In Episode 259, Christine Tulley, President and Executive Writing Coach of Defend Publish & Lead, addresses the common question of when to start writing after the holiday break, emphasizing the importance of making this decision ahead of time rather than letting it remain nebulous as the calendar year flips.

She shares her personal approach of designating January 5th as her first official day back to writing (separate from her first day of class), blocking out specific time slots in her calendar (9:00-11:30 AM on January 5th, 6th, and 7th for a total of seven and a half hours that week), and color-coding this time as brown to protect it from competing demands.

She recommends preparing for this first writing day by treating it like the first day of school—cleaning out your laptop bag, restocking essential supplies like hard drive connector cords and extra headphones, gathering any articles you'll need, and perhaps choosing a favorite coffee shop instead of the library. Christine emphasizes that setting up special elements for your first writing session can infuse it with new energy, mentions her holiday playlist of writing episodes, and concludes by offering a free Textbook and Academic Authors Association membership giveaway to the first person who emails her at [email protected] along with her coaching practice's ongoing holiday pricing special.

Resources Mentioned

• Holiday Playlist

DPL Resources

• HOLIDAY COACHING HOURS - All hours at lowest prices for the year
• Tuesday Toolbox - contact [email protected] for subscription information
• Set your writing goals with us! Try us out in a free consultation.
• Check out our current and past workshops at Eventbrite for writing support content. A FREE webinar is posted each month. Missed a workshop? Request a workshop or webinar recording from [email protected]
• Don't forget about the wonderful resources at Textbook and Academic Authors Association. The organization can be found at: https://www.taaonline.net
• New to TAA? Join for just $25 using discount code DP25! You will also receive a copy of the eBook, Guide to Making Time to Write: 100+ Time & Productivity Management Tips for Textbook and Academic Authors.