Happy Thursday from Jeanette. It’s hard to believe we are almost done with June. In a little over a week my family will mark the anniversary of an event that catapulted us into our year of medical/financial drama—my husband’s back surgery. I’m pleased to say that we seem to be over the hump. Of course this has affected every area of our lives, including my writing career. I had to put paid assignments ahead of my personal writing goals, learn to write through stress, and—for the months when Norm was out of work—let go of my need for solitude. Like most times of crisis, it has worked out for my good. Now as I try to pursue some new opportunities and feel long-neglected projects tug at me, I’m finding ways to organize my day so I cover my assigned writing, family needs, a house that needs attention after a year of surface cleaning, and book projects that I can no longer stand to let sit unrevised on my flash drive. Maybe you will benefit from my current method.
My list may leave some saying “Well, duh!” But when you’ve lived in almost constant chaos for a year, sometimes it helps to go back to the basics. So here are my basics for mapping out a productive day. 1) Make a list – List everything you need to accomplish. Sometimes I list in categories, such as “Writing,” “House,” etc. Keep special circumstances in mind as you list. For example, my kids are out of school right now so I can’t expect to get quite as much done in one day. Check things off as you finish them so you can have a sense of accomplishment. 2) Rotate projects – If you have multiple projects going, rotate them so you can spend more time on one. When I try to dedicate an hour to each of my five assignments I make very little progress. 3) Make time for pet projects – I started resenting some of my work-for-hire when I found that it kept me from working on book proposals. Getting some go-aheads to submit at a recent writer’s conference gave me an excuse to work those into my week. So if nothing else, I work on MY projects on Friday. The best scenario is when I can finish everything else on Thursday so Friday can be for “fun” writing. Now that I’m down to one unsent proposal, I am working in time to develop a new novel idea. Have a project that you want to work on provides motivation to plug through the things that aren’t quite as enjoyable. 4) Know when to quit – If I cram too much into Monday – Wednesday then I fizzle before the week winds down. I hate to admit this to myself but having low vision means that eye strains is an issue too. I can’t expect to spend eight hours in front of the computer screen. So I have learned to work in productive time away from the computer (folding towels, watering the plants, organizing my desk—oops forgot to add that one to the list this week). Being a bit of an overachiever I also need to know when to quit for the day, period. My cut-off is dinner time. Yours might be different. Learn to recognize you limits, your need for family time, and your need to break your eyes from the screen. 5) Work in some fun – Since it is summer I have a good excuse to work in some play time. This also motivates me to get my work done. I know that each Friday morning my son Nathan and I go with a bunch of other moms and kids to a local Marina. The moms walk while the kids ride bikes or scooters. This has become a highlight of our week. When school is in session I try to have lunch or coffee with a friend at least every couple of weeks. Writing can make us hermits. Hermits get grumpy and weird. So look for a place on your schedule where you can recharge your brain, energy, and people skills. These are the five that I find most helpful. They remind me that it’s possible to get more in than I used to give myself credit for. So again, this year of crisis has been a good thing. It forced me to focus and stay more organized. If you have other tips to share, I’d love to hear about them.
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