Christina M. Ward

Wrtiters & entrepreneurs can benefit from a dragon-slaying routine and a sharp LinkedIn strategy. Here’s how to do both.

I was reading Writer’s Digest this morning during a slot of the morning I affectionately and uninspiringly call my coffee time. And like author Kim Catanzarite explains in her WD article “The Problem with Promotion Isn’t What You Think it Is,” I agree the problem here isn’t lack of opportunity for writers and entrepreneurs, but overwhelm from too much of it.

I’ve been saying this for years.

So coffee time this morning waa a read of this article and some notes on promo things I’d like to get done today and what I might do better, schedule better, slay better. And it got me to thinking about dragons.

This should not surprise you.

I enjoy this quiet coffee time of the morning before the hustle and stir of my freelance writing career swoops in and takes over the next hours of my day. Which means that after coffee time comes a whirlwind of activities for my writing career: promoting my professional articles, writing new ones like this one, editing, pitching, polishing, plotting, emailing, and spreading the word about my books.

But before that whirlwind swoops in…I know I have to do something very important first. Something that happens every day right after coffee time and taking this sweet princess out for her walk…

…I know that my first item of business must be the biggest one. The meanest one who will command all my skill, all my attention, and all my squirrels (in my brain) to get in line and act appropriately. I mean, it’s time to slay my dragon.

If you slay your dragon first thing…before your lunbar pain kicks in and the coffee high runs out…then you can take full advantage of:

• The first hit of creativity of your day.
• The dragon may be sleepy. You can put the sneak on it.
• Your body is refreshed and ready to work…slay that dragon before the afternoon lull starts pulling at your eyelids.
• You can get the dragon out of the way first. Before you’ve had the chance to build dread over mustering yourself back up to the top of your game in the afternoons…when it’s so much easier to say, I’ll do it tomorrow.

It’s totally up to you to identify and name your dragon. For me it’s the client work, which must be done to perfection and often has a deadline. Recently, though, it’s been a particularly gnarly, menacing, and strong dragon that comes out of hiding once a year and literally tries to eat my head right off my shoulders.

TAXES.

That’s the ugly beast I must slay this week. Honestly, it’s taken all of my energy just to lift that sword.

In the meantime, I’ve been producing content that I am sure will slay the whole world with my wit, my wisdom, and my attention to life hacks that make YOUR life better. Hell, maybe it will sharpen your sword, so you can slay your own beasts:

• 5 Tips to Turn Your LinkedIn into Cash Flow — Learn how you can upgrade your LinkedIn presence to reel in monetary opportunities.
• How I Write 20K+ Words Each Week Without Burnout — Learn how you can write tons of content without burnout.
• Avoiding Burnout — The Burnout Equation You Need to Know — Learn about the “burnout equation” and how to realign the stakes in your favor.
• Writers, We Need to Talk About AI — Learn about AI and how that’s taking opportunities away from writers and freelancers.
• I Did NOT Get the Job — Here’s What I Learned — Learn about how missed opportunities aren’t the end of the world for you as a writer.
• Guide to Buying the Right CBD Products for You — Learn from my 3+ years as a professional CBD writer how to choose the right CBD products for yourself.
• Commonly Misspelled Words I’ll Likely Get Wrong Forever — Learn about some commonly misspelled words even us writers often get wrong.

Final Thoughts

Your dragon may not be the same as mine. However big and scary your dragon is, use the best strength you have, the most courage, and slay it as early in the day as you can.

Then, you can spend the rest of your day tying up loose ends, beginning projects, pacing yourself on ongoing projects, and learning more to sharpen your skills. And yes, doing all those myriad promotional activities you have to do to keep it all going.

Thanks for reading today and for following my work. You, dear reader, give me the courage and strength each day to slay my dragons…and keep on writing.

Christina M. Ward, author, poet, freelancer
Fiddleheads & Floss Writing Services