Category: Uncategorized

Single-Tasking for Productivity

Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

Stressed woman puts both hands to her head as the post title "Single-Tasking for Productivity" is superimposed on the top.

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I used to think that I was a fairly adept multitasker, as long as one of the tasks was something completely mindless (I could stir things in a pot and make a list at the same time.  I could vacuum and brainstorm).  But after instances  where I’ve spattered supper on the stove and vacuumed up things that weren’t supposed to be vacuumed, I’ve come to the realization that I really shouldn’t multitask at all.

I’ve made an effort to dial it back and become more effective at focusing on a single task.

Is it really multitasking?

In the article “Brain, Interrupted” by New York Time columnists Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson, they stated:

In fact, multitasking is a misnomer. In most situations, the person juggling e-mail, text messaging, Facebook and a meeting is really doing something called “rapid toggling between tasks,” and is engaged in constant context switching.

The danger in this, as stated in the article, is that we may never really return to the main task we needed to work on.  The other tasks act as distractions … or maybe, more accurately, deterrents…to our productivity.Continue reading

Calendars for Productivity

Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

Woman in a blue top holds a monthly calendar and the post title, "Calendars for Productivity" is superimposed on the top.

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Happy 2018!

I’m never much of a fan of resolutions, but I do like making sure at the beginning of each year that I’m organized.

With that in mind, here are the calendars that help me stay organized and on top of everything for the year.  Since a writer’s life intersects with their homelife, there are also calendars listed that help organize my personal life.  If both parts of my life are organized, there’s a hope of retaining writing life-personal life balance.

Production calendar for publishing

You don’t have to overthink this, and it can always be changed!  Plan what you want to accomplish for the year: one book?  More?  Then pencil in those dates on your calendar for completion.  Even better, get on your cover designer’s, freelance editor’s, and formatter’s calendars.  Now you have something to work toward.

My cover designer always designs a book ahead for me.  This ensures that I don’t run into any scheduling snags.  (I do have to write back cover copy for a book that I haven’t written yet.)

Editorial calendar for blog (I use OneNote)

I used to put my blog’s editorial calendar on my Google calendar, but I found it more difficult to see upcoming posts and to make date changes.  Now I use a page in OneNote (you could just as easily use Word).

Again, try not to overthink this.  This is simply a place where I can list ideas for posts and resources to write them (or at least a note as to where my mind was going when I came up with the idea in the first place).  I list all the dates that I blog and then put the ideas/blog titles beside them.  This way I never feel as if I’m at a loss for what to post.Continue reading

Creating ‘Best of 2017 Tweets’ Posts

Promo Tips, Uncategorized

Man standing on mountain top with arms stretched out and post title, "Creating 'Best of 2017 Tweets' Posts" is superimposed on the top.

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I posted on this last year, but I thought it was worth another mention.  If you’re on Twitter, it’s pretty easy to find your best-performing tweets of the year and retweet them (I like to add a hashtag like ‘TopTweets2017′).

There are a few good things about doing this.  For one,  you can revisit content that’s proven popular for your followers on Twitter.  For another, if you share other authors’ posts, it gives you the opportunity to highlight their content again, providing networking, along with goodwill.  It can also be nice to stay active on social media during the holidays without being constantly online…simply schedule your top tweets using a service like Hootsuite or Buffer.Continue reading

Tips for Making Writing a Habit

Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

Man is writing in a notebook on a table. The post title, Tips for Making a Writing Habit" is superimposed on the top.

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

One of the hardest things about writing is the sitting down and doing it.  Usually, once you start, it gets a little easier from there.

Building a habit of writing is one way to be more productive.  When writing becomes a natural part of your day, it makes the process that much easier.

At this point, writing has become almost like muscle memory to me.  The stories are all different, but the process is the same.  I may not feel an ounce of inspiration when I sit down at my computer, but soon I’m getting caught up in my story again.Continue reading

Tips for Better To-Do Lists

Tools for Writers, Uncategorized

Shows to-do list in the background. List states "to do....everything!" and has a stickman holding his head. The post title, "Tips for Better To-Do Lists' is superimposed on the top.

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I have become something of a to-do list aficionado.  I’ve been religiously using lists since having children.  That’s over 20 years of list making.

I’ve changed the way I’ve handled lists over the years and have adapted other people’s methods into my own process.   I frequently return to an article written by Eric Barker for Time Magazine: “The Morning Routine Experts Recommend for Peak Productivity.”   It makes a lot of sense to me, from the ‘magic hours’  to the ‘starting ritual,’ to the ‘3 things that matter today.’

The low-tech list: For a while I was using an app to help me prioritize (135 List, which is free and works well for anyone trying to get in a habit of prioritizing). Now I’ve made the process even simpler.  I have a Notepad (digital…comes with PCs) text file saved for every day of the week:  Monday To-Do, Tuesday To-Do, etc.  I put the three big things I most want to accomplish at the top. Then I put the things that could be shifted to another day’s list at the bottom.  If errands are on my list, I copy-paste the list to my online calendar.  At the end of the day, whatever didn’t get accomplished is portioned out to the following day (or other days, if the next day is too busy).

Reevaluate the list in the afternoon: I realized 4 years ago that one list per day wasn’t really going to cut it for me anymore.  I needed to reevaluate in the early afternoon because some things became less-important and some things became more pressing.  This way, I’m still being thoughtful about my list and my tasks and not simply reacting to things that pop up. But I’m also incorporating things that pop up (sometimes they are important and need immediate attention).

Set timers to avoid a time-suck…or procrastination:   I use timers a lot: both for writing and promo.  I just type ‘set timer for 7 minutes’ into Google and let my computer keep track.  Timers work well for me for two reasons: one, it helps me avoid procrastination. If I know I need to update my website, seeing that I’ve allotted ten minutes for the task makes it a lot less-daunting.  Another reason timers work well for me is that they help keep me on task and focused.

Don’t  turn your list into a braindump:  There is definitely a place for an all-inclusive list…a braindump of a list that includes writing, promo, blogging, the dog’s vet checkup, Christmas shopping, etc.  But my advice is to have that master list separate from your to-do list.  The whole idea is to make the daily list manageable and approachable.   Then work in tasks from the master list to the daily list (breaking them down into bite-sized bits, if needed).

Are you a list person?  How do you set up your lists?

Tips for a better to-do list: Click To Tweet

Photo credit: john.schultz via Visualhunt / CC BY-SA

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