The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer's Block

Can't finish your written work?

Can't start it?

Constantly missing deadlines and opportunities?

The 7 Secrets of the Prolific has the solutions you need! In it, author Hillary Rettig shows how fear, scarcity, ambivalence, and other inner obstacles trigger a Disempowerment Cascade that can derail even the most dedicated and experienced writer. How perfectionism plays a more serious role in underproductivity than most writers realize. And how some criticisms and rejections can linger, hidden, for years and even decades, undermining your productivity.

Then she shows you how to interrupt the Cascade, recognize and defuse the perfectionism, and recover from the criticisms and rejections so that you can regain your energy and commitment and do more great writing than you might have ever thought possible.

Unlike the superficial and gimmicky solutions some other books offer, Hillary's are based on a new way of looking at yourself, your work, and the world. She developed her method over more than a decade of teaching at some of the country's premier literary and cultural organizations, including Mark Twain House & Museum, Grub Street Writers, and The Loft, and while coaching hundreds of successful creative, business, and academic writers.

The 7 Secrets of the Prolific also features unique and timely sections on writing for the Internet (and coping with its hypercritical culture), and how to respond to the many clueless and/or challenging comments and questions people direct at writers (e.g., 'When will you get that thing done?'). And the section on Values-Based Time Management will help you reclaim time for your writing (and other priorities) you never knew you had.

Whether you write for work, school, or fun, The 7 Secrets of the Prolific will help you become the productive, fulfilled, and joyful writer you always wanted to be.

From Hillary Rettig: The core of my work is the idea that procrastination, blocks, and other forms of underproductivity are symptoms of disempowerment. Disempowerment means you re not missing anything you need to be productive: you re only separated from, or have lost access to, that which you have i.e., your strengths, skills, talents and energy. (Laziness, lack of discipline, lack of commitment, and other supposed deficiencies are all symptoms of the disempowerment, not causes, so please don t focus on them. And don t use them to negatively label yourself or anyone else!) All my work is devoted to helping people locate and remedy the disempowering forces in their work and life so they can reclaim their joyful productivity.

My other major contribution has been to characterize perfectionism as a complex phenomenon consisting of (to date) eighteen symptoms, including grandiosity, shortsightedness, prioritizing product over process, and prioritizing external recognition and rewards over internal measures of success.

Finally, I ve been able to design solutions to both procrastination and perfectionism that are uniquely targeted and effective.

I have taught productivity and time-management classes at top writing, business, educational, arts, and community organizations; and my articles have appeared in Psychology Today, Huffington Post, Future Buzz, Time Management Ninja, Tomorrow s Professor, Authors Helping Authors, and numerous other publications.

On a personal note, I'm a vegan, free software advocate, and lover of life and dogs. I m also a former foster mom of four teenage Sudanese refugees (a.k.a., Lost Boys ), now all adult and living independently. And I m a living kidney donor. If you re a prospective vegan, free software advocate, foster parent, or kidney donor, email me and I will support you however I can. I also have an abiding interest in social justice my first book was The Lifelong Activist, a self-help guide for progressive and radical activists and it was from my activism that I gained insights on personal power that inform my current work.

When I was a kid, I mainly wanted to do two things: write and help. And I find that, as an adult, the more time I devote to these activities the happier I am. I m a classic late bloomer who didn t start coming into my own, professionally or personally, until I was well into my forties, and so I understand first-hand the despair that comes from feeling like you re not living up to your potential. But I now know what I didn t know then: that blocks are often easily overcome once you stop blaming yourself for being lazy or undisciplined and start looking for the real roots of the problem. And so, my main message to others is often, relax, it s gonna be fine.

I believe deeply in the power of perseverance, the amazing possibilities of reinvention, and the benefits of living consciously. Life can be difficult, but it is always deeply fascinating.

I was born in the Bronx, and now live in Kalamazoo, MI, after stints in Ithaca, New York City, and Boston. My partner is a physics professor at Kalamazoo College, and we have two rescue dogs, Billy and Petey.

The best thing you can do to support me and my work is post a review of one of my books on Amazon. Thank you in advance, and if you let me know you've done it I will be happy to thank you personally.