Time Management 101: Deadlines
How to handle deadlines!
1. My family used to MOAN during deadline month. They basically never saw Mom. For the last few books I’ve been trying spread out the deadlines. I schedule in daily writing times for every project through the months, and I do my best to meet those goals. If I can accomplish this it’s not as stressful in the last month before deadline.
2. I also work in magazine deadlines. (Again looking at my schedule, I figure about eight hours per article on average, and make space.) If I’m asked to write an article, I realistically look at my schedule. If I can’t do it, I decline.
3. I occasionally will go away with a friend to write for a few days. Next week I’ll be going for four days. I get a TON of writing done if that’s all I have to focus on.
4. I work on a weekly schedule, but daily I ask myself, “What is the most important thing I need to accomplish today?” And I do that first. I then rearrange my daily schedule according to my “most important stuff,” because there are ALWAYS things that come up. I like my electronic calendar because I just click and drag to move stuff around.
5. I also “schedule in” ideas … book ideas, article ideas, marketing ideas. I create a “slot” on my calendar and plug those in. It gets them off my mind until I’m ready for them.
6. If I feel the Holy Spirit laying something heavy on my heart … I will ignore my schedule and follow that leading. In fact, most of my book proposals come from this. If I feel something strong on my heart I ask myself, “Will I be disobedient if I don’t follow this leading, at this time?” If I feel “yes,” then I’ll work on it … even if I had the day scheduled for something else. If I feel “no,” then I’ll jot a note to myself and keep going with what I had planned.
