The book is turned in. On Time. Thanks to a marathon writing spree in which I set almost everything aside to Get The Work Done. While writing, I spurred myself on with fleeting fantasies about all the ways I would reward myself when the book was finished. You can read about that here.
What I’ve discovered instead is that all those things I set aside are still waiting for me. A huge disorganized pile of them!
Some are writing-related. I have the copy-edited manuscript for A Not So Respectable Gentleman? to go through, due on Monday. I had the Art Fact Sheet to fill out for the Marquess and Governess story (the Art Fact Sheet is a form we fill out that eventually goes to the cover artists so that they can decide what to put on the cover). I have books to send to a contest I entered and contest prizes to send, as well. The website to attend to. This blog.
Some of my neglected chores are home-related. Paying bills. Getting ready for taxes. Cleaning up the book room. Some are health-related. Schedule a physical, eye exam, and all those other pesky exams we need.
For a moment last evening I felt a wave of panic. I suddenly remembered that I needed to do something by a certain date and thought I’d forgotten it (I didn’t). Thinking of that one thing led to all the other things and before I knew it, I was feeling panicked.
My thought for the day is that it is so easy to feel overwhelmed and disorganized. I think I need to make better use of To Do lists and reminder alerts. Luckily computers and smart phones have lots of options for such things. I just need to use them!
What do you do when things pile up on you? Do you have a technique to keep organized? Please share!
(When I was doing my Art Fact Sheet, I came across this image. I thought it was charming, so I’m sharing it here. It looks like a device to assist a lady across a street without getting her shoes or skirts muddy.)
Yahoo emails to myself. Post the deadline in the calendar, and I frequently ask for two reminders. I even keep track of sales items like milk. I shop the same day, every week. Routines are helpful. Anyway, today milk was less, so I put a note in the event I have posted at the Yahoo calender, and I moved it to next Tuesday. I know when it’s gone on sale for the past year. I keep track in the notes when I defrost my fridge, and then move it out to the next planned day, which is flexible. I just opened new mascara, and yes I put a date in the notes and rescheduled it for three months from now, so I remember to throw the old one out and open a new one. Then there’s the paper that needs recycling. Great for short-term notes like grocery lists. I have notes about anything needing to be done on a regular basis or annually. If it’s annually, you can only have one reminder day, so I choose the one more helpful. Good luck catching up.
I’m in awe, Judy! You must get so much done by being so efficient!
I share your panic, but have no accomplishment to blame it on. We have been renovating our house for too many years and it is amazing how you can get used to a mess. You have an excuse. All of a sudden there are piles of boxes and stuff all over the place. Part of it is stuff we couldn’t put away because the place to put it wasn’t finished. Now the spot is finished, but we can’t find what goes there. Many boxes are books that I will read some day. I have discovered that when you pull boxes out to sort, the mess gets bigger.
I have been making lists forever. They do help. They keep me focused and help me prioritize. I have files to sort and store things in. I often use flats (shallow cardboard boxes) to sort incoming mail. Junk mail gets recycled. The stuff my husband needs to look at goes in one. Stuff I need to think about goes in another. Stuff that needs to be filed in another. I try to pay the bills as soon as they come in. That way they don’t get lost in the shuffle or forgotten. I have calendars all over the house and carry one with me. The problem is, every thing i set up to keep things organized is one more thing that is cluttering up the house.
We are actually making some progress on getting rid of stuff, so hopefully we won’t feel so overwhelmed. It can prevent you from getting anything done. No matter where I start, I feel I should be doing something else.
I certainly do know how one can get so used to a mess that you don’t see it. Then someone is coming to visit and you suddenly look at it with new eyes.
All I can say about throwing stuff away is to be ruthless. It’s the only way.
I do the same as Judy, though I use Google Calendar instead of Yahoo. I schedule things like stops along my blog tours or features I’m having on my website, appearances, or other biz-related stuff and set it to give me a 24 hour reminder notice.
And I have a daily and weekly to-do list. And – my Master Plan *laughs insanely.* The Plan has a lot of my major goals and some of the other ideas I have. I keep a printed copy beside my computer to keep me on track, because sometimes there are just too many ideas and I lose track. This way if an advertising slot opens on a site I have in my Plan or something similar, I check the Plan to see what notes I have on it.:-)
Despite these measures,I still manage to lose track of things from time to time. Haha!
Lizzy
I am deeply impressed, Lizzy!!!!
Good to hear from you. Hope you are doing well.