Illumination community

An Application of Synergy

I would love your insight, and I am positive that others will as well

One of the most valuable lessons I learned during a very challenging time in my life is to ask for help.

Unfortunately, back then, I waited until I was really struggling to make the ask, and even so it was a bit begrudging.

One wonderful thing about being a human is that we can learn, adapt and grow. Now I am much more likely to ask for assistance early in a process.

I very successfully applied a version of this as a fire chief by taking advantage of the fact that I was surrounded by really smart and capable people. We collectively accomplished much more than we might have because I was quick to ask for input, ideas and help.

Once again, I count myself lucky to be encompassed by many intelligent and experienced folks here on Medium, and most recently in ILLUMINATION.

So, I am asking for some help. Some insight.

I believe that I do well with routine. However, knowing and doing aren’t always synonymous.

I have tried — and failed, so far — to create a daily and/or weekly schedule for writing and all of the associated activities (marketing, social media, reading, networking etc.)

My main issue seems to be finding motivation and will to write on any given day.

I know some things about myself, that I have been able to incorporate:

• My brain works much better in the morning; after lunch, cognitive function sometimes becomes an oxymoron.
• I do some of my best topic production and title creation while going for a walk in the morning.
• I am easily distracted, but I have managed to find the ‘quit’ button on my email and the silence button on my phone.
• Music helps me think/write/work. Talking brings it all to a screeching halt. (Thank goodness for satellite radio and commercial-free music).

Clearly, I need message and phone silence and music in the background — and mornings.

It seems like I could be able to put together a daily itinerary that would aid in creating my most productive self, but I am still floundering.

So, I appeal to you, the writers and editors of ILLUMINATION, to provide us with a glimpse inside your daily or weekly schedule, and how you carve out time to be your most productive with your writing.

I am specifically interested in three sub-topics:

1. How did you find/land on your most productive work schedule? I am particularly interested in your process. What didn’t work, and how did that lead you to your current most-productive routine?

2. How to you incorporate social media marketing, research, networking etc. into your regular routine? Specifically, how do you balance writing time with the rest? And extra-credit for freelance and content professionals — is all writing the same, or do you differentiate between client work, blog, and perhaps longer-term projects like books?

3. What percentage of your whole life is made up with writing and its associated tasks? Do you engage in other creative pursuits such as music, drawing, photography or whatever? If so, how do you balance your creative projects with family, home, career, and just life in general?

My goal with this ask of you, is to assemble a collection of best practices stories to share insider tips with one another. I believe this is in line with Dr Mehmet Yildiz’s formula where: Fusion + Diversity + Consistency = Innovation.

I have (and I am sure you have too) read lots of beginner “how to write” articles. I am looking for some deeper insight here, something with more of a personal twist.

That is why I am asking the ILLUMINATION community of writers and editors to weigh in. I believe much of the most earnest of intent from the Medium universe is represented here.

Please tag me in your articles. I look forward to reading all of them!

Our ILLUMINATION editors: Dr Ron Pol, Mary Holden, Dr. David Martin, Paul Myers MBA, Chrissie Morris Brady, Todd Lankford, Gabrieknowseverything, Jennifer Rosater, Michael Ritoch, Chris Hedges, Jessica Alfaqih, Karen Madej, Misa Ferreira de Rezende, Blake Lazur, Joe Luca, Shin Jie Yong, Julia Tsoi, Lilycelle Belarmino Ausa, Stella Fidem, Aurora E, Salvatore Cagliari, Will Murphy, Sylvia Love Johnson, Catherine Delia, Snezana Djuric, Aileen Shiue Belitz, Domagoj Vidovic, Tina Morlock, Francesca Brandani, Brenda Mahler, Madoc Maduka, Volo Vash, Shantanu Kulkarni, Lyndsay Landrey, Justin Swenson, Stephen Chapendama, Jill Ebstein, Eliel Cruz, Dipti Pande, Blair Fawcett, Ryan Roghaar, J.D. Harms, Kimi Ceridon (kceridon), Antonio Grasso, Salam Khan, Timothy Key

