Are your to-do lists out of control? Do you struggle to accomplish all that you want in a day? You’re not alone. We all want to be more organized and productive. That’s where a little multi-tasking and purposeful planning go a long way.
I recently listened to a podcast for indie authors promoting the crucial steps of what it takes to grow an audience and create a successful book launch. What I learned is that I have direly neglected the “business” side of my writing because there never seems to be enough hours in the day.
But success is about managing details.
We romanticize the idea of writing as a simple process of authors magically pouring words out onto pages. While part of the writing process is indeed magical, it is more complicated than it appears, and takes an enormous amount of time; months or even a year or more, to write the gem you read. And during the hundreds of hours spent crafting that novel, there are an infinite amount of other details demanding attention. A lot of constant juggling goes on behind the scenes.
For writers, there are large chunks of time spent on tasks such as:
• Editing/Revisions
• Cover creation
• Blog writing
• Newsletters
• Social media maintenance
• Platform building
• E-book formatting
• SEO keywords
• Marketing
• And on and on and on
Those tasks are just the tip of the iceberg at which I have been chipping away. It’s the not so glamorous side of the job I never knew or thought about, and it’s mind boggling.
Time management, making boundaries, and being effective are difficult concepts to stick to when the distractions of life are bombarding you at every turn. Working twenty-four hours a day is not an option, and long days are stressful for everyone, especially those raising a family.
To keep me on my writing path, and reduce some of my stress, I am creating a long-term “content calendar” to organize my goals, boost my productivity in all the right areas, and help me make a conscious effort to prioritize my daily tasks. 
As I fill my calendar with months’ worth of scheduled details and deadlines, I am holding myself accountable, forcing myself to be more efficient.
Pre-planning is the current trend right now, and for a good reason, it works. From all the hundreds of websites and Facebook pages promoting life hacks, weight loss, and even freezer meals, they all have one premise — being organized makes life simple. It saves time, gives direction, and helps limit chaos from day to day.
For me, it’s all about streamlining the numerous demands on my attention so I can carve out the necessary time to foster a connection with readers often and get my stories out on time. I must create, and take advantage of, every opportunity I can give myself to become a more recognized name in the author world. After all, I am competing with thousands of other voices vying for your attention.
Thanks to my bullet-listed, ink covered calendar, I will be able to provide more consistent blog posts, a monthly newsletter with exclusive insider content for subscribers, more sharing of information I’ve learned about the craft and other authors, fun extras, and so much more, all while actually meeting my book deadlines!
• What goals do you have for yourself and your detailed “to-do” lists?
• How can you do more in a day?
If you have an organizational time tip we can all benefit from, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.
Here’s hoping we can all gracefully juggle our full plates and manage to keep them in the air.
P.S. To get my monthly newsletter (mentioned above), chock full of exclusive insider information, you can subscribe here.