We have a treat of a guest post this week from R.L. Syme (writing as Becca Boyd). It’s a preview of her series of articles on Self-Awareness coming in RWA’s Romance Writer Report beginning in this month’s December issue.

Everyone wants to write faster and better. Right?

Most people think there’s one way to write faster or better. Somebody’s had success doing “faster” by sprinting, so that’s the way to do it. Somebody else has gone “faster” by outlining ahead, so that’s the way to do it.

Who’s right?

Theoretically, both. Success is largely a product of how well you know the code to your own personality. For the right person, sprinting will up your word counts. But for the wrong person, sprinting will make you freeze, feel too much pressure, slow down, question yourself.

It seems to go without saying that we’re all different. But we rarely take those differences seriously when it comes to how to organize our lives, how to write books, how to be bigger, faster, better, smaller, slower… happier.

In my former life, I was a strategic development coach. We used brain science to help people be their best. There was a study done in the creation of the Strengths assessment that’s the easiest way to explain why, statistically, knowing and focusing on your strengths is the best use of your time.

They took two groups of readers through the same speed-reading class. The “average” group started out at 70 words-per-minute and, after the class, ended up reading about 150 words-per-minute. But the group with a pre-determined strength started off at 140 wpm and ended up at almost 3000. No, that’s not a typo. Three thousand. The group with a natural capacity, with a little time and intention, saw exponential results.

By knowing your personality, you could be working smarter, and getting better results. I’ve written a series of articles for the RWR magazine (watch your mailboxes on December 1^st) addressing how “knowing your code” can help you unlock your potential. Check them out. Check out the chat from 11/27 on #rwchat. Check out the recommended tools on my website. Know your code. Make your choices based on what’s the best for your personality, and maximize your writing and productivity success today!

L. Syme (w/a Becca Boyd) is a USA Today bestselling romance author. With a Masters degree in leadership and years of consulting and working in organizational communications, she is also a trained Strengths coach. Find her website at http://rlsyme.com and come find her on Twitter (@beck_a_tron) to talk more about productivity and success.