What do you do when you've got a business plan to follow, a list of articles that need to get researched, written and submitted - and four measly free hours this week to dedicate to all of it?
1. Complain. Lament about how your temp job, your insurance writing gig, your volunteer work is all creeping into your planned writing time. Complain until your husband suggests you've taken on too much and need drop at least one of them. Recognize he's right. Ignore him anyways.
2. Acknowledge: there's no way on God's green earth that you can do all of it this week.
3. Spend an hour talking on the phone during rush-hour traffic (you don't want to waste one of your free hours, after all) trying to figure out the best solution. Talk with the only person who'd humor your obsessive rambling for an hour straight - your mom.
4. Wonder: What happened to my nice, simple plan?
5. Remember that phrase your lovely big sister used to relish back in grammar school: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
6. Realize you're overthinking this waaay too much to be productive. Decide to forget about the articles, the research, the submissions this week. Instead, do something fun. Go to Staples and buy a pack of looseleaf, envelopes, and shiny gold letter seals that cost more than your looseleaf and envelopes combined. Imagine the author of your most recent "favorite book" smiling at your thoughtful seal. Buy the seals anyways.
7. Write the first of the letters you're going to write this week to seven of your favorite authors. Decide you'll also finally take up author Carolyn See on her second suggestion of writing 1,000 words per day.
8. K.I.S.S!
2 comments:
I loved this post!
As one who is trying to get done three times as much stuff as I can realistically do before I leave for Europe in 11 days, it comes down to having that plan. How do you get done the most critical things this week, and then plan for how the others will get done within the month. Then you have given attention to each item, not given up in frustration!
Anne
When there are no definite deadlines but you know that everything needs to get done, it's so hard to priortize and not get completely overwhelmed! It sounds like you've found a way to get past that and make progress though.
Eleven days-wow, that came up quickly. You're going to have such a great time!
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