Ever since I read Caroliena Cabeda’s post for the #AuthorToolboxBlogHop last month, it’s been in the back of my mind to get a more structured schedule in place. I keep thinking something like that would help me remember to do the little things (more on those below) that I know I should be making time for but get pushed aside in favour of more immediate concerns. Unfortunately, between one thing and another, I haven’t quite got there yet (see those immediate concerns again) but I am hoping to have something in place for June.
With only so many available hours and a number of items I should be doing, it’s frequently a matter of trying to decide what needs to be done vs. what can be done later. Case in point, I wasn’t very active on social media last month. Not because I didn’t want to; I enjoy swapping comments/tweets with people. It was more a matter of the thinking “Oh, I’ll catch up on that tomorrow“. Then doing the same the next day. And so on. I’m thinking that if I can work out some kind of schedule where I can build chunks of time to focus on just one task, then maybe I can avoid situations like that.
So what sort of tasks am I talking about? Well, aside from the obvious one of sitting down and writing and the one I just talked about there are a few other. Writing blog posts like this is one of them. I’d also like to make sure I’m doing a decent amount of reading per day. Another thing is making sure I have all my handwritten work typed up and transferred into the computer. I’m far enough behind in that, that it’s actually become an action item for this month. And I’d also want to make sure I’m periodically (and consistently) making backup copies of my work once I have got them transcribed. Which would hopefully avoid situations like my deleting the most recent draft of a short story.
Some of those I might want to do daily, some of them I might be able to get away with doing them weekly. But they do need to get done and this might be the best way to ensure they do.
Like I said, I haven’t got there yet, but it is a work in progress. To be continued…
The Scribblings 
Drew,
I always enjoy your posts, but this one particularly hit home for me. I too have been struggling to find the balance I need to write, read, stay in contact with friends on Twitter and other social media, and well…handle the business part of writing.
I have a bullet journal that boasts my goals for 2017 and each goal is beautifully tasked; however, I am finding that unless I take time each morning to get “quiet” it is all for naught.
Thank you for encouraging me to examine my own scheduling Drew.
Pat
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Pat,
As always your kind words are entirely undeserved, but I thank you for them anyways.
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Drew,
You are so welcome! Keep up the awesome Blog!
Pat
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I can relate! Although ignoring social media isn’t my problem – I’m more likely to share on social media as a way of procrastinating, as an alternative to doing real work. Or writing.
I know the key is something along the lines of BIC;FOK*, but it’s finding that balance – and finding the time to catch up on all the stuff I’ve let slip** so I can start with a clean slate.
* Butt in chair; fingers on keyboard
**currently, that’s cleaning the house. Fortunately, no one seems to notice or care.
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Time juggling is always a nuisance 😕
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Something I picked up while juggling multiple roles and tasks in the corporate arena is keeping a diary handy at all time – even at the restrooms. The good ol’ paper and pen type. Something small enough to feel unburdensome but with enough surface area for me to enjoy putting nibs to the sheets. I always picked the notebooks without dates already printed in so I could start a fresh day wherever I wanted.
Every evening, I would check current day’s list of things accomplished and carry forward those remaining incomplete (according to priorities if possible) to the next page for the next day. Every morning, I would check this new page for things I had to get done and go to it. I had my Outlook calendars to alert me on my meetings, of course, but the diary helped keep track of all the nitty-gritty and even the itty-bitty. No matter how small the task, if it needed to get done, it was logged in and off my diary.
Nothing better than a personal assistant made of bound papers.
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That’s a great idea, thank you
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Welcome 🙂
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