Tag Archive for: time management

Multitasking, Time Management and Organization

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Multitasking, Time Management and Organization

By Donnell Ann Bell

Where’s my keys? Where’s my phone? What did I do with my glasses? Sound familiar?

Many people attribute forgetfulness to advancing years. Me? I attribute forgetfulness to distraction, our busy lives, and the ridiculous notion that if we’re doing multiple things at once, we’re efficient and engaged in time management.

I’m not a fan of multitasking. If you’re doing multiple things at once, chances are you’re in a hurry. Slowing down, focusing on one thing at a time, e.g., concentrating on those keys in your hand, solidifies in your brain where you put them.  Even better, if you concentrate on those keys in your hand AND put them in the same place every time, chances are you will find them every time.

It took me a while to figure this out, but now that I put things in a strategic place, I’m less stressed and don’t spend ten minutes trying to recreate my movements. Further, the most amazing thing has happened. I know precisely where everything is and I’m not late anymore!

I’ve been traveling a great deal for the last two years and hopefully will be slowing down. Now that I’m home, I plan on tackling things I’ve left undone.  Mainly all the stuff I’ve crammed into closets, promising myself I’ll get to it later. Well, my friends, it’s later! And to say I’m organized would be complete fiction. However, I have a game plan to become organized, and I’d like to credit my friend Author Mike Befeler for giving me the ideas to get started.

Mike has no idea I’m crediting him or that I’m recommending his book, Unstuff Your Stuff.  I read this book years ago, and the moment I remember where I put it . . . Kidding. It’s on my Kindle. 😉and my Kindle resides on my nightstand.

Typical of Mike’s books, it’s a humorous mystery, but I have to say as I read, I couldn’t help thinking this is also a great self-help book. So, that’s what I’m doing. Taking the tips I learned from Mike’s novel.

In closing, here some great advice I heard from my eye doctor when I continually misplaced my glasses. “If they’re not on your face, they belong in your case.”

For anyone who wants to read a mystery, smile, and read a self-help, here’s the link and blurb to Mike’s novel.  Happy organizing!

About UNSTUFF YOUR STUFF:  68-year-old Millicent Hargrove returns from her Tuesday night bridge game to her house in Boulder, Colorado, to find her husband, George, dead on the floor with a knife in his chest. At the funeral a man she doesn’t know comes up and hands her an envelope. He explains that with George’s death, she will receive special compensation for some work that George once did for the government. She asks what the work was, but he only says it was classified and he can’t discuss it with her. As she cleans out all her stuff to move from her house to a condo, she discovers that she’s good at organizing her things. Her friends encourage her to start a personal organizing business. Millicent gives it some thought and decides it’s a good idea. She calls her business, Unstuff Your Stuff. Millicent gains clients but struggles with her new life and cryptic clues left by her husband. Men hit on her, but she doesn’t want to get involved in any relationship, although she likes the father of the young man who helped her move to her condo. She escapes attempts on her own life and figures out the mystery of the cryptic messages left by her husband. She develops a successful organizing business while sorting through the clutter from the secret life her husband led.

About Mike Befeler: In the May, 2008, issue of the AARP Bulletin Mike Befeler was identified as one of four authors in a new emerging mystery sub-genre. Harlan Coben, president of Mystery Writers of America stated, “We’ve just scratched the surface on geezer-lit. It could be the next frontier in crime fiction.” Mike turned his attention to fiction writing after a career in high technology marketing.  His debut novel, RETIREMENT HOMES ARE MURDER, was published in 2007.  The second novel in his Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series, LIVING WITH YOUR KIDS IS MURDER, appeared in 2009 and was nominated for the Lefty Award for the best humorous mystery of 2009. The third book in the series, SENIOR MOMENTS ARE MURDER, was released in 2011. The fourth book in the series, CRUISING IN YOUR EIGHTIES IS MURDER, was published in 2012 and was nominated for the Lefty Award for best humorous mystery of 2012. The fifth book in the series, CARE HOMES ARE MURDER, was published in 2013. The sixth book in the series, NURSING HOMES ARE MURDER, was published in 2014. He also has a paranormal private investigator mystery, THE V V AGENCY (published 2012); a paranormal geezer-lit mystery, THE BACK WING (published 2013), and its sequel, THE FRONT WING (2019);  a theater mystery, MYSTERY OF THE DINNER PLAYHOUSE (published in 2015); a non-fiction biography, THE BEST CHICKEN THIEF IN ALL OF EUROPE (published in 2015); a historical mystery, MURDER ON THE SWITZERLAND TRAIL (published in 2015); a sports mystery, COURT TROUBLE, A PLATFORM TENNIS MYSTERY (published in 2016), and its sequel PARADISE COURT (2019); an international thriller, THE TESLA LEGACY (2017); a standalone geezer-lit mystery, DEATH OF A SCAM ARTIST (2017); a professional organizer mystery, UNSTUFF YOUR STUFF (2018); a novella, CORONAVIRUS DAZE (2020); OLD DETECTIVES HOME (2022); and LAST GASP MOTEL (2023).

