You Tell Me....

What are some of your favorite organizational tools for writing? 

I always get a little giddy when I get new office supplies. Notebooks, gel pens, push pins, file boxes, paper clips *happy sigh* And they've got the CUTEST stuff nowadays! I'm also a fan of spread sheets, lists, and outlines and am hoping the Easter Bunny brings me Scrivener this year :D

What sorts of things do you have in your arsenal?

Empress Procrastination Tries to Manage Her Time

Every human being has exactly the same amount of time, and yet consider the output of Robert Louis Stevenson, John Peabody Harrington, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Goldman, Neil Simon, Joyce Carol Oates, Agatha Christie, and John Gardner. How did they accomplish what they have? They weren't deflected from their priorities by activities of lesser importance. The work continues, even though everything else may have to give. They know that their greatest resource is themselves. Wasting time is wasting themselves. When people ask them, "Where do you find the time?" they wonder, "Where do you lose it?"

~ Kenneth Atchity

Time management is something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Frankly, I suck at it. I'm a very organized person in theory, but the execution of it lacks a bit at times. I really work best under a deadline. When I have a deadline, I have no excuse to put things off (I am the EMPRESS of Procrastination). When I have a deadline, I let nothing get in my way. I stay up late, wake up early, spend every waking minute working on my project to get it done. Without a deadline...I sort of end up like this:

So, I've set up a schedule for myself. We'll see how it goes. I tend to not stick to these things very long. But I have eternal hope :D

I am a stay-at-home mom with two kids who are now both in school full time. I know I have the hours in the day to do everything I want (most of the time). So I should be accomplishing a lot, right? I mean, I should be churning out a new novel every other month and my house should always be spotless, shouldn't it?

So why is everything, including my novels, laying around half done? Honestly, I have no idea. It's like spending $100 out shopping and having nothing to show for it. I will admit, that despite my best intentions, I often find myself during my child free hours, simply staring off into space, or cruising the blogs and tweets, or cuddled up on the couch with some hot coco and one of the many shows I've recorded over the week but haven't gotten around to watching. Often, even writing just sounds like too much work and all I want to do is vegetate.

And I really need to stop beating myself up over that. Heck, everyone needs a break...especially stay at home moms :D But, I could be managing my time better. And since I have several projects that I really REALLY want to get done in the next month or so, I have put myself on a schedule that should, if I follow it, allow me to accomplish what I want to in my personal endeavors, and still enable me to take care of my home and family in the way that I want.

I write best when I am alone and it is quiet, usually in the mornings...but I have also discovered that if I get all the house chores done first thing in the morning, my day goes much smoother. I seem to have more time to do everything else, and I am much less stressed going about the rest of my day. So I have decided to sacrifice a bit of my "me" time every morning to get the things done around the house that need doing. If I can stay on top of things, the chores should only take an hour or so a day...which leaves me plenty of time to squeeze in a few miles at the track, run all my errands and still have time to write or watch tv or just stare off into space until my children come home.


So, that is my game plan :D I will manage my time wisely so that I can fit everything into my day that I need, and want, to do.

Does anyone else have a hard time managing their time? Do you find yourself playing online or doing something else when you should be applying those fingers to the keyboard?

Is Chaos Interfering With Your Writing Life?

So how has everyone been doing on their writing goals this month? I was one of those that said I'd finish my first draft for NaNo. It didn't happen. Matter of fact, I barely wrote at all this month. HOWEVER, I feel pretty darn good about what I've gotten done. I've re-claimed my home.

Are you one of those writers that lets your house fall apart all in the name of writing? Well, from personal experience, it is difficult to feel relaxed and creative if you have chaos surrounding you. For my post today, I wanted to encourage you all to re-find your life...your real life, not your imaginary world. Gain control of your environment, then you will be able to focus when you sit down to create your written world. You will be happier. Your family will be happier. You will have balance.

In the past, I've done some home organization with the help of Flylady. She is great for teaching you routines and baby steps. I still use a lot of her helpful hints even when I am not following her advise exclusively. I suggest you check her site out if you haven't already.


Currently, I'm using a more simple way to get my life in order. For several months, I'd given my kids chore charts. (I highly recommend it!) Well, I gave myself a chore chart, as well, and posted it up on the fridge right next to the kid's charts. If I expect my kids to be responsible, then I need to show responsibility myself.

Here is my chart:

As you can see, I've added exercise (blech), studying my bible (Quite time), and WRITING and EDITING. I've made it a PART of my day, instead of making writing encompassing my day. 

My house has never looked this good. Seriously. And all of my chores, once you have the decluttering down (Rooms Rescues), it only takes a few minutes to get that done each day. I feel more at ease when I sit down to write, instead of feeling guilty that I haven't gotten my normal, everyday stuff done.

I am not an organized person by nature, just so you know. And I'm about as un-domestic as one can get. So if I can gain back my house and increase peace in my life, I know you can too.

Now, go do something to balance your life.




NOTE: And don't forget to come back tomorrow and enter our new Mystery Agent Contest. Oliver says that you won't want to miss it.