How would YOU clear this schedule?

Comments

147 responses to “How would YOU clear this schedule?”

1. 

   Andrea

   April 26, 2015

   Holly, you do amazing work and are an inspiration. The thing is, you are a fiction writer, and you teach fiction writing. For us fledgling writers, it’s important that we see you walking the talk, i.e. writing fiction.

   PLEASE, write your stories and publish them. Tell everyone that your top priority is writing fiction, and ask for their understanding, and then get back to your writing. By all means, set aside some time to check in with your students, but set an example for us by writing your fiction.

   Recommended reading: “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown, and “Personal Kanban: Mapping Work, Navigating Life” by Jim Benson & Tonianne DeMaria Barry. Both have helped me, and I was a To Do List junkie.

   We love you and want to see you succeed. Good luck, and hang in there!

   Reply
2. 

   David Larson

   April 26, 2015

   Thank you, Michael E. Henderson. Ditto that.

   Core first.

   Means selling the already written stuff and fulfilling paid contracts [classes]

   At least if you like paying the bills.

   You ‘have to blog’?

   Screw that. You do enough writing already.

   You have a decent voice, you are articulate, you use a webcam already. Just record a few moments of talking to yourself while you’re doing something to your writing.

   “This is me, killing off a character and throwing twenty thousand words away. It hurts like pulling a splinter, and it needs to be done just the same. Tighten up the story, folks.”

   Avid Fan: “Wow, thanks for the lesson, Holly. Great reminder. Here’s some money.”

   No editing or second takes on webcam video. You’re not trying to win an Emmy.

   Reply
3. 

   Kathryn Kistner

   April 26, 2015

   Reading through ALL the comments has been amazingly inspirational. I think it took me 2-3 hours. Thank you Holly… and EVERYONE that commented. I’m so grateful for your contributions.

   I was overwhelmed with the amount of love that poured in from those that commented (sometimes, the harsher, the more love). I was actually moved to tears.

   I was also confronted with my “pantser” approach to LIFE… NOT planning… NOT scheduling… just piddling my life away… NOT getting things done. That made me so sad.

   I can change that. Now that it’s up to ‘consciousness’.

   One of my mantras for DECADES… has been ‘Incompletions drain energy’.

   To me, every ‘incompletion’ feels like spinning plates on tall poles. It takes tons of attention and focus to keep them spinning so they don’t fall and break. That’s why incompletions are so draining. One glitch in attention, and it all falls apart.

   And spinning six plates is infinitely easier than spinning 60 plates… Holly. 😉 <3

   My favorite solution is to spin up to six plates at a time (per day)… and stack the rest of them temporarily. With my ADD-brain, I stack them in a cupboard, behind closed doors, so they don't distract me.

   This made me realize how much MORE I can do than I'm currently doing. Thank you, all.

   Reply
4. 

   David Larson

   April 26, 2015

   Oh, yeah. One more comment.

   Don’t allow yourself to believe life owes you 300 years because your to-do list is so long.

   Okay, and another comment, which means the same thing:

   Many people die with things unfinished.

   Boy Howdy, having been dead sure makes me appreciate the difference between “LIVING” and “HAVING STUFF TO DO.”

   Reply
5. 

   David Larson

   April 26, 2015

   First, I don’t see a ‘schedule’, just a list of stuff that ‘has’ to happen. Focus on those things that combine efforts, like writing and teaching, because you get twice as many items knocked out at once.

   So, ‘How To Revise’/Talysmana; HTTS/Emerald Sun; Write A Series/Philosopher’s Gambit/Longview can knock more stuff out of the park, faster.

   IMHO, the best teaching you could give is often a glance over the shoulder, with hasty [means sloppy] notes.

   First draft, followed by “sux, chnging 2nds pgrph, rmovng Dar SNow, uneeded” Then second draft, and so forth. When you watch a good editor run a red pencil through a dozen pages, you learn what needs cut, moved, etc.

   I like the idea of interns also, HOWEVER I don’t need to tell you that the most enthusiastic to join up will be those who join up for everything. Such people usually have more to do than they can reasonably do well.

   When you factor in the amount of time spent picking interns, looking over their shoulders, and then de-constructing and re-constructing their work, you have added to your own stress and work load.

   I have some idea how fastidious you are, I am a great sinnner myself when it comes to enthusiastically jumping into something I have no time for, and I understand too well the complications ensuing.

   If you know someone competent and willing with time on their hands, by all means enlist help. Note all prerequisites. You have to know them well. They have to be competent, or they will enthusiastically make a huge mess. They have to be willing, not just consenting. They must have adequate time to freely commit to doing the job to completion.

   As a general rule, no competent people willing to work have time on their hands.

   Per ghostwriting and editing: Surrender NONE of your creative process. [You already know this, but don’t give in to temptation]

   Finally, I know you are committed to many things. So keep in mind that “Perfect” is not only the enemy of “Good” but frequently the antithesis of “Accomplished”.

   40,000 sunrises may be ours,
   many of them already past.
   To whom do we owe the rest?
   Who may sell us more?

   By which I mean that I would rather have you plunking out another novel every year or two and showing us some of your internal processes along the way. Your life, live it.

   Reply
6. 

   Avril Sabine

   April 25, 2015

   Sort your list into what you need to accomplish each month. Looking at a list that long, with no idea of what needs to be done by when, can be daunting. I also tend to do a lot of multitasking. I set my laptop up at my treadmill and often write there. I use my Dragon Naturally Speaking program and a bluetooth headset to ‘write’ while I’m doing housework or cooking. (My kids expect a spoiler warning when I plan to do this so they can make sure they don’t hear the story before it’s finished.) When I’m a passenger in a vehicle I either write or edit.

   Reply
7. 

   Phebe

   April 25, 2015

   Wow, you are a very busy woman!
   I know you started with the stuff at the beginning about having to do everything on this list but I not such a great rule follower, so….

   i’d say go to the monastery for a bit! 😉

   i would put everything on the table and think about how you want your life to look, what a perfect day looks like, what kindsof things make your heart sing that you keep wanting to do but never can get to. I would (of course!) go with pen and paper and doodle it out.

   then, Id figure what was going to get me there – if money is the issue, what I need to do tht will generate the most, the fastest! Then I ‘d focus on down grading my commitments (and life really does happen; we are allowed to change our minds, respond to new circumstances).

   And the other stuff, i’d let. Just let and see what floated to the surface, where my heart was.

   Life is short. We don’t realie that until so far along! yours sounds very full, which is terrific! Your class is just outstanding (HTRYN), your video was fantastic – you have so many gifts I ‘d go with what brought me the most joy on regular basis!!!

   Reply
8. 

   Judy White

   April 24, 2015

   Hi Holly,

   I would be happy to help with bug hunting or reformatting courses.

   Judy

   Reply
9. 

   Karen R

   April 24, 2015

   Dear Holly,
   Most questions have a formulation of the answer within them. You gave your priority list:
   1. Spend more time writing fiction
   Stop right there…for 30 days, or a week, or six hours a day spend your time on YOUR first priority.
   The fiction you write is the source of your energy, knowledge, and generosity – not to mention income. It looks more like you need a vacation to write to your heart’s content, rather than help compressing, prioritizing, and compartmentalizing the essence of why you do all this in the first place.
   As a student I appreciate everything that you do, but I can wait while you take care of your first priority.

   Reply
10. 

    Mary E. Merrell

    April 23, 2015

    OMG. I thought I had a lot of things on my lists. I don’t know what to tell you but take one bite at a time. Make a list of the three or four most important items and work from there. I don’t know how you do it!

    I love your classes and all your advice. Wish I could help more.

    Mary

    Reply
11. 

    Rachel

    April 23, 2015

    #1 Stop blogging. Or at least go to once a month. It’s not in your core areas of writing fiction/teaching fiction. And your digital footprint is great, so you don’t need it for SEO and all that.
    #2 Newsletter – one tip a month and write six at time. Schedule and forget.
    #3 Mailing lists – mail less often. People are overwhelmed by the email they get. Less often = more time and more love.
    #4 Help Desk – outsource this as soon as you can. Or push people more strongly to a forum where they can help each other. This is way outside your core focus.
    #5 Consider buying the Carson Tate book “Work Simply.” Take the quiz to find your type and quickly skim the book for tips for your type. She has amazing tips for setting up your to do list, schedule and space in ways that rejuvenate you based on the way you process information.

