Improving On The Writing Process

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I've been using a new system for the past month in terms of due dates for writing that ,so far, is working out quite well.

Typically what happens is that I have an assignment with a due date. I might ponder the general bent I plan on taking with the article, but I wouldn't start writing the article until the week before it was due.  This leaves just enough time to write the piece, but no time to let it sit and digest so I can return to it later with fresh eyes. 

Bad idea.

I went to Office Depot (I love Office Depot--it's an anal-retentive's dream come true) and bought a large wall calendar. I went through and circled in red the days of each month I know I have articles due. Then I backtracked, setting goal dates for partial project completion.

So, for example, I have an Art Jewelry marketing column due on June 15th. My calendar shows I'm to chose a topic for this column by April 17th and all interviews are to be scheduled by April 24th.  An initial draft is due May 14th, with revisions by May 29th. A final draft that I can send to friends to be critiqued is due on June 6th.

The result? The article is done well ahead of time with plenty of time for reviews, revisions, and critiques. I select my next column topic on June 13th, even before this one is due.

I'm doing this for all my articles and have seen a marked improvement in my writing.  I wasn't sure I'd follow my system but never underestimate the allure of dates marked on a calendar in indelible green and red ink. My friend Pam's blog today is about being a rule breaker. Not me. I live for rules. Rules=order=tranquility. So if the calendar says interviews are due by a certain date, I forget I'm the one who arbitrarily set that date and follow it the same as if it were chiseled in a stone tablet come off a mountain.

If only I applied the same systematic dedication to working on my books, which are molding over in a corner in the Spring heat.

One battle at a time...

Stop the Clock!

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"No time! No time!" is what I feel like yelling from the rooftops. Three new (unsolicited) projects popped up this week, it's one of those weeks where I've scheduled an appointment for GYN, dentist, hair, and any other bodily function I may have, and I've got three projects all due on Monday that are gasping their last breath, begging for my attention. Add to that I need to get my feet out and pound some pavement with some miles and drive time to and from Greensboro  5 TIMES this week, and I feel like I'm running on fumes.

And yet... I'm not really. Time always appears. Life goes on.

I got my hair cut (okay yes, fine, and highlighted too) today and as I was pulling up to the shop, I reflected that hairdressing may be a nice job with little to no drama. Then I walked in the door and my poor stylist was running around like a chihuahua on speed, her helper who answers phones and shampoos clients and sweeps floors having called in sick with what my stylist suspected was less the flu and more of a major hangover.  DRAMA.

I really have low stress in my life... and am grateful for it. I spoke to a friend in Utah yesterday who's life has blown up in her face and I could feel her near hysterics on the phone.  Listening to real problems always puts mine in perspective.

And here's a bit of good news. I won our Toastmasters area impromptu speaking competition last night and will proceed to district finals on April 14th. The question asked was, "If you could travel to any point in time, whether it be past or future, what point would you travel to and why?"

My response was that I would travel 20 years in the future to see if the approximately 5 billion dollars I've spent on skin care throughout my life has been worth it. Forget visiting historical figures and bringing back wisdom for the ages. If I don't have the dewy complexion of a 15-year old in love when I visit the future, I am kicking some Arbonne butt.

Who says you have to be serious to win at speaking? Bring on the laugh track. I'm ready for the big time...   ;)

Hormonal Hijinks

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Ladies--ever have those weeks where your hormones are doing the cha-cha? I'm walking around the house ready to burst into laughter or tears or quite possibly both.  My mood alternates between frustration, anxiety, desperation, calm, hopeful, upbeat and right back again, usually in three-minute cycles.  I shifted this weekend between wanting to bite Blair's head off and fling my arms around him and tell him how much I love him.  Psycho...

New projects cross my desk and I am eager to meet the challenge... and the next minute huddled under the desk, hoping it will just go away. Sometimes I think it would be nice to just chuck everything and have my days free to do...whatever.  But then I remember I tried that once and hated it. Back in 2000, I decided to take a year off and do "whatever."  I lasted 3 months before I looked for work. It was miserable, having no purpose or focus in life. I could have stayed in bed every day until two and no one would have been the wiser.  Horrible. All human beings need to feel a sense of purpose in their day--I'm convinced of that.

So I'll work on staying balanced here the next few days and not scare Blair and the cats from the home. Stuff my face in a pillow when I feel meanness coming on and take time to get outside and walk and breathe.  And hopefully the hormone imbalance will take a back seat--at least for this month.