A Public Commitment

This month, I’m going to write a book! The entire 1st draft.

I’ve always wanted to write a book, and I have a specific one in mind. So now is the time!

I want to develop a passive income stream with intellectual property. A product that can be replicated over and over again. I plan to release the book in 6 to 18 months.

The book subject will focus on a practical, teachable artistic skill I have. I’m not quite ready to reveal the exact book subject. But only one book on this subject exists, as far as I know. So there’s room in the market for another book on this topic.

I’m making this public commitment, with you as my witness, because it puts fire under my toes and motivates me to perform!

Like most people, I already have a busy life. So I plan to be disciplined, methodical, and systematic in my approach.

Here’s My Plan

I plan to take a rare week off work from my full-time job at the end of this month. I’ll use the week to write the entire 1st draft of this short book. I’ll have 9 days off in a row to focus on writing, including weekends. I want to plan ahead thoroughly, so I can maximize my week off. This kind of free time doesn’t happen often.

Preparations

During the first three weeks of this month, I’ll crystallize my visions for the book and create plans to make it a reality.

I’ll spend at least 30 minutes a day preparing fully. I’ll completely conceptualize the book. Think it through chapter by chapter. Brainstorm and organize. Plan ahead for optimal time use before and during my week off. I’ll write it all down in an organized fashion that makes perfect sense to me. I’ll create organized Google Docs for the table of contents and each chapter, plus a master document to contain the entire text.

The book will have an important visual component. I’ll visit an art store and purchase and compile the items I need and start practicing the visuals. I’ll work on rough sketches of some of the artwork. I’ll storyboard the whole book too. I’ll fully read the other book that currently exists on this subject. I’ll continue my search for other existing books on the subject. And I’ll fully research the existing online resources on this subject.

Disciplined, methodical, systematic

During my week of vacation from my full-time job, I’ll treat my 5 weekdays like normal work days. Except I’ll focus my work exclusively on book writing. I’ll set goals for progress benchmarks every day. I’ll use a slightly modified version of my well-established work routine, so I can take advantage of the familiar rhythm of my normal 8-hour work schedule. I’ll use that preexisting momentum, so I can just focus on writing. During the weekends I’ll work too, and use my work routine, but I’ll only work 4 hours per day.

So on the last Sunday during my week off, I’ll work on the book for only 4 hours. I’ll use 1 hour to assess my progress over the month. I’ll use 1 hour to plan the next steps of book creation. I’ll use the last 2 hours to write a blog about my book progress and plan.

The time is here for me to move the story forward on this! Feel free to ask me about my progress. I want to be kept accountable. 🙂

Next week: How the Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In – Personal Development Book Recommendation