    In short: cut everything that is not essentially on track for what you love.

    Reply
12. 

    Jessica Montgomery

    April 23, 2015

    If you need, I can help with covers, proofreading, copy edits, and bug fixes. Feel free to email me for examples of my work in web design, cover art and text art.

    Something I’m new at, but not bad at, is formatting, so if you need help there, just give me a poke and tell me what document types you need formatted for.

    I’m on disability, and also a writer, so I can adapt to your insane schedule as needed. No payment necessary, but I’ll gladly take up your offer on the courses. I already took HTRYN, and it helped immensely in my writing, so I’d love to see what else you have to offer.

    Hope this helps, and hope you find your groove soon.

    Reply
13. 

    Glynis Jolly

    April 23, 2015

    Holly, what is you time from for all that you’ve got listed? Editing takes so much time. Have you thought about outsourcing it? After all, from what you stated, if you don’t have time to write fiction, nothing else is going to go very well.

    Reply
14. 

    Texanne

    April 23, 2015

    Some great comments here–I may put some of them to work myself, and my life is nothing like yours!

    Ghostwriting may be “out”–and rightly so. What about guest blog posts? You have grads who have gone on to be rather successful writers. You also have peers who might like to post, so long as they don’t drag your blog off-topic. That is, don’t let the guest blogger substitute his own ideas about writing for yours. Not all your peers are writers, by the way. (I don’t know what they are, but you do.) I’m not saying you should start posting cookie recipes. It just depends on the direction you want to take the blog.

    As you work on your fiction, your WABWM posts become little writing lessons in themselves. Don’t undervalue them. I often go back to old articles in Pocket Full of Words to see how you handled some thing or other in your own writing. Examples are big helps.

    You might consider doing a Google hangout with a small panel of guests as a substitute for a blog once a week. Take a look at podcasts like Selfpublishing Roundtable, or The Writing Podcast. These are conversations captured via Google Hangout and are automatically (I think) published to Youtube.com. These podcasts are an hour long each, but you might choose (depending on Google’s rules) to make a shorter podcast. You have in-house filmmakers who might lend a hand. As someone who enjoys podcasts, I’d say that it helps to have an agenda ready, as you would for a meeting. (Outline flexibly.) You’re experienced with Hangouts already. The only difference is others will be on-camera with you. That might take off some of the stress you’re feeling.

    Best wishes with all of it!

    Reply
15. 

    Linda

    April 23, 2015

    I was going to make suggestions, but it looks like you have a plan of action on board.

    One thing to keep in mind – not everything can be top priority. Rather like the line from the Incredibles – “If everyone is special, than no one is.” Something has to be “top-per” (yeah, I know, not a real word” priority.

    Also, for the twice a week things – is it possible that they could go less frequently? Even if temporarily, until some of your backlog is cleared? (After all, you won’t be publishing/republishing books more than once, right? So clearing those off the docket frees up other space for what you really want to do. Or are you the sort that will just find more things, rather like “stuff expands to fill the available space or why my house looks like it does.”)

    Reply
16. 

    David Kantrowitz

    April 23, 2015

    1. Someone once told me: if you have a lot of things to do and one of them is sleep, do that first. The reason: you’ll get the rest done quicker once well rested. Here, too, see if some of those things on the list, when done, will accelerate other tasks. If so, do those first.

    2a. Is there a family member (or volunteer) who can help answer the personal email, who would know which ones you absolutely must answer yourself?

    2b. Maybe one of your many loyal students is willing to volunteer to help in some aspects of some of this — look through all the items, find something that you are willing (aka “can force yourself”) to delegate, and then call for volunteers (whom you’ll screen).

    3. I don’t know your position on this, but those who believe in G-d can work on trust/faith in G-d, turning what may be mere lip-service belief into something more; it can have a great calming effect.

    4. On the other side of the spectrum, there’s “The obstacle is the way : the timeless art of turning trials into triumph / Ryan Holiday” which I’ve been reading lately.

    5. Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer tea!

    Good luck.

    Reply
17. 

