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I am a planner. I make checklists for most everything in my life. From, grocery trips, to my daily schedule, to goals for the coming year, I love to have a plan I can check off as I progress. This checklist system helps me feel and be successful in activities I want to accomplish and it also helps me assess where my time is spent and if I am productive with my time.
For me, writing requires a checklist like any other activity I undertake. If I plan out my writing, thinking about all of the components I need to address to be successful, the tasks become smaller and much more attainable. Additionally, as I check off each task, I feel accomplished and less overwhelmed about the entire process.
Writing can be a very overwhelming task, especially when approached from a macro perspective. If you look at the large writing task looming, even getting started can be an accomplishment in itself. Conversely, if you approach writing from a micro level, breaking the large writing task into small chunks, the writing seems much more achievable and even a task I might enjoy.
Writing checklists also serve as a valuable resource to ensure consistency and quality in your writing. One example of a writing resource checklist is included below (Academic Writing Checklist).
Based on the work by Dr. Pat Goodson, the next video in my video series, “The Write Thing to Do: Enhancing Academic Writing Proficiency” takes you step by step through the process of developing a writing plan and the benefits to such an activity. If you have a writing task at hand, definitely check out this video for insight into how to break your writing down into micro-level chunks that will increase your writing productivity and possibly even your enjoyment.
Other videos in this series include:
