… Kesha. I know. I feel you. We’ve talked about this. You have kids too. And you have to get to work early, and it’s hard. It’s REALLY hard to get up earlier. But I would say start with 30 minutes earlier than you need to get up. Set the alarm 30 minutes earlier than you need to get up, and here’s the kicker : DON’T hit “snooze”! I mean, I struggle with this. In fact, this morning I hit snooze three times [laughter]. So I was a little bit rushed. But if you can TRAIN yourself to not hit snooze, once you get in this habit of getting up earlier…
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : Oh stop.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Oh stop [laughter] … it doesn’t feel as hard. Really, if I can get into a rhythm…
JeanWise ( https://twitter.com/Jeanwise ) I hit snooze today too
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … You hit snooze today too [laughter]…of like five or six mornings in a row where I did ot hit snooze at all, it starts to feel easier. It starts to feel more like my normal rhythm.
So, set your alarm 30 minutes earlier, don’t hit snooze, and then when you get up out of bed do whatever you need to do…
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : I can hit snooze for an hour.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … You can hit snooze for an hour [laughter]…. Yeah. I know… Do whatever you need to do to get your mind AWAKE and ALERT and BUZZING. I mean, maybe that’s going to get a cup of coffee right away. Maybe that’s doing 50 jumping jacks. Maybe that’s taking a cold shower.
MIguel Rubbio ( https://twitter.com/MiguelangRubio ) : I'm not a morning person.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … [laughter] You’re not amorning person… I know. I have a resource for you guys at the end of this, that you’re going to love. It’s one of my favorite books.
But whatever you need to do to get the neurons firing and awake, because when you first step out of bed you’re like, “Man, I feel terrible!” [laughter] “Today’s NOT going to go off. I’m going to feel like this all day.” But if you can get yourself up, the circulation moving, [and] the neurons firing, you start to feel like it’s all going to be okay.
Kesha76 ( https://twitter.com/Kesha76 ) :I actually wake up without an alarm, but I just lay there to last minute.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …Kesha, you wake up without an alarm? But you just lay there until the last minute…Okay. So that’s actually a really good point. You just need a little bit more [convincing] yourself that your book is worth writing. We can talk about this, because we have a phone call coming up. But if you can really and truly FEEL, in the CORE of your being, that your book needs to be written, and written NOW, that will help you get out of bed AT LEAST a little bit earlier.
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : I love it when you talk dirty and give me new books Morgan.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …“I love it when you talk dirty and give me new books Morgan.” [laughter] Oh, that’s my favorite… So get those neurons firing. Whatever you need to do : coffee, jumping jacks, [or] cold shower. Get them going. Then, once the circulation is going [and] your mind is, kind of, buzzing, you actually need to bring it back in and focus it.
So here’s where I’m going to recommend that you do five minutes of a breathing technique. I’ve tried a LOT of different breathing techniques that people recommend for meditation, or whatever. I’ll go ahead and share my FAVORITE one. I think some people call it a “box” breathing technique, but the idea is that you breathe IN for the count of four, you HOLD it for the count of four, you breathe OUT for the count of four, and you hold that for the count of four. So if you imagine a little box diagram, it’s like it’s going UP for the count of four, and the HOLD for the count of four. Then DOWN for the count of four, and then hold for the count of four. Okay….
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Hey you're early!
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Oh Ron, you joined at just the perfect time. We’re breathing together [laughter]. I also want to talk to you about the Martian movie, which I saw this weekend.
Okay. So we’re going to do this together really quick. I’ve never lead a breathing exercise, so we’ll see how this goes. I don’t know if I can breathe and talk at the same time…
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : She is early. She's hyper for Monday Ron. Lol.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : I AM early. It’s MOnday. I’m excited!… Okay. So we’re going to breathe in for the count of four, [and] hold — I did this wrong [laughter]. I can’t believe this! Okay. Try again. Scrap. Start over [laughter]. Okay, breathing in for the count of four, hold, exhale, hold. Okay. You get the idea. So do that [seriously] for five minutes. It feels like a long time, but by the time you do this “count of four, box breathing”, after five minutes you’re like so chill. It, kind of, feels like maybe you did marijuana, but you didn’t [laughter]… Not that I’ve actually done marijuana, but my roommate sold pot, so I saw lots of people who did it [laughter].