    Tom

    April 23, 2015

    For migraines.
    a) schedule a vacation or staycation for right after last deadline on this list. Just the when & where; don’t plan each day. You’ll have something to look forward to.
    b) Deadlines – unless someone will die, these are flexible. Push all new ones out 50% from what you’d normally say.

    For clearing:
    I used the urgent/important grid mentioned by someone else. Don’t neglect non-urgent/non-important since that’s the fun stuff. Took 3 u/i, 2 u/ni, 1 nu/ni, and 2 nu/i at each iteration & in that order.
    Specific item:
    use the Writing Tips Newsletter for How To ideas, then put How To’s together.

    Lists:
    Most folks can only retain 7 things in mind at any time. You’re juggling 87 !
    This list has at least 12 categories, of which half have > 7 items.
    Replace 8th onward with `see other list`.
    Also, make a `doing` list with at most 1 item from each of those categories. Don’t add any until another crossed out.

    Reply
18. 

    Kim Lambert

    April 23, 2015

    First up – a big thank you! This has been so helpful for me. 4 months ago I was right where you are, and incredibly stressed. I have done lots of the things suggested by various people here, starting with getting it all into a system, prioritising, and getting someone else to help me do that, and to do bits and pieces of the things that are not best value for my time. I am still refining it all, but it’s getting clearer. I have more ‘me time’ and more is getting completed.

    So much so, that I would also like to volunteer to help if I can. I edit, proofread and format, for others, as well as write. I also help people self publish, so I understand the formatting constraints involved in getting the best result. I have always loved your writing, so the idea of getting to read something new, before it’s released, whilst editing / proofreading or formatting it is really, really appealing! If you are willing to let me do any of that, please let me know!

    Reply
19. 

    Michael E. Henderson

    April 23, 2015

    This is not a schedule, it’s a to-do list. Every business person in the world has the same list. There are always millions of things that need to be done, but you are one person and can do only one thing at a time. That means you have to prioritize, work on one thing until it’s done, then go to the next.

    If you don’t, will be running in all directions, and will either accomplish nothing, or do whatever it is you manage to do poorly.

    You are wrong that you must do all of these things. If you don’t get that out of your head, you will continue to be swamped and will accomplish nothing.

    Many of the things you have listed do not need to be done now. Blogs, and newsletters, and such are nice, but you don’t need them with that frequency. Take them off the list.

    Same with the books you want to publish.

    1. Meet contractual deadlines or seek extensions.

    2. Do what generates immediate revenue.

    3. Set aside time to write. Most of us do other things for a living, have wives and kids, and still manage to write. Just do it.

    4. Focus. Pick the thing at the top of your list (which you have prioritized).

    What are you? Are you a writer? Are you a publisher? Are you both (i.e., a self-publisher)? Are you a writing teacher? Are you a writer who teaches other writers?

    Define the business you’re in, then get rid of everything else that distracts you.

    If you’re a writer, set a daily word goal.

    If you’re an instructor, establish those classes that fit your schedule and that generate revenue in proportion to the effort.

    Stop doing things that require more effort than you get return.

    If you have books written that need to be published, and you can’t afford a line editor, typesetter, and cover designer (No, you can’t do it yourself) then leave them until you can.

    One of the hardest things in the world is to learn to take on only what you can do. That usually involves using the word “NO.”

    If you’ve invented something for yourself to do, such as blogs and newsletters, and such, they are probably not necessary, or can be cut back.

    Good luck

    Reply
20. 

    ailyn

    April 23, 2015

    dear holly, ever considered dictating your ideas and let Microsoft transcribe it for you? speech recognition couldn’t be that bad right?
    if this is not a good idea, I’m sorry i tried?
    maybe writing tips can be guests posts?

    Reply
    1. 

       David Larson

       April 26, 2015

       Seen Holly teaching on webcam? Leaves transcription right out of the picture. She could be much less formal, though, or scripting everything to put on webcam can take longer than writing it.

       Reply
21. 

    RebeccaD

    April 23, 2015

    Hi Holly I don’t know if this will help or not but what about dividing your list into two, and if that takes you longer to deliver what you promised then that will be better for your health.

    Reply
22. 