Mike is an acclaimed speaker and gives three entertaining and informative presentations titled, “The Secret of Growing Older Gracefully—Aging and Other Minor Inconveniences,” “How To Survive Retirement,” and “Rejection Is Not a Four Letter Word,” which promote a positive image of aging. Contact him at mikebef@aol.com if you’d like him to speak to your organization.  https://www.mikebefeler.com

About Donnell Ann Bell:  Leaving international thrillers to the world travelers, Donnell Ann Bell concentrates on suspense that might happen in her neck of the woods – writing SUSPENSE TOO CLOSE TO HOME. Published with BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books, she has written four Amazon bestselling standalones as well as her award-winning Cold Case series, Black Pearl and Until Dead. Currently, she’s working on book three of the series. For more information, see her website at https://www.donnellannbell.com

 

Clicking Our Heels – Blurbing, Reviewing, Writing, and Reading – The Balancing Act

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Clicking Our Heels – Blurbing, Reviewing, Writing, and Reading – The Balancing Act

Authors are often asked to blurb or review books. At the same time, they often are working against deadlines or on schedules in terms of their own writing, pleasure reading, and lives.. The question becomes how to balance all of these things? Today, the Gang shares its thoughts on the great balancing act.

 Saralyn Richard – This is a hard question to answer, because I don’t do a very good job of balancing. Deadlines are game-changers, and they wreak havoc with my best-planned schedules for reading and writing.

Linda Rodriguez – I have to do a lot of reading for work, since I do editorial work and developmental editing. Balancing the books I read for those, the books I read to blurb, the books I read for research for current fiction and nonfiction work and any reading for pleasure is difficult. I do a lot of reading for pleasure in the middle of the night when I’m up with pain or other illness problems, so that’s one help.

Lois Winston – I don’t make promises. I always tell authors I will try to find time. Most of the time, I do, but this way I have an out if I’m too swamped. I don’t want to hurt another author’s feelings by making a promise I can’t keep.

Debra H. Goldstein – I set priorities and try to accomplish everything, but in doing so, I recognize that there are times personal desires fall by the wayside.

Dru Ann Love – If I’m asked to do a blurb, it’s usually a book that I plan to read for pleasure.

Debra Sennefelder – Writing always comes first. Then I’ll work out how to manage the to-be read books. When I’m asked to read a book for a blurb or review, I work it into my reading schedule. Luckily, those books are books I’ve wanted to read anyway.

Donnell Ann Bell – I’ve blurbed two books this year, so that hasn’t been that time-consuming, and I enjoyed both. I read for pleasure late at night, which means that I’m slow because daylight comes much too early.

Shari Randall/Meri Allen – I’m always honored when friends ask me to blurb their books. It means I get an early read! But it’s difficult to fit in extra reading with all the writing I do (and my three book club books a month) so it’s gotten too difficult to fit into my schedule.

Kathryn Lane – I feel honored when I’m asked to write a blurb. Reading the book is a pleasure, it’s writing the blurb that’s difficult! I’m still working on balancing my reading and writing activities!!

T.K. Thorne – I will only blurb a book I truly enjoyed. Funny, when I was working, I dreamed of being able to write full time. Now that I am a full-time writer, I dream of reading books for pleasure!

