Deadlines, Deadlines.

My writing has taken off this past year, and although I won't go so far as to say that I'm a writer "in demand", I have somehow begun to amass a long list of deadlines and due dates. Now, I'm not complaining - having a list of writing assignments and requests makes me feel useful and respectable in a way that is incomparable to any other job/career I've held. But it does make me pause during the first week of the month when I write all of the deadlines on the whiteboard above my computer and when I'm done the board runs over with colors, bullet points and underlined important projects.

Managing deadlines can be tricky, especially when other opportunities pop up mid-month, a family member falls ill or the sun comes out and calls to you through the window. It's probably the most difficult task I deal with on a week to week basis, and I have to force myself to not push things out "until tomorrow". Some of the things that help to keep me on track are:

- Having clear and defined deadlines and goals. Once the deadline is satisfied, erase it from the board and move on! No sense fretting over whether or not the editor is going to send something back for revisions when there's a new project waiting to take its place.

- Pre-plan article and blog topics when able. Although I can't predict what nodes of wisdom I might collect over the next few weeks, I do have an idea of upcoming events and holidays that can be fodder for writing.

- Fill the board, then say "no" or "can it wait?" to projects that come up mid-month. Getting overambitious causes me to become overextended and feel burnt out pretty quickly. Not to mention that if you say "yes" to anything, people get the impression that you are just sitting around all day playing Pirates Ahoy and waiting for something to do. I might be playing Pirates Ahoy all day - but I'm doing it because I need a break, not because I'm desperate for work.

In managing myself, I've discovered that I'm both my best and WORST employee. I am also the best and WORST boss I've ever had. It's a constant struggle to stay on task, but then, I suppose that's just a small price to pay for being able to work in my pajamas.

Currently Reading:

Comments

Getting Ready...

... for my very first author appearance in November. It's exciting! It's nerve wracking! It's a great opportunity! It's terrifying! It's going to be a great way to kick off the holiday season! I've got some books on order so there will be copies of both Age/Sex/Location: Love is Just a Click Away and A Giraffe In The Room available for sale. This is my first step into taking my writing on the road - maybe 2014 will include a book tour if this goes well...?

True Midnight Ramblings

Ah, July. Normally a time of constant celebration, this month has been especially trying and filled with sleepless nights and wandering days. I am looking forward to August when friends return from far off places, grief will be a little closer to subdued, and life will begin to return to normalcy (I hope). In a fit of sleeplessness spurred from a sorrow filled day on the horizon, a late-night emergency and lots of random thoughts and feelings I decided to hover around the internets a while until my eyes start to feel a little more heavy. I had received a notification that there have been some updates here on Blogger/Blogspot and so I decided to check them out now that I am left with very little to do for the next 8 hours or so. You may notice that this blog, as well as my other two blogs ( A Smaller Bottom and Meet Your Marker ), has received a sudden face-lift. I was really surprised at the new backgrounds and customizations on the templates toolbar, and had a lot of fun putt

Restless with The Silver Chair

My kiddo and I have been wandering through the pages of C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia over the last year or so, and finally arrived at the sixth book, The Silver Chair. It goes without saying that C. S. Lewis is one the most entrancing authors in children's literature, and he didn't fail to disappoint with The Silver Chair . This book takes Eustace and his schoolmate Jill on a terrific adventure through marshes, mountains, and caverns as they go on a hunt for a prince who went missing many years before. While this is a wonderful book on its own, it wasn't my favorite of the Narnia series. The characters didn't seem as alive as in the other books, and with man-eating giants, a magical snake-queen and the freeing of an entire nation of underground people, their flatness was a disappointment. We aren't deterred though. We've started The Last Batle, the final book in the series and it's going along much better. Although this is a serie

Quiet Keystrokes and Midnight Ramblings

Search This Blog