|  Learn How You Can Manage Your Time Effectively and Add Great Value to Your Article Writing Efforts!
At the end of the day, Alice Wrighter collapsed on her couch next to her husband, and exclaimed: "Wow! I'm exhausted, but I didn't finish one article!" Her husband turned to her and good-humoredly said, "Well, honey... I know Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Picasso, commenting on blogs, web surfing, reading the news, email, and playing Angry Birds is part of your creative routine, but wouldn't it be better if you concentrated more of your efforts on building your article library? You know - so you have a solid foundation for your connections to link back to, which will serve as concrete evidence of your Expert Author status and take your credibility further? "What's that honey?" asked Alice distractedly. "Oh look! X Factor is on!" Proceed With Caution: The Time Vortex We have all had days like Alice's... When you find yourself swept up in a time vortex (obsessively checking email, Facebook, and more), and then moan about all things you didn't get done, we have the solution for you: Rather than being disappointed, spend your energy getting fired up about what you can do! Your Prescription: Create an Action Plan Identify Your Goal Don't worry about feasibility or circumstances, just consider something you have always wanted to do and set the goal. Example: You want to write 1 article a day. Outline Your Strategy Break down how you can achieve your goal by overcoming obstacles using your strengths. Your strategy will identify obstacles that hinder your productivity, and more importantly, your strengths that will lead you to achieving your goal. The larger the goal, the more strategies you will want to implement, but the important key is to learn how you can use your strengths to turn weaknesses into opportunities. Example: Let's say you compulsively check your email. Your strategy would be to set aside time to check your email before you begin the task you intend to achieve. This helps you eliminate the distraction of your email before you begin writing your article. Schedule It So you like playing Angry Birds. No problem. Schedule it. Employ the 1:2 ratio to keep yourself honest and your schedule balanced. For every X amount of non-productive time you spend, spend 2X's on your article writing efforts. Example: If you schedule 20 minutes playing Angry Birds, spend at least 40 minutes on your article writing efforts. Pinpoint Milestones To help you stay on track, add key milestones to your schedule to help you stay focused on your ultimate goal. Example: After planning strategies and your schedule, pinpoint milestones throughout your article writing period. For example: - Milestone: Title and Outline Complete.
- Milestone: First Draft Complete.
- Milestone: Proofed First Draft/Second Draft Complete.
- Milestone: Draft Submitted to EzineArticles!
Use these tips to build your article library and your credibility. Remember that old phrase: Rome wasn't built in a day. It takes 21 days to make a process habitual, so tweak your schedule, pinpoint those distractions and use your strengths to overcome them to persevere. What methods do you use to manage your article writing time and keep you focused? Share your answers in the Comments section here! | 
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To Your Article Writing Success & Passion!