    Katharina Gerlach

    April 23, 2015

    Holly, I’m gold when it comes to coding print and eBook versions of books, and I’m willing to do it for you for free. I should be able to do one or two books per month if I get edited files and the wrap-around cover. I’m using InDesign for print-ready pdfs and I hand code eBooks (makes them leaner and thus saves on download fees). If this is in any way helpful for you, just shoot me a message (you’ve got my eMail).

    Reply
23. 

    Stephanie

    April 23, 2015

    I will not repeat all the “prioritise” advice. Of course you have to, and don’t hesitate re-sceduling deadlines you have set yourself and delegating what you can. As one of your faithful followers, I can swear I can wait a while for new stuff. You have so much available already that I still haven’t managed to go throuh it all. I can bearly keep up with all you offer in the course I am currently following.

    As a matter of fact, I just can’t keep up with everything you send out. You can slow down on newsletters, and instead of creating new messages every time, maybe you could just draw our attention sometimes to some things on your site or on some messages you have already published. I have been your student for over a year now, and I still haven’t had the time to go through all that you offer. I am sure there are others like me. I tend to skim over them thinking I will come back to this later, when I have the time, and I never do. Give yourself time to breathe by slowing down the rhythm, and it will give people like me time to breathe and go more in depth into what you offer.

    As for the launch project, I am not sure how you are organized and how heavy this is on your shoulders. Here is a suggestion : ask Tom Vetter to write a list of instructions using his experience, and pass it on to the next volunteer who can then use it and add to it using his experience before passing it on to the next one, and so on. The preceeding volunteers can act as advisors to the next ones. Your role is reduced, and you get a very complete experience sheet at the end that you can draw you conclusions from.

    Create a Schedule for yourself with elbow room for all you want to do. I am sur most of us will understand and agree to wait a bit for what you want to offer. What you offer already is of such high value that I doubt you will loose any reader in the process.

    Your well-being and your health have to be your first priority. If you work yourself into the ground, or if you get so tired and stressed you break down, the delay or the loss will be a lot higher for us and for you. Take care of yourself.

    Reply
    1. 

       Katharina Gerlach

       April 23, 2015

       I love the idea with the experience sheet!

       Reply
24. 

    Mirel

    April 23, 2015

    Interning, or raffle off a course among people who send in corrections.

    Parceling out editing to volunteers in exchange for courses has already been mentioned and is also a great idea. I’m volunteering.

    I also think that you can consider halving your postings for a while: if you want to send two mails a week, make it one a week for a while, if you want to comment daily, make it every other day. And use the time gained to clear off the projects that require the least amount of time so that they can be finished and moved off the list.

    Reply
25. 

    Sallie

    April 22, 2015

    I have not read the comments because it’s nearly 2 a.m. and I should be sleeping but insomnia has reared it’s ugly head on this night, so if I’m duplicating, I apologize. But my very first thought when reading through your incredibly heavy work load was this: treat it like paying off debts. At various times in my life I had way more bills than money so I would write down everything I owed and start paying off the little things first. The bills that were small enough that I could get them out of the way in 1 or 2 paychecks (meanwhile giving the big ones the minimum payment). In doing so, I could cross them off the list and then re-delegate that money to the next small bill.

    That would be my suggestion. Look at your list and figure out which ones could be completed entirely in a few hours/sessions/days and do those first. Just get rid of them so they’re off your list and you don’t have to think about them again for awhile. I use this technique in a lot of different ways because I too tend to be a multi-tasker with too many irons in the fire at once. So I’ll finish the ones I can complete in a day or two of concentrated effort just so I can be done with it and not think about it again and then I focus on the next thing and just keep working my way down the list.

    That doesn’t mean put your writing on the back burner, that’s important. But delegate a certain amount of time each day just for that, and let the rest of the day be for working on shortening that list. I used to tell my riding students to think of riding their horse like washing the dishes after dinner. It’s just something they have to do every day if they want to improve their skills. That way it doesn’t get pushed off to the side and neglected as something they just didn’t have time to do.

    Other than that….sometimes it helps to just go on strike and go take a bubble bath. It helps eliminate that stress pressure we create for ourselves with too many goals. Sometimes if you just STOP and don’t do any of it for an hour and pamper yourself instead, you can come back refreshed and ready to conquer. (and often you’ll get ideas of how to do that WHILE you’re enjoying that bubble bath…) 🙂

    Reply

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