Working (or trying to work) as a creative person isn't easy, for lots of reasons. But one of the biggest reasons is that it can be difficult to make ends meet, especially when you have no guaranteed source of income over long periods of time. I have definitely felt that, even though I do have a job that is mostly steady. I work in the world of non-profit, which is just a teensy step above artist in the pay category, and then only because it's a steady paycheck. So, I thought that today I would share some of the strategies I've used to keep my head above water and live a relatively comfortable life free from financial drama. Hopefully someone out there is looking for information like this and will be helped by it. 

Step One: Knowledge is Power
Part of the whole problem is figuring out where your money goes and how to plan for it coming and going. I often feel like money is just water through my fingers, but with a little research and mindfulness, I've gotten better at knowing where I'm at. My first step was reading a book called How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously, by Jerrold Mundis. This book is full of strategies for taking control of your finances, such as creating a spending plan, how to pay down debt, deal with creditors, and so on. Really good advice. I'd say that's step one. Step two, (or one and a half) is actually doing the things he talks about. Now that I know exactly how much income I have, and what my expenses are, I can track things and make sure I stay within my means. I also started using a great app/website called Mint.com. It's linked to all my financial accounts, including investment accounts, and the mobile version is great for those times when I'm at the store and need to know if I can afford that extra bag of marshmallows. 

Step Two: Set Your Goals
After knowing what the sitch is, I decided what was most important to me, and how I wanted my financial picture to change. One thing I did was make a decision to not use my credit card anymore. Ever. Never ever. And by paying every month on that, I've managed to reduce my credit card debt by over half in just under two years. And let me tell you, that feels great. Aside from that, I also set other goals. I wanted to set up reserve funds for various things, and luckily, there's a goal section in Mint that lets you do that. It keeps track for you, so you can see how far you have to go. I also keep my savings in a partitioned account with a high interest rate (well, relatively high, for a savings account). It's almost like virtual envelopes that I can keep my money in. For instance, I have an envelope for the car, for travel, clothes, and the house. Plus a general emergency fund and a rainy day fund. Each month I put a bit away in each account, and over time it really adds up (plus earns interest!). Then, when the house needs a repair, or the car insurance is due, or I need some fancy new duds, I'm not scrambling to figure out how to pay for it. It's already there. Believe me, there is great peace of mind in planning ahead. And for things like travel that aren't generally cheap, I don't have to whip out the credit card. The money is already there.

Step Three: Keep Working
This is kind of a two step step three. The first part is, keep doing your creative work. Work hard at it. Keep building your body of work, getting better, and putting it out there. The more you do that, the more likely it is that you'll be able to increase your earnings, as well as your skill levels, which ends up being a wonderful cycle of being able to charge more for your work and having more people seek you out, which brings in more funds to make more work, and so on and so on. The second part is to keep working at your financial fitness. There's no way you're going to turn into Warren Buffet on Day One. But, with a little hard work and diligence, you can improve. If you have a day where you have to use the credit card, or you go over your spending plan, don't panic, and don't beat yourself up. Just tell yourself you'll try to do better tomorrow. It's impossible to change your financial picture in just one day, but in one day you can achieve small goals. Not eating out, not using the credit card, putting money into savings, walking rather than driving, whatever. And those little goals become habits eventually, and then those habits add up to a more secure financial situation where you can breathe and not worry so much about where your rent money is coming from, freeing you up to worry about your next masterpiece instead.

Now go forth and thrive.

We often refer to writing as a practice. And yes, I do believe that the more you do it, the better you get. It just kind of happens. Some people say it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at something, but I'm not sure I truly believe that. (Still, you should totally check out Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers if you want to read more about it) I once had a coach that said "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice does." That made sense to me. (He also said "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing", but that's another story.) I may not be an athlete anymore (I struggle just to get a good workout in more than once a week), but I do practice. I practice writing. But that, friends, is much like being an athlete, and I've developed some sports strategies that I believe help me along the way. Here they are.

1. Do it every day.
As with any muscle, your brain needs to get used to things. It's a giant muscle with lots of other things it has to do, so if you want to write, you have to train it. I started with a daily journal, writing a minimum of 750 words every day. In the beginning, that was a bit challenging (both to do it and get to the word count), but I eventually got there. I used a great website called 750words.com to help me, too. After a while, I was in the habit, so I decided to extend the number of words I wrote every day. First by a little, then a little more. Now I write upwards of 1500 to 2000 words every day. Then I decided to work on something serious every day (the journal was just thoughts, no big deal). I started with twenty-five minute sessions, with five minute breaks in between using a great app called Pomodoro or Clockwork Tomato that I downloaded onto my phone. I currently am working on developing the habit of writing seven days a week, for a minimum of two hours (25 minutes on, 5 minutes off). I'm working on extending the time to three hours, but my brain needs to toughen up. So do it every day. Write.

2. Set performance goals
Another thing I did was set goals for myself. Like right now, I'm working on a screenplay. I'm trying to write ten pages per day (which is admittedly a tough goal), which would allow me to finish the first draft before I go on vacation over Labor Day weekend. With the goal, I know where I am, where I'm going, and how I'm getting there. It helps. I also set longer term goals, such as writing a novel by the end of the year, or having two scripts by then, and things like that. They do have to be adjusted from time to time, but it really helps.

3. Track your progress
Just like athletes, we need to see improvement. So I've created a little chart that tracks what I've done. It's just a simple spreadsheet, but I put the date, the amount of time I spent writing, what I was working on, how many words I wrote, where I wrote, and any other notes for that day. Then I can see when I have dips or peaks and try to figure out what was or wasn't working on that day. I can also see the progress I make overall towards finishing whatever I'm working on. And, I can see overall improvement. Maybe in the beginning I was only writing 750 words, but now I'm writing 2000. Yes, that's an improvement, and I'll take that as a victory.

4. Test your concentration
One of the things about being an athlete that makes one great is the ability to deliver their best performance no matter the circumstances. They don't have breaks in concentration or 'bad days'. They get out there and always bring their 'A' game. As writers, I know that sometimes we are very fragile. We're susceptible to moods, weather, distractions, and all manner of monsters that aim to keep us from writing. So we have to battle that. Once you have a writing practice in place where it feels stable and secure, switch it up. If you usually write in your office, write at the kitchen table. Or the coffee shop. Or the sofa. Or wherever. Just change your surroundings. This helps prevent getting into a rut and developing the belief that you can only write under specific and particular circumstances. This is bullshit, my friends. You can write anywhere. Yes, anywhere. I have found that I am able to concentrate very well when I'm at the airport waiting on a flight. Sometimes I can even do it on the plane (that one needs work). Who knew? But since I can't go to the airport every day, I like to switch it up sometimes, and see where I write well, and where I don't. And work on getting better at the places where I don't. That way, literally NOTHING can stop me from writing. Because I can write anywhere.

5. Join a team
Writing is often a solitary and lonely activity. Sometimes encouraging ourselves just isn't enough. So go get some teammates! I joined a writing group a little over two years ago, and we meet weekly to read and discuss our work. It's wonderful. With a writing group, you get feedback on what your doing, and encouragement for where you're going. I've had some difficult times in this group, but in the end, we're all there to help each other and make each other the best writers we can be, and it's due to this group that I've grown into the writer I am. They've been there to applaud me and steer me out of ruts. And I even managed to make some great friends out of it to boot. Seriously, get on a team. They'll hold you accountable when you slack, and pat you on the back when you finish. Just like in sports.

6. Compete!
Very few of us writers ever really plan to never show anyone our work. Nor should you. You did it, now share it! Whatever you're working on, whether it's poetry, a novel, a screenplay, blog, or short story, should be shared with the public. Maybe that means writing contests. Go for it! Maybe it means finding an editor or agent and getting published. Maybe it just means sharing it online with a select group of like-minded fans. Whatever it is, get your work out into the world. It would be silly if Usain Bolt just stayed in Jamaica and ran down the street for fun, right? We want to see him in the Olympics, showing us how his training and amazing abilities have made him into the fastest man on the planet. We want to see Michael Phelps  reach for the wall, and we want to see that gymnast get that perfect score. Likewise, we want to see you and your work live in the world and get the attention and love it deserves. We want to see you on that podium!