Mary Lee Ashford – It’s such a compliment to be asked and so hard to say no when you get a request to provide a blurb for another author’s book, especially when it’s an author whose work you admire. However, this is a case where I just have to be practical and really look at whether there’s the time in my schedule to read the book and write the blurb or review within the timeframe. If there is time in my schedule, I’m always thrilled to be able to do it!

 

 

 

 

 

TO PROMOTE OR NOT PROMOTE

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By AB Plum

With the advent of a new year, who better to paraphrase than the Bard himself?

Promoting is much on my mind in these early days of 2018. I haven’t yet finished my 2018 Marketing Plan. Part of me hates, loathes, and cannot stand having to spend writing time on finding reviews, placing ads, and figuring out new ways to get discovered by readers inundated by newsletters for the latest book promotion.

As a matter of full disclosure, I hop on cross-author/genre promotion bandwagons every chance I get. Local newspapers and national magazines have whittled away their book sections so I’m grateful for those authors who manage to host new offerings. Still …

How much of every day did the Bard spend much time “promoting”? How about Charles Dickens—he, who penned (by hand) 5,000 words a day? According to this same source, Barbara Cartland wrote 6,000 words daily. Stephen King’s a slacker with his per diem output of 2,000 words.

How could they possibly have spent any time promoting their books? Did they write in their sleep?

These questions bring up the issue of time management—a subject I find too personal to share publicly. Once, long ago, I was a veritable Little Red Hen. Somewhere, I took a wrong turn and no longer plant, harvest, bake the bread, and read a book a day. 

Before anyone reminds me that promoting goes with the territory of writing, I admit I know this. If I made New Year’s resolutions, I’d resolve to stop whining, adjust my ‘tude and get with the program.

I don’t make resolutions, but I understand I’m wasting my energy, spinning my wheels, ranting over the foregone: YES! To write for an audience carries the need to promote. NO! To write for myself, no need to do anything but write.

’nuf said.



***
Living off the fast lane in Silicon Valley, AB Plum loves her writing life–even the promo activities which challenge her brain and imagination most days. Check out her latest novel, The Dispensable Wife here. Coming later this month: the box set for The MisFit Series. Notice that not very subtle way she plugged two offerings at once.















The Flying of Time

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by J.M. Phillippe

There comes a point in a new position where everything begins to feel routine. Where the schedule is pretty locked in, the tasks rote, and the days start to blend together. I always worry when this happens, because as the weeks whirl into months, I feel my life passes before my eyes at an almost numbing speed. I become complacent.

Writing is the only thing that seems to help keep the flying of time in check, because it is a measurable use of time. Most of my tasks disappear, as it were, by the next week. As a therapist, I see the same people over and over again, marking their progress with notes written weekly and treatment plans written every three months. But the progress in therapy is sometimes is small, and hard to see from week to week, like tracking the growth of a child. You know they are growing, but it takes a while to actually see it.

At the breakneck speed of a mental health clinic where I see clients one right after another, with one short break midway through a stretch of 9 clients in a row, it’s hard to spend a lot of time processing each session to look for those moments of growth or change. Each week picks up on the topics of the previous, so it feels sometimes like I am binging other people’s lives.

And it sometimes feels like in doing so I am neglecting my own. Again, writing is one of the few things that keeps me grounded in my own goals and dreams, and helps me see my own growth. I can see the pages that mark the passing of time, see the drafts build, one on another, and when I hit that final draft, have an actual product to give people that is a physical manifestation of “how I used my time.”

However, I struggle to make time for writing. It often comes after — after work, after chores, after general life maintenance. It’s been hard to put writing first. When I look back over a stretch of time and see how few pages I have to show for that period of time, I know my priorities have drifted away from me, and that my routine has taken over.

You’d think that the natural thing to do is to make writing part of that routine, and that has always been my goal. But with so little time, and so many other things going on, it continues to be very hard to make the kind of dedicated writing time I want. I end up getting snatches of time here and there, which never seem to let me get to the place I want to get to, where the words just flow and the story takes over. That is what I miss, more than anything, when I say I miss writing. I miss being a conduit instead of a work horse. I miss feeling inspired instead of feeling obligated. I miss getting quality time with my own imaginary adventures.

