You can create a blitz week to hypercharge your book.
Several summers ago, I took a special four days to polish off the last of my editor’s notes for my memoir Stealing Home. Four days is a big enough slot of time to call it a week, so I’ll be working on the practice of a Blitz Week. You understand the term when thinking about world war bombing or football defense. All-in, no distractions.
You start with a specific goal. Dozens and dozens of editing comments for me, to address across four days of working. Write the goal down as a promise to yourself. Clear your schedule and time-block the hours of the day you’ll be working. Set out what you’ll need the night before, like you might have done for a school morning.
You put everything on autopilot that you can. Food in the pantry, cooking only every other day, setting a meal plan that others can help with. Enlist your friends and family in your blitz. Let them know what you’re doing.
You isolate yourself from the Internet. Everyone swears by the Freedom app for a cut-off mechanism. You might do just as well turning off the wi-fi on your device. Freedom lets you block out the time sink sites like YouTube. Social media is going to have to wait until your blitz is over. Want to read? Do it on paper, but save it for a reward.
Exercise is important, every day. It can be as simple as a long dog walk, or a swim if it’s close by. I’m going to love on my bike for my week, but it’ll only be for an hour. If you’re lucky enough to be able to garden this month, that’s a good fresh air pursuit.
Find a way to schedule breaks. Barbara O’Neal, who outlined the full blitz process in an article on Writer Unboxed, said she would storyboard her series Whitehall over a weekend. They worked 48 minutes on and 12 minutes off. A pomodoro timer app helps you focus. Any longer than 12 minutes off, she said, and she tends to drift away.
There are rewards to ensure your finish. A daily reward for working. A reward at the end of the week, substantial and considered. Enjoy the reward, O’Neal says, even if you don’t make your goal. It’s a gift to the creative side of you.
