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Thanks to my teaching background I’m a stickler for schedules.–show up one minute late to pick up your kiddies from the library and you’ve shifted the entire school day.
Writing from home where I’m only accountable to ME has greatly increased this need for a plan.
That’s why I keep a planner. I have one of those large daily/monthly planners for students–yes, I like to write in longhand–where I have plenty of room to fill my day with everything from dentist appointments and paying the bills, to writing to word counts and visiting the local library.
My planner keeps me:
accountable–at the end of the day/week I look back to celebrate accomplishments and make changes for new attempts the following day/week.
motivated–writing alone, day after day, can be frustrating. I jot down small goals along the way to keep me going as I head toward the big goal–a finished manuscript.
prioritized–if not for the planner, I’d drown in a heap of work– I can easily become consumed by thoughts and new ideas. Knowing that I’ve planned out plenty of work time throughout the week, I’m able to take more time to relax and enjoy the other things in life–LIVING– so that when I do sit down to write I’m able to breathe real life onto the page.
For me, I like things neat and tidy. The planner provides a little of that to my hectic life. Does my schedule always work? No way! In fact, most days are left with something to push forward to the next.
But I have a plan. I’ve set goals, decided on the best way to accomplish each, and scheduled time to make attempts at reaching toward them. And little by little, I make my way toward the finish line.
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