As Waylon says below, "do yourself the love" of being present during your time in the Academy.

Give your writing (and yourself) the focus, attention, and dedication it deserves. It's not every day you dedicate a set chunk of time to your craft, and this space you've carved out won't last forever. Put your best trunk forward, and let's make it count.

1. Do your best to limit your distractions during our live trainings. Put down that cell phone, turn off your email notifications, and close out of any browser tabs you don't need. Multitasking isn't very mindful, and it works against your desire to learn and to stay present.

2. Create time in your life for active writing. Make yourself a calendar event that repeats every day or week.

3. Make sure that you're getting our emails. Check your inbox and do a search for "[email protected]" (If you're not getting our emails, you're probably not reading this tip—but if you know a friend who isn't getting our emails, tell them to reach out to Molly or Emily or Nicole and we'll get it fixed).

4. Take advantage of the resources available to you inside this course and inside the community we've created.

5. Set aside time to get to know your peers inside the Elephant Academy Facebook Community. We're proud of the mindful community you're a part of and we can't wait to see you all begin to change the world, together, with your words.

6. Set aside time in your week to peer edit another's words. This will not only help out your fellow Apprentice, it will help you become a stronger writer and a better editor.

7. Remember, you're not here to "win" the Academy. You're here to learn, but (almost equally) importantly—you're here to have fun! The best way to have fun is to show up, fully.