Work. Home life. Family. Your creative brain.
When all are vying for your attention, it can be difficult to process what needs to come first and what could be left for another day. Hopefully a few of these tips can help, as I’ve been using them successfully for the past several years with my writing process (yes, even when I was writing and working a full-time job). I will be coming at this from a writer’s perspective, since that is the main purpose of this blog, though it will work for any creative!
Get a Grip
- Brainstorm a List: This is exactly what it sounds like. Get out everything that has been bothering you. It doesn’t have to look pretty and you can create clouds, paragraphs, or bullet points, but having your thoughts in front of you is the first step to getting a grip.
- Now, which of these is an easy fix? What is something that can be solved immediately? Do those and cross them off the list.
- Prioritize your items, whether by importance or ease of finishing
- Clean your Workspace: I mean it. Everything needs to have a spot. As both writer and artist, I can relate to you “knowing where everything is” and I’ve also found the ease that comes with having a specific spot for everything. No more having to think extra just to find your notes that you worked on last week.
- Manageable Steps: It is so easy to put off items just because they intimidate you. Believe me, I’ve been there. So take your list that you created and write one to three things to accomplish each day. If you need to repeat things in order to accomplish them, this is good. Make them specific. Don’t say, “finish the chapter.” Include instead: “I will work on ten pages of editing” or “an hour”. Whichever helps you to be your most productive self (See Focus on the Work below for more about this).
Take a Break
- Exercise: Get outside, into the open air! Try to cover this for fifteen minutes, twice a day.
- Take short breaks: The best way I’ve learned to incorporate this into a productive day is use something similar to the Pomodoro method. This is when you set a certain amount of time to work and then take five minutes before starting the next project. When you work in increments of 55 minutes for every 5 or even a 90/5 model, this allows you to have the time to focus. Speaking of…
Focus on the Work
- Time yourself: I do this for writing with a group and daily work and it gives you a sense of motivation that allows you to see daily results in your work. If you need to finish emails, set a timer for thirty minutes instead of allowing yourself to get distracted and only half work on something for an hour. For example, When I’m working on my writing, I usually work for ninety minute increments and with my illustrations, I only work an hour at a time.
- Monitor your time: I recently found Toggl that can monitor and coordinate what I am working on. It is fantastic because it is organized and I can visually see how I am prioritizing my time, compared to the list I made that hopes my time is prioritized. This helps me hit my goals more quickly and keep track of my exact processes.
I hope this helps! Please let me know in the comments which of these worked best for you!
Keep writing,
Hannah Marie.