Slogging Away

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Published on October 16, 2014 15:55 Tags: on-writing
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message 1: by Derrolyn (new)

Derrolyn Anderson Word :)


message 2: by Jane (new)

Jane It's what ya gotta do.


message 3: by Derrolyn (new)

Derrolyn Anderson Not that I'm anal or anything, but I have a 15 item checklist that I challenge myself to complete every day. This one's on the top, so if I can't manage to write even a few words, it's a bad, bad, low-energy wasted kinda day.


message 4: by Jane (new)

Jane Yeah, I'm proud of myself if I can get through a 5-item checklist. Mind you, some of the items have been pretty big lately.


message 5: by Derrolyn (last edited Oct 17, 2014 06:54AM) (new)

Derrolyn Anderson Hahaha! You (Linda) sound majorly ambitious :)

What kinds of things do you include on your daily "to-dos"?

Jane - I can relate!


message 6: by Derrolyn (new)

Derrolyn Anderson Yes, I have my separate "have to" list, my "want to" list, and the "when pigs fly" items as well.

Gotta list it to define it - or at least come to terms with it :)


message 7: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 17, 2014 07:28AM) (new)

Linda's list sounds like mine. It's a seasonal chore list with stuff like "paint the porch," "make tomato sauce," "freeze kale/chard, etc.," "set post for propane regulator," "replace corner board on house," "rake leaves," ad nauseum. Then there's the everyday stuff to wedge in there too, no matter the season - exercise, dinner, cleaning, etc.

I can get through 1 or 2 a day if it's simple enough, but most are strung out over days or weeks (like rebuilding the rotten porch) or will have to be done again later (like the garden stuff because it keeps growing). Next year I'll be doing plenty more house painting because I barely got started this year because....I had so much else to do.

Definite sense of futility, and often too brain-tired to creatively write.


message 8: by Jane (new)

Jane I keep my lists in the Mac reminders app, and try to look at them regularly and separate out the important ones (or some days I just go after the easy ones). I only put dates on important ones, so when I see that little red badge I know I have something I can't procrastinate.

I also have a whiteboard separated into a reminder of the things I really need to get done soon, and a "today" section for listing the things I need to focus on NOW.

My life is one long to-do list. I've managed to instill the habit of writing daily, but I desperately need to get better at producing, curating and marketing books. I need to move from reactive scrambling after the urgent stuff to proactive planning. Any tips?


message 9: by Derrolyn (new)

Derrolyn Anderson UGH. Garden stuff. That's a whole 'nother category, LOL.

I'm always behind on pruning, dividing and raking. Which reminds me - I really should put some garlic in this year...


message 10: by [deleted user] (new)

I have no plan. It's just a list on a pad of paper on the kitchen counter and anything I do that's not on the list I write it down (then cross it off - very satisfying :P) to tell myself that I don't really fritter much time away.

Trying to write some everyday is a goal that I need to tackle. I hope winter won't kick my butt with the snow again this year and I won't go from Summer/Fall exhaustion right into Winter exhaustion.


message 11: by [deleted user] (new)

Derrolyn wrote: "UGH. Garden stuff. That's a whole 'nother category, LOL."

Inorite? Total time suck. And this year wasn't even really that abundant compared to last year and yet I felt like I was flat out all the time.


message 12: by Derrolyn (new)

Derrolyn Anderson Jane wrote: "I keep my lists in the Mac reminders app, and try to look at them regularly and separate out the important ones (or some days I just go after the easy ones). I only put dates on important ones, so ..."

Marketing. There's another UGH. I self publish using Smashwords guidelines, and when I'm in marketing mode I query book bloggers for reviews. I can't seem to do both writing and marketing at the same time :(

I'm also running a small business in my spare time, LOL.


message 13: by Derrolyn (last edited Oct 17, 2014 07:48AM) (new)

Derrolyn Anderson Linda- I'm jealous! Sooo close! I dream of retiring someday, when my life can be all writing, painting & gardening. *sigh*
I have two kids in college and a high school senior applying right now.

Nose, meet grindstone.


message 14: by Derrolyn (new)

Derrolyn Anderson A girl can dream.


message 15: by Jane (new)

Jane I'm lucky in that I don't have a day job per se, but I'm our disabled daughter's executive assistant and that takes up a surprising amount of time. I started using toggl to time my work week to see if my perceptions were accurate, and they are--she's a part-time job all to herself.

My critique partner, who blogs as the 10 Minute Writer and has a book coming out whenever her publisher gets to it, started a group on Facebook for time-crunched writers. They have a pretty good focus on the writing life and work hard to keep out the self-promos. They also do Twitter chats every Thursday at 9pm ET under the hashtag #10MinNovelists


message 16: by Jane (new)

Jane She homeschools 5 kids, but still manages to get more done than I do.


message 17: by Derrolyn (new)

Derrolyn Anderson The universe is conspiring to make me join Facebook, and yet somehow, I resist.

At least my homeschooling days are over with :)


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