Time off for the Holidays? Start or Progress That Book!

I don’t know if you were planning to work on your book during the holidays after all, it’s still called work so perhaps it would defeat the purpose of holidays! I don’t really agree with that, however I think the holidays could be a great time to write your book, or at least start it! And I’m going to try to convince you that writing during this period doesn’t have to be stressful and could also prove to be very productive and with a bit of skill, it might even get you out of some dish washing this festive season!

For many of us, winter holidays are probably the best and the most fun time of the year: a time to relax, get relieved of all the stress accumulated in the past year and recharge yourself mentally for the coming year. For some people, however, winter holidays, and Christmas especially, are very stressful: the entire family is visiting, the house has to be cleaned, all the food must be cooked and ready in time and the weather starts getting colder and colder as days pass. But, whatever you think of winter holidays, and however they make you feel, I believe this is a great time to start writing your book. And I’ll explain why.

Whether the holidays relieve you of stress or make you even more stressed, as I mentioned earlier, it’s a perfect time to work on your book. You never know when inspiration and the desire to write come so why assume from the get-go that you won?t be writing for a few weeks? If this period makes you stress-free, then your relaxation has a good chance of turning into more inspiration, more creativity and more great ideas. If, on the contrary, this period stresses you, than writing could have the opposite effect and relax you and also get you focused on this productive thing.

However, there is always a chance that this period of time could prove to be a bit dangerous for your writing. You might have some radical ideas that you wouldn’t normally write about and that you might not agree with after a month or so passes. What is important is that you stick to your brand and you remain consistent in everything you do.

Although it is the holidays, a time when, traditionally, many of us aren’t used to working (or, better put, don’t really want to work), there is no reason to stop writing, even if you only write for a few hours a day, or however much you can. Writing doesn’t have to be work ? it can be a creative exercise that can be fun and extremely rewarding, both short-term and long-term. Here are some tips that should help you with your writing this jolly season:

– First, set some reasonable goals for yourself. It always helps to have some clear goals in place, so you know what you are heading towards. Whether you decide to write a certain number of words, pages or chapters, your goals should always be reasonable. It is Christmas and New Year, after all, so there may be some cooking, some family time and some fun involved that must be accounted for when setting your goals. Setting up some unreasonable goals that you won’t be able to achieve in time will only make you feel bad because you didn’t manage to finish what you wanted to.

– Make a plan/schedule. After you have set your goals, it is time to make a schedule. This will make your work even easier and will help you achieve all of your goals in the time you’ve set up in the beginning. Again, just like when you set your goals, you have to be reasonable when making your schedule. Write in your calendar and put some post-it notes on your desk to remind you when and when not to write.

– Delegate some of the usual holiday tasks to others. Free yourself from all the stress that cleaning and cooking for many people can bring. This way, your mind will be clear and ready to write. And this time, you have all the right reasons to ask some of your relatives to wash, clean and cook for you! Who knows when you will have this opportunity again after all, they can’t say no to you when you are writing your own book!

I hope this will help you decide to write a book this winter holiday! Why not make this book your gift to you, after all?