I've got a bad habit
And no, it isn't smoking. I just quit that Friday. ^_^
I've got a bad habit of not writing things down. Yes, I write notes when I report. But when it comes to getting "organizezed," I never write down anything. I never write down important dates or appointments for interviews. I never write down story ideas I have budgeted in my head.
And I never write down an outline of the stories I write. All I ever do for stories is write the entire thing out in my head as I head back to my desk, whether it be a long walk or a drive.
I find that it does make me operate much quicker on deadline. But it's dangerous that I never write down things, and I was only reminded of this after reading the previous posts on using Excel spreadsheets. I can't even write a note on a scrap of paper, how can I even think about using spreadsheets to organize myself?
I'm grateful that I'm reminded of my bad habits. Like my smoking, it was encouragement for me to quit whenever I saw people fanning away my second hand. Do you all have any bad journalistic habits you'd like to drop?