How writing a novel is similar to organizing

This month, I'm writing a novel. It's National Novel Writing Month, in which thousands of people around the world have committed to writing a 50,000-word (175-page) work of fiction in just thirty days. Sounds kinda crazy, but it's actually a really fun goal. In 2008, 120,000 people signed up to write a novel in a month. Of those, 20,000 crossed the finish line. This year, I intend to be one of the finishers.

We're half way through the month and I'm more than half way through the novel. I've written more than 28,000 words by writing each and every day since November 1. It's been a really interesting exercise in discipline (and writing), one that I think is relevant to the process of decluttering and organizing that I teach to my clients. I'm confident I'll finish my novel by month's end. I attribute my success to following factors:

1. I set a defined goal.
2. I set a deadline.
3. I know exactly how much I need to do each day to meet the goal.
4. I have a set time of day to do the work (I do it first thing in the morning).
5. I've made it a priority.
6. I track my progress.
7. I'm not trying to be perfect.
8. I have a writing buddy who provides daily accountability and encouragement.
9. I've told lots people about it, which helps motivate me to succeed.

If you apply the same steps to any large project, including a big decluttering or organizing project, you'll be on a path toward success. I can't overstress the value of having an accountability partner in the process. I take such great joy in emailing mine every day to tell her of the day's success. Breaking down the process into bite-sized goals (daily word quotas) has been really helpful as well.

If I (and tens of thousands of others) can write a novel in a month, surely you can declutter a room (or a house!) in a similar period of time. It takes commitment and daily effort. Don't forget to reward the small successes on your way to the goal!

An easy way to do holiday cards

If it's been a few years since you've sent out holiday cards, the prospect of updating your address list might be daunting. Rather than calling or emailing everyone in your address book, why not just send out holiday cards as they come in? Keep your cards, envelopes, stamps and a pen handy and write out a card the very day you receive one from a friend. Then hang on to the envelope so that you can update your address book. You may not reach everyone you want to send greetings to this way, but it’s a relatively easy way to get back into the swing of sending out cards.

Blog posts of the month

In case you're not a regular reader of my blog, I'd like to hightlight some of my favorite entries in the past month:

The disruptive nature of disorder (November 9, 2009)

The novel writing proceeds (November 6, 2009)

Standards of clutter (October 21, 2009)

Holiday special on Declutter Happy Hour

Declutter Happy Hour, the 28-day e-course I offer with life coach Shannon Wilkinson , can give you the support, guidance and motivation to help you whip your home into shape before guests arrive for the holidays. For our Christmas special, we'll be lowering the price by $20. All you have to do is sign up between November 23 and November 26 (which is 28 days before Christmas Eve). Give yourself the gift of a slow, steady approach to decluttering!