My Best Productivity Secret
Newsletter #101
Accountability Groups
For so many years I felt guilty about not getting enough actual writing done. My writing slipped to the bottom of my priorities, so it simply didn’t happen all that much. But once I committed to spending more time pursuing this passion, I needed to find ways to support my efforts. Enter accountability groups!
Over the years, these groups have taken very different forms.
1. Back when Twitter was the place to be for writers, I sometimes found people posting about #WritingSprints to work for the next x number of minutes. There was even a #5amWritingClub. If I happened to see one of these, I’d jump into it. But they never really stuck in any consistent way.
2. I also met a group of writers in an online class who hopped on Zoom on Sunday mornings. That worked well for me, and I remember it was early enough to push me out of bed and be done without interrupting whatever plans I had for the day. The great part was a very strict 5-minute chat to start, and not a minute longer, so we really produced work rather than socialize too much.
3. Then, as we crawled out of the pandemic and started attending more book launches, a former critique group member and I reconnected. We met a couple times at a coffee shop and then it turned into a weekly in Monday afternoon Zoom meeting. I love how it starts off the week productively. We have a good cadence and amazing consistency. Whenever I have a day off work, we try to meet in person, sometimes for longer or at different times of the day, and we’ve even created our own 2-person writing retreat near the beach.
4. Another form of accountability I have is a text group with people who are not writers, but when we started, each had goals we wanted to accomplish. We text on Sunday nights our goals for the week and then an update of what we actually got done. Sometimes it’s all. Other times it’s nothing at all. But listing out what we actually accomplish is quite satisfying because we often don’t give ourselves enough credit. These text check-in are the basis for my Weekly Progress Report in my newsletter. Thank you #PowerHour for being compassionate, giving grace, and being great cheerleaders!
5. Last year when the Uplift Kidlit Creative Sprints began, I joined them too. Because its members are across the country, hosting from California, Colorado, and New Jersey, I can consistently meet with Nicole in California and only Andrea and Lynnor when I have a break from my teaching job. It’s truly amazing to me how complete strangers can connect in a virtual meeting and in only a few minutes of conversation get to know each other. I’m even hoping to meet up with some of them this week when I’m traveling!
6. For the past several months, another critique group friend and I have been meeting on Sundays at different cafes to work. This in-person meeting time is very productive for me (no distractions from home!), and I find myself getting into a flow state more than any other group.
For me, this external accountability has been a critical motivator for me and without this community of support surrounding me throughout the week, I would not have been able to produce as much as I have in the past five years. When the advice about finding your people is given, this is what it’s about.
Thanks so much to my people, some of whom are pictured here. Couldn’t have accomplished so much without you, and I am grateful.
Book Report: SOME OF US: A STORY OF CITIZENSHIP AND THE UNITED STATES
Written by Rajani LaRocca
Illustrated by Huy Voun Lee
For a topic that can be abstract especially for children, the author Rajani crafts with such clarity the concept of immigrating to the United States and becoming a citizen of this country. We see how people arrive under a whole variety of circumstances, contributing through their customs, histories, values, and joy to their new communities across the nation. She describes this coming together as a “rich tapestry” that enhances the United States. These ideas are gorgeously illustrated by Huy Voun, whose portrayal of all the different people capture deep resemblances to real people, as if we are flipping through a photo album and would not be surprised to see an uncle or cousin. A couple characters depicted look quite familiar, and I also love the nod to her illustrated book Red, White, and Boom on the pages. The positivity, diversity, and empathy within each piece of art is at the forefront, which matches the respectful and affirming tone of the entire book. The author’s note documenting a whole list of discriminatory laws in US history is important to note, since several of these acts are often overlooked in classrooms, and including a summary of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights feels particularly timely and valuable.
Themes: diversity, acceptance, immigration, citizenship
Discussion Ideas:
Why is it important to recognize that immigrants leave behind so much of their lives including relatives, jobs, and homes? How might this insight affect the way you choose to treat immigrants?
How do the sacrifices made impact the value placed on choosing to pledge citizenship to another country?
Mentor Text For:
poetry
commas in a series
defining and analyzing character traits and values
timeline (from author’s note)
Buy this informative and inspirational book!
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Weekly Progress Report
This is a section for “stuff I did” that relates to my writing career. I believe in celebrating all wins, big and small alike.
worked on a revision
attended a Regional Team meeting
researched editors and publishers
set up a meeting with my agent
Sending you courage and grace in all you choose to do,
Susan
Thanks for sharing :) go Susan, go! (and Rajani's book is awesome!)
Yay! We all need accountability and motivation to keep on keeping on ;) Thanks Susan!