If you want to progress, if you’re interested in seeing where your potential can take you, and if you want to build a successful writing practice, then sooner or later you’re going to need to perform some self-evaluation. No, I don’t mean giving yourself a pass or fail grade on the quality of your writing. I mean truly evaluate you, the writer, and how your writing practice is or isn’t working, how your state of mind helps or hinders your growth, and what sort of changes you need to make to stimulate growth or (if things are going well) continue to see growth.

I like to take stock of myself and my productivity a few times a year. It’s not a rigid process. There is no pass or fail. As one of my trainers says, “it’s just information” – information about who you are, how you’re doing, and what more you could be doing. Or, sometimes, if there’s less that you should be doing. Don’t use the information to beat yourself up or self-pity. Use it to keep getting better.

When I perform my self-evaluations, there are a few key areas that I like to put under the microscope which I feel give an accurate portrayal of how I’m doing. These key areas might look different from person to person, and no one can tell you what will give you the most accurate information apart from yourself. A little trial and error never hurt anyone.

But without further ado, here are the four general areas that I check out during my self-evaluation.

Am I enjoying writing? Let’s be honest. Writing can be a drag sometimes. It’s not always ponies and rainbows; sometimes it’s a grind, and it’s not fun, but it’s still satisfying and rewarding. If that satisfaction and reward goes away, that’s cause for concern. I perform this check with my writing, my running, and my other hobbies. Am I still enjoying it? Is it adding value to my life? Or has it become a time, energy, and happiness-suck? If the answer to any of these questions is negative, some serious re-composition might be necessary.

Am I producing good work regularly? This is something that tends to follow closely on the heels of the first area. If I’m hating writing, then I’m probably not producing great work, or I might not be producing much at all. Having off-seasons and down-times throughout the year is totally normal and healthy. You can’t go-go-go all the time; it’s exhausting. But if I’m in a particularly dry spell that I didn’t plan for, that’s often an indicator of me being “stuck” somewhere farther down the pipeline, often in parts of my life that have nothing to do with writing at all but still have ripple effects.

Am I making plans for the future? I usually have anywhere from three to five future projects percolating in the back of my head at any given time. I like to make them their own file folders, write a blurb, and stick random bits and bobs into their docs as things come to me. That clears up my mind for other things and makes sure my ideas don’t get lost in the shuffle. But when I have nothing percolating and nothing to look forward to, then I know that I’m losing interest in the continuation of my writing. It’s difficult to look forward to the future when you’re hating the present.

How is my state of overwhelm? I am the queen of doing too much, all the time. I pretty much exist in a state of overwhelm, but it’s fine, because I’m not willing to give up any of the projects I’m working on. However, there’s a tipping point in that state of overwhelm that moves into decision paralysis, and that’s the Bad Place where I try not to go.

All of these areas exist on a scale, from thriving to struggling, and as long as I’m doing well emotionally then I am typically satisfied. When I begin to struggle mentally or emotionally, or show a sharp downward trend, that’s a sign that I need to make decisive changes to shift the trajectory.

With this information, whether I’m trending positively or negatively, I can either continue as I am or I may need to plan adjustments – to see even greater growth or perhaps save myself from a spiral. Next time, I’ll talk about my strategies on how to save myself when things start to go wrong, whether that ‘wrong’ is writer’s block, burnout, or a lack of ideas and passion.

I’m not perfect by any means, but I’ve learned how to work with my particular way of thinking to remain productive even in my busiest times of year, and I hope my ideas will help you, too!