So, now that I see that my time management has gotten away from me, it’s time to make adjustments and put writing back up on the priority list. I know doing that though means that some other things may start to slide. There simply just isn’t enough time for everything. I have to use the time I have better.

***

J.M. Phillippe is the author of Perfect Likeness and the short story The Sight. She has lived in the deserts of California, the suburbs of Seattle, and the mad rush of New York City. She works as a family therapist in Brooklyn, New York and spends her free-time decorating her tiny apartment to her cat Oscar Wilde’s liking, drinking cider at her favorite British-style pub, and training to be the next Karate Kid, one wax-on at a time.

Clicking Our Heels – As Writers, What’s Difficult or Easy to Address

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Clicking
Our Heels – As Writers, What’s Difficult or Easy to Address

Jennae Phillippe – Lately I’ve been
thinking a lot about representation in fiction; while I want to be inclusive in
my writing, I am terrified of being insulting or stereotyping, and yet I want
to write about people other than cisgendered straight white women. I tend to
rely heavily on my friends and their experiences, but I also feel a bit like a
story vampire, sucking their experiences from them to make my own characters
live. I am fortunate enough to have friends that are willing to share with me.

Bethany Maines – As in life, in
writing addressing emotions and complex moral decisions are the hardest things
for me to address. The easiest is action – getting from point A to point B is
so much easier to consider than grief or justice.

Paula Gail Benson – The most
difficult is writing onstage, in front of the readers’ eyes violence. The
easiest, happiest, and most wonderful is thanking fellow writers and readers
for their support and kindness.

Kay Kendall – The hardest thing I do
is to write the first draft of a manuscript. The easiest is to write the
conclusion. I also love working with an editor and perfecting things. Pulling
out the first draft, thought…UGH. Major ughs.

Paffi S. Flood – The most difficult
thing I address as a writer is slowing down a scene to allow the reader to
become fully engrossed in the emotional aspects of it. The easiest for me is
coming up with a premise. I have tons of them.

Kimberly Jayne – The biggest
challenge I face as a writer is time; I don’t have enough of it. So many

things
need to be done when you’re a writer, and most of those things are not even
about writing. They’re about marketing. For the writing, itself, the challenge
is keeping at it (butt in chair) even when you’re too beat to type another
word. Distractions and stressors from all aspects of my life can create general
fatigue that wears you down over time, and making myself go into my writing
space and do the work is sometimes asking too much. So, finding ways to
re-motivate, re-inspire, and re-energize is key. I guess the easiest thing is
editing. I do it enough, all day every day, that it’s quick and easy for me. I
also enjoy plotting with story boards – that’s pretty fun and easy to
brainstorm.

Linda Rodriguez – The most difficult
thing for me in writing is plotting – that’s why I had to research and teach
myself a way of plotting that worked with my strong points. The easiest thing
for me in writing is character development. I can hear a name or see a stranger
in a coffee shop and begin developing an entire life, personality, and
background. I love to go deeper and deeper into characters.

Debra H. Goldstein – My biggest
difficulty is writing if I don’t have anything to say. Until an idea crystallizes,
I’m not inclined to sit down at my computer. Once I have the triggering idea or
phrase, words flow. They might not end up in the final manuscript because
they’re dull, were written to get through a moment of blockage, or are
repetitive, but there is an ease and joy as they fill the page.

Cathy Perkins – Right now, the
hardest thing for me is time management, which rather baffles me since I’ve
always been the “get ‘er done!” person. Rocking the exploding day job and
building a custom house might be a factor in that J. The easiest? I love
making up new characters and seeing what kind of trouble I can get them in –
and out – of.

Sparkle Abbey – The most difficult
is time management. It seems like there are simply never enough hours in the
day! As far as the writing itself, we both plot out our stories before we write
them and although we love that process, we’d have to say it never seems to get
any easier. The most fun part for us is the revision/layering part once a first
draft is complete. And, of course, meeting readers. Meeting readers is awesome!

