Tips for Making the Writing Life Less-Stressful

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Although I love what I do and can’t really imagine myself doing anything else, it’s not as if the writing life isn’t stressful.  It’s not all The Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

There are always things that need our attention that compete with writing–kids, our parents, household repairs, jobs, etc.  Then there’s managing daily life: meals, appointments, events.  On top of it all, we need to take care of ourselves (probably the last thing on most of our lists, but one of the most important): exercise, sleep, healthy eating.

Invariably in interviews I’m asked how I manage everything and keep a sense of balance. I know exactly how I manage everything…I’m the queen of organization. I organize things (even other people in my family) within an inch of their lives.  The balance? Well, some days are more balanced than others.

Here are some of my tips for keeping sane as a writer: 

Lists: I’ve talked a lot about my lists and am sure I’ll do it again soon.  It’s what keeps me from completely losing track of everything.  My tools: I use Evernote for recipes (including notes on who liked what and who thought something needed broccoli in it, etc.).  I use Google Keep to remind me of important things (you can set notifications) and to make a menu and shopping list for the week…that way I always have it with me.  I use OneNote  for keeping track of ISBNs, formatting notes, IngramSpark codes, etc.  I also use calendars to keep me organized–more about this, specifically, in a post coming up on Jan. 4.

Batching tasks:  This is just a productivity trick that works well for me.  Once I get my head into a task, it makes sense for me to keep doing it instead of switching to something else or multitasking. So if I write one blog post, it makes sense to write 2 or 3 more. If I am assigning ISBNs for a book, I may as well go ahead and assign them for the next book in another series.  And I always outline the next book in Series A after finishing a book in Series A and before switching over to a book in Series B.

Timers:   I live by my timers because they help get me over that initial I don’t want to do this.  That might be working on my outline for 20 minutes or it might be sitting down and making a list of what’s left to do to get ready for Christmas. My favorite one right now is a Pomodoro-style, free online timer: https://tomato-timer.com   You can change the times in settings.  I have one for 12 minutes, one for 10 minutes, and one for 5 minutes.

My approach to things that might be procrastinated:   I take the most important (or most dreaded) tasks of the day and get them out of the way the very first thing.  For me, it’s writing and exercise.  Some people call this ‘eating the frog first.’

Planning for the week ahead:  On Sundays, I take a look at my calendar for the week and get a sense of what’s ahead.  This is also when I plan my menus for the week and make a grocery list.

Paperwork:  Taxes aren’t fun.  I have a CPA to help me now because my taxes started getting confusing five years ago.  Through the year, whenever I have a writing-related expense (this could be postage to mail books…and the gas it took to drive to the post office, pro-level software for tools like Hootsuite and Feedly, cover design, website support, etc.), I add it to a special folder. It also helps that I have a bank account solely for my writing business and can see deposits and withdrawals there.

Saying no:  I used to rarely say no to opportunities, maybe fearing I wouldn’t get more offers.  But this past year I’ve been asked to do any number of things and turned them down in favor of writing (and working on all the other things I’m juggling).

These are just a few ways that I try to keep my life from getting too hectic…what are some of yours?

Photo credit: kennethkonica on Visual Hunt / CC BY-ND