I confess. I love lists. Sometimes I even make lists of lists. I’m drawn to calendars and scheduling planners like a bee to nectar. The daily reminders I email myself keep life humming along.
Do I accomplish everything I plan? Not always. How much I can do in a day varies. Aiming too high usually means I won’t reach my goals. if I’m inflexible when life has other ideas, opportunity can pass me by. And once in a while I drop the ball because I’m human and not a machine.
Still, I’m better off for having planned. If I didn’t try to corral my time it would slip away like dollars in my pocket at the fair, with just as little to show for my efforts.
When I asked some of my Facebook friends who write if they use a calendar, I discovered to my surprise that I’m in the minority. I had no idea that was the case, although people have told me they don’t know how I do everything that I do. Well, here’s how.
I use Google Calendar to keep track of blog posts, interviews, book reviews, my literary judging schedule, volunteer work for writing groups, and anything else I don’t want cluttering my regular writing schedule. To chart writing-related and promotional tasks, I invented my own Daily Writing Scheduler, available free to those who sign up for my email list. I don’t have this automated yet, so if you sign up please give me a couple of days to send it to you.
To track my productivity and keep me on course, I have used Rescue Time. It tracks how much time I engage in productive activities and how much I give to distractions online. Just knowing it’s recording my activities, and that I’ll read the report later, helps me resist the urge to procrastinate while online, but it can also be set to ban you from certain sites after your allotted time is up.
If you don’t work well with a tight schedule, why not try a running To Do List? Since it’s not tied to specific dates (although you may want to make note of deadlines), you won’t fall behind and bog down if you miss a day. This approach helps those with a tendency to rebel against their own lists.
I suggest you use some sort of written method to help you name and attain your goals.
Photo Credits
Photo Courtesy of Janalyn Voigt
Originally posted on Live Write Breathe: Live With Passion, Write Well, Remember to Breathe
Guest Author Bio
Janalyn Voigt
Janalyn Voigt’s father instilled in her a love of literature at an early age by classic novels as bedtime stories. Janalyn soon began creating her own stories, and eventually wrote them down. When she was 12, a teacher noticed her storytelling ability. His encouragement helped Janalyn to become a published novelist.
Janalyn blogs at Live Write Breathe , where she mentors other authors in the writing life, teaching writers to live withe passion, write well, and remember to breathe. At Janalyn’s Creative Worlds blog, she posts interesting details from her research and travels, offers updates about her life as a writer and her books, plus offers exclusive content and special discounts to subscribers.
Janalyn is represented by Wordserve Literary and published by Harbourlight (Pelican Book Group/Pelican Ventures). Her epic fantasy adventure series, Tales of Faeraven, launched in June 2012 with the release of DawnSinger.
To learn more about Janalyn, please visit the About Janalyn Voigt page on her website.
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Blog / Website: http://janalynvoigt.com
Too funny, Dan, and that was a good save. 🙂 I enjoy radio interviews and speaking, but not the time leading up to them.
Thanks! It was a funny story, and I did manage to find a save for it!
I hear you, Janalyn. I figured out a while back that pre-game jitters were just part of the program with public speaking, and would likely always be there, so just factor them in. 🙂
Hi, Dan. Thanks for suggesting using a popup reminder for important items. I’ll incorporate it in my own planning. Great idea, since I’m on the computer most of the day. Another would be to set my cell phone. It’s always tough to remember one-time events, although to tell you the truth I’d be so nervous about a radio interview I’d probably remember it! :o)
Me too, Janalyn – I’m at my computer all day, and so the popups make Google Calendar really handy for things I might forget once the day comes up. Yes, on one time events it’s really a great reminder tool. LOL – that’s why I use the popups, because I get nervous before radio interviews, and don’t want to zone out and be at the mall and remember I’m supposed to be on the radio. When I was doing a lot of radio, the popups were a lifesaver.
Radio can be a lot of fun to talk about your book. After a while, I forget I’m on air, and I’m just talking to someone to tell them the story of the book. A great publicity tool for sure! And you never know what you might run into on an interview. Kind of like the host in upstate New York who found out I live in Texas, and asked me how I thought the Dallas Police handled the Kennedy assassination. Talk about having to wing it. “Well, I was 13 years old at that time and living in New Mexico, so I don’t know much about that. But in my book…” (Whew! Got that one handled!) 🙂
Right there with you, Janalyn! I use spreadsheets to track writing jobs I’m handling, and a daily “to do” list to keep myself on target. And it’s amazing how great it feels when I look at the list at the end of the day and there’s nothing left! 🙂
I too really enjoy Google Calendar – it makes it easy to keep track of things on my weekly schedule, and if it’s really important (don’t forget that radio interview at 2 PM) I can give myself a popup reminder ahead of time.
Dan
Hello, Ray.
I’d rebel, too, if I had a list as long as you describe. You may be biting off more than you can chew on a regular basis. As a result, you’re choking on your to do list.
Believe me, I know how this can happen. When my list becomes too long to manage, the first order of operations is some deep soul searching. What am I doing that I shouldn’t? Sometimes it hurts to let go of activities I enjoy or that can benefit my career, but that’s the only way to cut my to do list down to size. It helps to focus on the unique mission(s) in life you’ve identified as your own. If you don’t know, a little introspection is called for. Only you can answer this question.
There are times to embrace long lists as inevitable, though. Preparing for a wedding, a vacation, Christmas, or a move all come to mind. At such times you do what you have to. I’ve developed a system that cuts down my confusion when my to-do list overwhelms me. I prioritize the items by assigning letters in front of them: A for urgent items, B for must-do’s, and C for things that can wait awhile. Because I’m a linear thinker, I then assign numbers to prioritize each category (A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, etc.). This helps me make sense of a lengthy list without taking the time to rewrite it in a logical order. I have only to scan down the page and pick out the tasks in order. Prioritizing means that I get the most important things done first and the non-essentials have a way of falling away without clogging the gears of my day.
A post I wrote that might also help you is: Too Much To Do? Declutter Your Life (http://livewritebreathe.com/too-much-to-do/)
Best wishes.
Hi Janalyn,
I think that I’m one of those people who rebels against my own lists. My calendar is reserved for scheduling appointments with others. To keep myself on track, I use a running To Do list — at least until it becomes too long to serve any useful purpose.
My best method of being productive is to tackle each task as it comes up, when possible. A feeling of urgency propels me to complete it because I know that, if I do not see to the task now, it may be postponed forever. Admittedly, this isn’t the optimum approach, but it’s preferable to list building without follow through.