Rocking the Day Job

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By Cathy Perkins
Waving from warm, sunny Orlando today. Quite a change from
last month’s endless snow.

photo by Cathy PerkinsI wish I could say I’m on vacation. Instead, I’m rocking the
day job, teaching at my firm’s management school and taking a (shh! really
boring) mandatory class, made bearable by my peers (who also have to take it).
This week made me think about careers and balancing. I know
authors who have ditched their day job to write full time. Many others are like
me—working full time at a job that pays the bills and offers health insurance.
Since it’s the season to count your blessings and make plans for the new year,
I’ll start with gratitude I have an interesting job that sends me money twice a
month. J
Layer in writing, volunteers gigs, and the rest of my life,
however, and it’s a lot of balls to keep in the air. Over the past few weeks,
I’ve read a number of blog posts talking about time management and work/life
balance. While I try to implement some of the tips, consistently, the best advice I’ve received is “write every day.” Even
if it’s only a line or two, put those words on the page first thing in the
morning. Otherwise, the day’s demands can catch up (and overwhelm) leaving
you exhausted at the end of the day.  Creative energy? What’s that? As much as I hate to admit it, I find if I get
out of the “habit” of writing, days or weeks can slide past.
photo by Cathy Perkins
What about you? Are you rocking the day job? Writing full
time? Balancing other commitments? 

What’s your best advice for maintaining
balance or finding time to write?

Oh. And the deer came over to welcome me home to the snow.  

Me Time

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by Bethany Maines

The problem with releasing books on a schedule is that now
I’m writing on a schedule. But you know, not actually. Because actually writing
would require me to solve the plot problem that I’m stuck at, stop this
blogging nonsense and get back to writing the novel, for work to stop coming
along like a freight train, and for my family to stop wanting to see me. Except
for the plot issue, none of that seems likely to happen.  How do you write when life is full of
time constraints?
I have one author/mom friend who stole an hour to go write
at the library only to discover it was closed and instead of going home again,
she sat in the parking lot and sucked their wi-fi and worked on her
laptop.  And I’m typing this from
the couch as I woke up an hour early to sneak time to write before the wee
monster (aka the lawn ornament aka Salazar the Destroyer aka Zoe) wakes up.
Writing was so much easier when I was single and living in my parents upstairs.
I would sneak down, get food, and retreat to my computer to make up an excitingworld about a girl who becomes a spy when she can’t find a job in her chosen field.  Not that anyone ever had
that daydream.  Ahem.  Moving on. 

My point is, I may be a happier, more well-rounded
individual with family and what not, but all those pleasant mental-health
balancing things suck up time (with little adorable faces). Now writing is
something that I have to fight for. 
It’s a new and somewhat uncomfortable position to be in, because writing
was always something that I did for me. But now “me things” are taking up time
where family and friends and work things also need time. It’s hard to find the
right mix and it’s almost impossible to keep everyone happy.  But I still keep trying because I think
that me things are what make me who I am. 
Now if only me could come up with a solution to that stupid plot
problem…
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, Tales from the City of Destiny and An Unseen Current.  You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Spring Has Come – Time for a New Resolution by Debra H. Goldstein

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SRING HAS COME – TIME FOR A NEW RESOLUTION by Debra H. Goldstein

The snow is melting!  The snow is melting! Spring is here!  There’s actually a jonquil popping its head up in my yard (sorry guys, we’ve had some 60-70 degree days).  As a writer, I am reborn when the sun comes out.

With rebirth comes a new sense of responsibility.  It is one that I have been sorely lacking since I stepped down from the bench.  It is the willingness to commit my time and energies where my mouth has claimed to be.  Sure, I’ve produced one sold book (Should Have Played Poker: a Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Players Mystery coming from Five Star Publications in 2016) and ten published short stories in the past sixteen months, but I’ve done that writing in spurts.  I’ve repeatedly said, I can’t discipline myself enough to write daily but I write up a storm when the mood moves me.  In the meantime, I’ve organized and executed a wedding for 326 people, gotten into a regular mah jongg game, been active on many civic boards, taken on numerous isolated projects, traveled for pleasure and writing, and been hit by the biggest continuing wallop when I lost my mother in November.

People tell me they’re amazed at what I’ve accomplished and I smile and accept their nice words, but deep down, I know I am a fraud.  Secretly, I watch with envy and astonishment the accomplishments of three somewhat early in their career authors whose work I enjoy and who I greatly admire as people – Edith Maxwell, Leslie Budewitz, and Terry Shames.  Each has produced multiple books and in Edith and Leslie’s cases, multiple series, in the same time period.  They also do a million things outside of their writing.  What’s the difference?

