by Brad Bloom

You know how this is goes. You’re right on the cusp of the holiday season. The end of the year is nigh (sort of KJV for near).  Then, it’s “Happy New Year,” and before you know it, you’ll be headed to the 2019 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.

When you and I talk at Ridgecrest, will you be ready? Will you have already completed your first quarter goals? Be acting on a clear, God-directed agenda? And be at the top of your game? Such ambition can be overwhelming.

Use the last few months of this year to set the stage for 2019.

Visualize your life as a writer much like the crew of a passenger jet doing back-to-back flights. By the time you hear, “In preparation for landing, please return your seat backs and tray tables to their upright and locked position,” the flight attendants have already been busy working through a list of tasks. Once they arrive at the gate and the last passenger has exited, more of the doors fly open so trash can be removed and new supplies can be loaded. The uniforms are adjusted and the show immediately starts for the next group of eager travelers.

Here are six landing and take-off procedures every writer should follow to have a smooth landing to 2018 and an on-time departure for 2019:

1. Clean Off the Desktop
   

   You know that computer screen is looking pretty cluttered. Files are everywhere. Get rid of unwanted revisions. This is a good time to briefly examine work that was started and never finished. There’s no need for regret or frustration. Instead, assess what happened and consider what you can do to manage life better in 2019. Don’t forget your email. You seriously need to delete, and be prepared to quickly follow-up on the ones that slipped between the cracks.

2. Take a Refresher Course
   

   I used to work for a college. Once every year, we had to recertify in our procedures. I’m almost certain I had it memorized verbatim. Inevitably I’d go, “Oh yeah, that is a good thing to remember to do.” Writers should know grammar, style, good business practices, and all those things you learned a few months ago at the last BRMCWC. But, time has a way of softening the edges. Use this time to get sharp again.

3. Go On a Retreat
   

   If you’re like me, every once in a while you just have to totally power down that mobile phone to get it reset and doing what you know it can do. God has created us to be far more reliable and able to keep going. Don’t abuse that. His design is that we take a weekly Sabbath. Beyond that, this is the time of year to take a sabbatical. Here at Faith & Fitness Magazine, we craft fitness retreats for individuals and groups so they can do some fun recreation, soak in some spa time and get alone with God. Sounds nice, right? I know you don’t have time. Don’t make excuses. Interrupt the routine, get alone, and give God time to talk directly to you. Is there really anything more important?

4. Old Things Are Passed Away, Behold All Things Are New
   

   After Christmas but before January 1, there is a tiny window of time to set the mood for the new year – your future! Move your office around and then buy a few fresh tools, like a room accessory, newly designed business cards, a motivational poster, or a phone app so you can record interviews.

5. Finalize Your Editorial Calendar and Overview
   

   I actually do this in September of each year. I outline the themes for my bi-monthly magazine. It takes time, thought, a bit of writing, and a lot of prayer. It is my roadmap – the infrastructure on which we build new content, set schedules, sell advertising and sponsorship, and create events. I have a calendar with incredible detail and I have an Editorial Calendar Overview. The overview is the simplified version I put in front of writers, prayer warriors, the media, and even my readers, so they can see the vision and anticipate with me.

6. Prayer Meeting
   

   Similar to the sabbatical, this is something all of us will discount, when in fact we should make it paramount. When my wife attended her graduation ceremony at Regent University upon completing her Master’s, the department chair and others laid hands on her and prayed. When you, as a writer, experience prayer by others before you start 2019, you’ll see God set the stage for incredible advances. If in-person isn’t possible, use that phone and do a 3-way call or individual calls. Your written words need to be anointed by the words prayed by others in agreement. If you want, it would be my honor to pray with you. You can post a comment requesting prayer and we’ll get it scheduled.

When we gather in the mountains in the spring of 2019, I look forward to hearing your story – not just the one you’ve written but the one you’ve lived.

Which of these six things will you put into practice before the end of 2018? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Brad Bloom, Publisher of Faith & Fitness Magazine, Shout! Outdoor Lifestyle Magazine and map Travel Lifestyle Magazine. 

He is president of Lifestyle Media Group, a ministry that develops and distributes content to help people fuel their passion to connect daily living and Christian faith. Bloom draws a distinct difference between secular and his faith-centered brands, “Life should be lived way beyond training harder, living adventurously and going further. That’s all good but God is great. We can be equipped to be great when we get beyond all the doing and actively Be Life – the life of Christ to others.”