How to Conquer a Beast
In about three weeks, my daughter and I will be participating in a Spartan Beast. This is a 15-mile running race with more than 25 obstacles that will push us to the edges of our physical strength, stamina, and determination. It is a first for me, but it’s not the first time I’ve ever been challenged.
To be honest, even though I’ve been writing professionally for more than 20 years, there are always new projects that push my professional strength, stamina, and determination. Case in point: I am currently working on a feature article for one of my technology clients that started out at over 8000 words in length and incorporates the interview responses to five questions from five different executives.
The project required me to learn the topic (in this case, data sharing challenges in clinical trials), draft smart questions, coordinate interviews with five people, transcribe all five interviews, and then put all of this information into a concise, readable article – mind you, an article that can only be 2000 words.
This project is a beast.
Not for the faint of heart, this article is pushing me to power through pages and pages of transcription. It is challenging my mental stamina as well as my writing skills as, alas, I do want the target audience to actually read and understand the piece.
I have to sift through the nomenclature that my interviewees use but that not everyone understands.
I have to transform 30-word meandering sentences into 6-word lines that make a point.
I have to make decisions about what to keep and what to cut.
I have to organize the interviewees’ stream-of-consciousness responses into easy-to-read, clear statements that flow from one to the next in a logical way.
Like I said…this is a beast. But, what I have discovered is that whether are faced with a physical challenge or a professional one that taxes your mind, you need focus to succeed. To get that focus – the kind of focus where everything else around you falls away – you need uninterrupted time.
So, before you find yourself staring down the computer screen at a beast project while your email keeps pinging and your next meeting is just 30 minutes away…stop. Instead, carve out a block of three to four hours, shut your phone off, close out your email application, and shut the door. Then, get to work.
After five uninterrupted hours working on this article, I stopped. I have whittled the 8000+ words down to 3,500, organized logically. It’s not perfect – yet. This beast needs another pair of eyes and my stamina is spent but it’s getting there and no longer as intimidating.
Writing is a process, just like training for a race. There are no shortcuts, and both require intense focus. That’s your takeaway -- attack challenges with heightened focus for your best chance of success.
Oh and the Spartan Beast takes place on August 10th in Boston – wish me luck!