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : 4 on 4 box breathing. Got it. Lol
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : Okay, “Four on four box breathing”. Yes. .
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : I’ll pass out.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : [laughter] …You’ll just pass out… Okay. If you need to do count of THREE, then do count of three [laughter]. Okay. But five minutes, and you start to feel like all of that energy that was going on after you did your jumping jacks, or cold show, or caffeine…
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : Lol. You are cracking me up
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : [laughter] I know. Today is a crazy day… Then bring all of that energy into like a FOCUS for like five minutes.
Okay. So now we’ve been doing prep for THIS MOMENT. This is the moment you are pulling out your calendar, and you are taking control of your day… …Thanks for the hearts guys. Everybody’s doing all of that tapping. I really appreciate that [laughter]… YOU are deciding WHEN is the best time in your day to do your writing. So put aside other people’s [agendas], other work, your kids’ activities, dinner, whatever. Like, look at the landscape of your day and say, “When is the OPTIMAL time for me to do my writing?” And you schedule that sucker in. Okay?
So people tell you you need to schedule time for your writing, but when is the best time to schedule time for your writing? A lot of people will say, “Oh, just do the same five sessions every week.” Well, that doesn’t WORK for most of us! Our schedules are crazy. Every week is different from the last week. So what I recommend is getting up the morning of, and saying, “Okay. Here is the best time to do my writing.” [Then] decide it, and put it in.
JeanWise ( https://twitter.com/Jeanwise ) : Make appointment with yourself.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …“Make an appointment with yourself”… Exactly Jean. That’s right.
So, I hope that was helpful for you guys. If you’re not convinced that you’re a “morning person”, I want you to read this book. [irrelevant comment] “Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod. He goes through this whole routine, but even if you just do a portion of it; even if you just start waking up a little bit earlier to really take control of your day, you’ll notice that you are starting to plan your life.
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : I am a morning person. But I have the day job.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …Ron says, “I am a morning person. But I have the day job”… I know, but you can STILL get up 15 minutes earlier than your day job. I will tell you, and I think we’ve talked about this before. So starting at 6:00 am I am on duty. LIke the kids might wake up…
JeanWise ( https://twitter.com/Jeanwise ) : What's the last name again?
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …Elrod – E – L – R – O – D — “Miracle Morning” [by] Hal Elrod… So, I’m on the clock as of 6:00 am. Like, the baby is going to wake up I might have to give her a bottle. [Then] the other kids starts to wake up….
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : If I could get up at 4 am it would be awesome before kids [and] work…
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …”If I could get up at 4 am it would be awesome before kids [and] work”… Exactly Jessica… So that’s just what I was going to say. My life is a LOT easier if I get up at 4:30 in the morning. If you had told me that even before I had kids, I would have been like, “You’re crazy! No one needs to get up at 4:30 in the morning. That is absurd!” But now that I’m in this phase of life where I’ve got the kids, – and I know my job is really cool [laughter], [and] I have lots of flexibility with my job – but really and truly, starting at 8:30 in the morning I’m in my office, reviewing client material, and planning business stuff, and so I’m NOT doing my own writing during the day. So if I’m going to do my own writing it’s going to be, usually, between 5:00 and 5:30 (pm). Then I have to go to bed at 8:00 [laughter].
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : But then I have to go to bed at 8. That's the problem. Football practice isn't even over yet
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Oh, “Football practice isn’t even over…”… Oh, that sucks Jessica…. Yeah. I’m in bed by 9:00 (pm). I would imagine most activities would be DONE by 9 pm, right? Children have to sleep too. I heard that most kids need AT LEAST ten hours of sleep, otherwise you start seeing stuff like obesity, and rising rates of ADHD, and other negative stuff. So I feel like kids should generally be in bed by like 9:00 pm [laughter] .