Don’t even go there with the obvious answer – their talent, writing skills, and wonderful characterizations.  Leaving those givens aside for a moment, it is their discipline.  Each sets a daily or weekly word goal and they reach it.  They set further goals for revisions.  Their results speak for themselves – well written, well-edited books they can be proud to put their names on and which fans, including me, can’t wait to read.

Many of us can string words together, but without self-discipline we are condemned to be writers of excuses instead of multiple works.  Spring is here and with the rebirth of the year, we all have an opportunity to start anew.

Time Management for Writers

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by  Linda Rodriquez

In my former life, I ran a very
successful university women’s center. I was famous for my time management and
organizational skills—and not just on campus. I was fairly well-known in Kansas
City because of the many public programs I organized and led and the numerous
organizations with which I collaborated and partnered. People often remarked
that they couldn’t understand how I could keep track of so many events and
activities and accomplish so many things.

I was extremely organized,
and my family and I lived and died by my DayTimer. That was part of the answer,
but the other, hidden part was the number of nights I stayed up until 3:00
a.m., finishing some project before getting up again at 5:30 a.m. to put myself
together and attend an early breakfast event or meeting to start my workday of
10-12 hours. Eventually, when I developed several serious autoimmune disorders
I could no longer keep up that kind of schedule.
Now, I write for a living. Writing
is my job, as running the women’s center once was. But I seem to have lost all
those fabulous time management and organizational skills. Not only do we no
longer live and die by my DayTimer in this family, I’d be hard put to lay my
hands on it. After several years of serious and scary debility before doctors
diagnosed and found proper treatment for me, my house has never been the same,
smooth-running, well-organized place it once was. Some things I regularly did
to keep it humming along I can simply no longer physically accomplish.
My biggest problem in the time
management area is managing to balance the writing of books with all the online
and in-person promotion of books that is required of us today. If I overdo
building the “platform” my publisher would like to see, my writing time
suffers, but if I don’t do enough of the promotion, my sales suffer. I don’t
have an answer, but I’ve learned to make writing the first thing I do in my
work hours. Once I ensure that my current book-in-progress is going well, I can
schedule in promotion activities for the rest of my time. When I follow that
simple principle, I feel that my writing life is in balance. When I get
sidetracked and don’t, I begin to feel out of whack and overwhelmed.
What are your tips? How do you
manage your writing and promotion time? How do you organize your life to keep
that balance? Or don’t you?

Time Management–What’s That?

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Anyone else have trouble managing their time and getting everything done that they wanted to do?

I used to be much better at it than I am now and that’s when I ran, owned and lived in a home for 6 developmentally disabled women. Besides cooking, planning activities, doing laundry, taking people to the doctor, and tons of paperwork, I also wrote five days a week for at least 4 hours. I would edit what I wrote after I went to bed. Weekends were devoted to the women. (They went off to workshops during the week and were gone from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

I still get up early and get to work before I eat breakfast, but I can’t seem to get nearly as much done as I used to. Part of the reason I think is because of blogging and other promotion on the Internet that wasn’t available back then. Of course I was using the computer and the Net because it helped with what I did for my residents. I went to bed early back then (sometimes before the gals did) and I still go to bed early.

I know I spend far too much time on Facebook, but I don’t want to just be promoting on it, I want people to know me as a real person. Besides, all my relatives and friends are on there too and I love keeping up with what everyone is doing.

My daughter-in-law helps with most of the housework, though I still do the laundry (only have to do it a couple of times a week these days–not 4 or 5 loads a day like I once did), and I still do a lot of cooking and have many people sitting around the dinner table. (I have no clue how to cook for only two.)

Somehow, though I should have more time, it seems the hours are no longer 60 minutes but they’ve managed to shrink somehow.

I still write lists as I’ve always done, but I don’t seem to be able to get through everything I’ve listed before the end of the day.

Anyone have any great tips? (Oh, back in the day, I watched two soap operas in the day time, now I watch General Hospital once in awhile.) My mind is mush by evening, so I don’t usually do any work then.

What I really need is the discipline to write first and then check my email and Facebook.

Marilyn