Our ILLUMINATION writers: Amy Cottreau, Deborah Horton, Michael Ritoch, Anthony Chaine, Todd Lankford, Jennifer Rosater, Brian Lamacraft, Gabrieknowseverything, Jemas Whalen, Tom Byers, Steven Anthony, Chris Hedges, Alexander Cares, Chrissie Morris Brady, Desiree Driesenaar, René Junge, The Mindful Mamacita, Deana Woolf, Bill Abbate, Dawn-Renée Rice, Margie Peterson, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Garrett Elson, Alvin Ang, Matt Ray, Brenda Mahler, Paul Myers MBA, Corrine Roberts, T H Wong, Greg Lawlor, Nicole Linke, Aurora E, Karen Madej, Jessica Alfaqih, Stella Fidem, Julia Tsoi, Mike Alexander, Gregory A ☕️, Shin Jie Yong, Abraham T. Steel, Blake Lazur, Nita Jain, Sebastian Mueller, Snezana Djuric, Aileen Shiue Belitz, Salvatore Cagliari, Isak Dinesen, Joe Luca, Joi Lake, Charlotte VanDerLouis, Catherine Delia, Terry Mansfield, Sylvia Love Johnson, Erwin Lima, Gina Daniel, novalis, Amy Marley, Misa Ferreira de Rezende, Tim Maudlin, Will Murphy, Lilycelle Belarmino Ausa, Akos Peterbencze, Francesca Brandani, GFC: Grown Folk Conversations, Domagoj Vidovic, Dipti Pande, G.R. MELVIN, Tina Morlock, JJ Lim, BSc (Hons), Madoc Maduka, Andrew George, Julia E Hubbel, Impact Aisha, Dean Middleburgh, Markham J Moody, Jill Ebstein, Eliel Cruz, Mary Holden, Bridget Webber, The Wicked Orchard by Sidra Owens, Stephen Chapendama, Lyndsay Landrey, Nicole Dyer, Nicole Dyer, Justin Swenson, Dr. David Martin, Marcus Mehlmauer, Ryan Justin, Deborah Barchi, Jezebel, Renee Rose, Shantanu Kulkarni, Selma, Justin Swenson, Rodney Daut, Volo Vash, Jason Dookeran, Naomi Knight, Blair Fawcett, Pavane Ravel, Dr Ron Pol, Ahmed Jamal, Mesut Felat, Ryan Roghaar, Bre Bitz, Cee A. Davis, George J. Ziogas, Michael Brooks, Rasheed Hooda, Lanu Pitan, Antonio Grasso, Charlotte R Dixon, Lori Brown, R Tsambounieri Talarantas, Matthew Gliatto, Livia Dabs, Kathryn A. LeRoy, Caryn Leach-Smith, Clem Samson, Simran Kankas, Sinem Günel, Helen Boss, Mike Schoenhofer, Ksenia Sein, Arthur G. Hernandez, Max Klein, Kimi Ceridon (kceridon), Daniella Mini, Marlane Ainsworth, Chowa Sekai, Stephen Scott, Farrah Smith, Ananya Agarwal, Salam Khan, Simon Black, Brooke Morrigan, Indra Raj Pathak, Aliff Azhar, Joan Kent, PhD, Yvonne Palmer, Michele Thill, Pamela J. Nikodem, MS, Timothy Key, Melody Campbell, Trista Ainsworth, Mark Oehlert, iWrite!, Annelise Lords, Somsubhra Banerjee, Candy L Hill, Larry Nowicki, 🌲Andrea D’Angelo🌲, Brian E. Wish, M. W. McCabe, Jarrett Wilson, Claire Elaine, Paul Mulliner, Carlos Nunes, P.G. Barnett, İpeksu Durmaz, J.A. Taylor, Brian Abbey, KeepingItRealWithAnnick, Stacey Christiansen, Robert Nelson, Terri DelCampo-Nelson, Kerry Martin, Pasquale Langella, Wolfie Bain, Trapper Sherwood, Dr Rick Dobson, Henery X (long), Darcy Thiel, Emmanuel Prado, Spandrel, Ann K Frailey, Ashish Juneja, CJ Kowalski, John Cousins, Feather🕊tales, Shreya V, -vheretichermit, Gabriela Rosales, Roxanna Azimy, Christina Hoag

Timothy Key spent over 26 years in the fire service as a firefighter/paramedic and various fire chief management roles. He firmly believes that bad managers destroy more than companies, and good managers create a passion that is contagious. Compassion, grace and gratitude drive the world; or at least they should. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and join the mail list.