If you are in a critical situation with deadlines, you need First Aid. This could be either a kit you keep in your writers' medicine chest or an angel, also known as a coach, who comes to treat you in the field. Sometimes the first is enough; sometimes you need the second.
How do you know?
Well, do you have a First Aid kit at all?
You can assemble one very simply.
1. A kit needs to contain what is called your Best Practices:
Make a list on paper of everything you can think of that has helped you when you have been stuck or behind deadline in the past. This can include such things as "getting the deadline moved" and "disappearing" from your daily routines to immerse yourself in writing. Put this paper up where you can see it. Pick one thing and try it. If it doesn't work, go to the next, and so on. The act of doing this can stimulate your juices.
2. A kit should contain Inspirational Ideas, particularly ones you have thought up in the past or present. Quotes from others can be helpful too, but I always like to encourage you to create your own. Again, write them out and put them up for your eyes to rest on.
3. A kit should also hold Resource Information: who and what you might call on to help you in different ways. When time is of the essence, hiring outside help briefly might well be worth the extra expense. It's not going to be forever. This is an under-used part of the kit for most people. Think outside your usual inhibitions about it.
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If this isn't enough, really think outside the box and hire a coach, who truly can be your Angel of Mercy when time anxiety starts to overwhelm you. How can coaching help you?
1. A coach is not under the same pressure you are and can often help anchor you to your Best Practices when you can't seem to do it.
For instance, a man who had a firm deadline for his manuscript and a lot of outside responsibilties came to me for help. We identified his greatest strengths and behaviors that had worked for him in the past when he was under time pressure. We agreed to meet weekly and use email in between to keep him on track as he experimented with ways to complete his project in the context of his life. Getting feedback and ideas from me helped him stay focused and motivated, even though the balancing act he needed to do wasn't easy. P.S. He finished his work on time, and his family and job are intact.
2. A coach can ask you the right questions to help you locate useful resources quickly.
For instance, a client writing a dissertation was trying desperately to learn a program for collecting data but was spinning his wheels. We scanned the possibilities and he ended up finding a grad student versed in that program who ran the data for him. It was a win-win situation: the grad student earned needed-money but didn't overcharge for the service and completed the work quickly; my client could move ahead and use his energy for more important parts of his thesis.
3. A coach who has experience working with writers can help you identify your particular problems and find ways to resolve them.
For instance, one of my clients had so many notes on her subject that she got lost in them. That really triggered her anxiety. Once we recognized what the issue was, I suggested setting up a "storyboard" to lay out her main ideas and attach only relevant notes on small post-its that linked to each idea. She now had a graphic representation of her material to look at and work with. She felt immensely relieved to remove the clutter from her brain that way and soon saw the structure of her argument much more clearly.
If you haven't got your First Aid kit together yet, do it now!
If it's not enough, contact me. I can help you.
