Essential Blogs for Writers Part Three: Getting Your Act Together

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What most of us lack when we’re going through a writing slump isn’t inspiration, but rather motivation. There is a lovely fantasy of being a writer that involves you sitting a desk in a serene setting while inspiration flows through you.

Ha!

Maybe that was you that one weekend at the retreat, but I’m guessing that’s not what your daily writing life looks like. Most writers have all the normal things everyone else has: full-time jobs, spouses, children, dogs, noisy neighbors. The questions is not how do I spend my day writing, but how do I squeeze writing time into my daily routine?

This is before you even throw in all of the non-writing stuff you need to do if you want a career as an author: social media, community building, blogging, making a website; the list goes on, but I don’t want to give you a heart attack before I even get to the helpful part of the post.

To lead a successful writing life, you need some serious discipline and organizational skills. Here are five blogs to help you:

 

If you need to prioritize…

Gretchen Rubin

Prodigious author and blogger Gretchen Rubin has built a robust career writing about how to live a happier, more organized life. Her latest book is all about habits, and good habits are essential to a writer’s life. If you’re feeling frazzled, an hour on her blog will sort you out.

If your life feels out of whack…

Martha Beck

If the rest of your life is descending into chaos, it can be hard to find time to write, even though it might be the best thing you could do for yourself. Oprah-ordained life coach extraordinaire Martha Beck offers great advice for getting through rough patches, reaching ambitious goals, and making the right decisions.

If you need some Zen…

Leo Babauta

Writer Leo Babauta offers several posts per week with simple, powerful advice on everything from fitness to inspiration to family life. Leo will help you chill out and get things done, all while helping you maintain your perspective and live in the moment. His heartfelt wisdom and community spirit make it easy to see why his is one of the most popular blogs in existence.

If you need a kick in the ass…

Penelope Trunk

We all get lazy sometimes, it’s not necessarily a character flaw. Sometimes you need your hand held, but sometimes you need some tough love. Enter Penelope Trunk. Penelope offers insightful, sometimes ruthless advice on decision-making, productivity, careers, the intersection of work and life, and more. Her blunt, uncompromising wisdom is a refreshing reminder that none of us are special snowflakes, plan accordingly.  

 

If your life is just bananas…

Lifehacker

Squeezing even an hour of writing into your day can feel like a Herculean task. If that hour is not magically appearing and you can’t afford to cut anything out completely, what you need is an efficiency upgrade. With advice from a stable of talented contributors on everything from managing your money to your time to your emotional life, Lifehacker will help you streamline your life by making the best use of the latest in technology, psychology, science, and more.