Time Management II

I maintained a week's worth of blog posts! And I have a plan!

Ok, yeah, I know that's nothing compared to great regular bloggers - for me, who has struggled with regular blog posts since 2006 on MySpace, it's big.

And I have this week all planned out, too.

I have topics and themes. My Monday posts are Manic Mondays, where I talk about how I try and organize my life & work - which, to me, is an important topic. When I interview other artistic entrepreneurs, their answers intrigue me because it's so hard to do. Oftentimes, I learn something useful. And, in all my chatting with other artistic entrepreneurs who are looking for a way to "quit their day job," organization and time management are key issues for staying on track with one's goals.

The trick/truth is: most people are still changing and adjusting their time management and organization tactics.

So, I'm sharing this particular journey with people because I do think it is helpful, and it is helpful to me.

Doing my annual blog about goals and achievements every New Year does wonders for an overall ability to achieve because I think of it throughout the year… and it is pure magic for my January productivity.

So, here are my current plans, goals, and accomplishments:

A Monday, Wednesday, Friday Blog:
Manic Monday (explained)
Writerly Wednesday - an article about writing business
Foodie Friday - I hardly ever talk about food writing - which is most of my income, so finally: I reveal MY secret ingredients!

Clean the effing upstairs!
One hour a day. It's exercise, and it's accomplishment. And seriously - you don't want to see my upstairs bedrooms/storerooms. The bathroom is ok - my Mother-in-Law cleans it once a week.

Clean the effing desk "area"!
I seriously have no idea how I can work with this much CRAP blocking my most immediate books & resources. & I have noticed that tidier desk = more productive Trish

Research 1 Short Market a day, M-F, and if there's a match for any of my available short stories/poems/etc., submit. If not, make notes and move onto something else.
Other than Broad Universe Mailing parties, this has been my most successive project yet, with 4 submissions in 2 weeks

1-2 Owed short critiques a day.
I am sooooooo behind on critiques that I owe people. I belong to several Writing Groups - one disbanded - but I feel horrible for not having returned critiques to people. If I keep this up, I WILL catch up.

Make adjustments for 1 Critique given to me.
I'm equally behind (if not moreso) in reviewing and implementing critiques from people, too. If I had all of these done, I'd have twice as many short stories ready for circulation. I have noted in my Market Research, at least, which stories would be good fit for these markets once they have been edited.

I have a few more, but they're more personal to projects or specific to household chores. But having the to-do list has been a great help.

Some of Next Week's specific projects include:

Setting up Broad Pod Preliminaries. (Don't know what the Broad Pod is? Are you a member of Broad Universe? ;) More later - stay tuned!)

Monday: Last minute restaurant review
Beer Blog Article from Beer & Wine Pairing notes
Start on MA Horse article
5+ Tutoring Hours - (oh crap, must contact friends)

Tuesday: Women's Networking Event in Worcester
Blog post on Spousal Support for the Working Writer
(because my "Tuesday" goes until 2AM)

Wednesday: Anniversary - yeah, we're both gone early until late. Yay weekend…
Chiropractor
Lunch Date + Food Review with Renée
Book Club Meeting
Tutoring Hours…

Thursday: Write Friday Blog
Catch up on everything else…

Friday: 3+ tutoring hours
Pack for Anniversary Plans
Catch up + stuff I haven't thought of yet. ;)
Oh - send out Novel Friends newsletter - so add that writing/editing M-Th
(though, may want to send that out Thurs PM for Fri…)


An overall set of goals would be to have a clean upstairs, a clean desk area, be caught up on my writing business, catch up on tutoring, and meet all of my deadlines. Very general, right now, but I'm carving them out. And the more I get done, the clearer and more detailed I can get these goals.

So far, I'm happy with the past few weeks of planning, organizing, and managing of my work & time.

I'll keep you posted of what's working - so maybe it can work for you, too!