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : Tell that to the coaches. Lol.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : “Tell that to the coaches.”… I know. I grew up in West Texas. Football is a religion Like, I totally get it. There’s like morning practice and evening practice, and there’s all of these games, and it’s like “crazy town”. But just TRY. Aim for 9:30 — 9:30 pm to 4:30 am. That’s a good seven hours.Give it a shot, and then adjust.
Kesha76 ( https://twitter.com/Kesha76 ) : The pediatrician agrees!!
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …Kesha, “The pediatrician agrees”… Ten hours of sleep.
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : Tennessee football same way.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … “ Tennessee football same way.”… Yeah. Oh that’s right, you’re in Nashville. Oh yeah. I know. So guys. I hope…
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Mine went to bed at [8:00] all the way through graduation.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : ….”Mine went to bed at [8:00] all the way through graduation.” [laughter]. Maybe they’re STILL in bed at 8:00. Who knows.
So give this a try, guys. Go to bed a little bit earlier tonight. Set your alarm for at least 30 minutes earlier than you need to. Tell yourself, “I am not hitting snooze, because I have a book to write.” Your book is not going to get written until you get up in the morning and DECIDE when it’s going to happen.
So get up, wake yourself up. Do jumping jacks, [or] whatever you need to do. Do the four-step box breathing…
CharlinoKR ( https://twitter.com/charlinho_kr ) :Hi, Morgan!!!
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Hey Charles…. Focus your mind, and then you’ll be ready to decide when the best time is for you to do your writing.
After I do that focus I just jump in, [and] start writing right then. But I know that’s not the best time for everyone. So it may be lunch, [or] it may be dinner, or after dinner, or whatever. But the best thing about focusing your mind before you make the decision is that it’s ALMOST like you’re committing before you even choose the time.
CharlinoKR ( https://twitter.com/charlinho_kr ) : Thanks for following me.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … Oh, you’re welcome. Charles. I’m looking forward to catching your Scope. So you should do one today [laughter]… Because you’re focused, and because you’re really narrowing in on YOUR priorities, once you actually CHOOSE the time it’s like you’re already halfway committed, so it’s much, much more likely to happen.
Okay guys. That’s it for today. All week we’re going to be talking productivity, and writing, and priorities.So stay tuned. Check back in tomorrow. You guys know where you can catch the notes and the replays :
http://www.paperravenbooks.com/periscope
And if you Scope while writing, [use] hashtag :
#periscopewriters ( https://twitter.com/search?q=%23periscopewriters&src=typd )
JessR8 ( https://twitter.com/JessR8 ) : Thank you!! You rock Morgan.
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : … You’re welcome, Jessica. Thanks… I’m doing a couple of webinars this week, too!
Ron Estrada (https://twitter.com/RonEstrada ) : Okay! Same time?
Morgan MacDonald ( https://twitter.com/morgangmac) : …”Same time?”… I don’t know. I haven’t decided if I’m a morning Scoper, or a lunchtime Scoper. I have a lunch appointment today, so I had to do it in the morning… Thanks guys! Thanks…
Okay. I’m doing a couple of webinars this week on how to write a book, where I’m walking you through this 12 step process that I have talked about… So, do I have “pretty link” for that? [irrelevant comment] I’m going to GET a pretty link… They’re on Wednesday and Thursday… Thank you guys.
If you hop on over to http://www.paperravenbooks.com and jump on my email list I’m sending out a webinar reminder this week, but I have not made a nice link. I can’t give you the Webinar Jam link [because] it’s like 100 characters long. So I’ll get you one and tweet it out.
Okay guys. Have an awesome, productive writing day. Decide when you’re going to bed, and when you’re getting up, and I will talk to you guys some more tomorrow. Bye everyone. Thank you.
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