Organizing Your Life: Your Turn (Jill)

This week, I'm up to my neck in graduation events. Any of you who have been through a graduation knows what it's like. In fact, just yesterday, my oldest set up her college classes for her first semester--I can hardly believe it.  Amid the plans for baccalaureate, graduation, rehearsals, and parties, writing has been pushed to the back burner. (Not writing makes me slightly cranky, but I know that I'll have ample time this summer.)

I've always used a planner to keep a semblance of order to my days. But this week caused me to break open a brand-new pack of Post-its, and the sticky squares now decorate many surfaces in our home. It made me wonder: what do many of you do to keep chaos from taking over?

I've heard some people use bullet journals. While they look like fun, it also looks like more work, having to pencil in all my lists of things to do in coordinating colors with fancy headings. My husband uses phone apps -- I'm just not technologically savvy enough to figure it out.

So I'm sticking to my planner/Post-it method. What works best for you? Let me know in the comments!

Top 3 Time Suckers (Jill)

I've been working on a project recently with a single-minded focus. Or at least trying to. After coming back from the Realm Makers Conference, I was energized to get back to work. I'd learned so much and spent such a good time with like-minded friends. But once I unpacked everything I'd experienced, I found myself spinning my wheels, getting distracted, and just in general not getting as much done as I'd like.
And it's due to Time Suckers-- those things we do that take time away from our projects. I'm not talking about laundry or meal prep or running errands. I'm talking about those things that really aren't necessary, even though we sometimes make excuses for them.

3. Crafty projects
As a creative, I tend to have several DIY projects going at once. Near my favorite chair, some beautiful Swarovski crystals are packed in a bag, waiting to be wire-wrapped. There's a piece of cool embossed fabric sitting on the counter that will be turned into a book cover. I also have some paper I've put aside for Christmas cards (I have to start early. Fall/winter is crazy busy in our household.)

 2. Social Media
When I sit down to write, I often find myself opening up my email, or my Facebook account, or my Twitter account to see what's happening. This is a terrible habit and before I can blink, I've lost an hour or more. Pinterest is even worse. With one peek, I'll be sucked into a visual rabbit hole and won't emerge until hours later. So I'm making an effort to focus on the project (and only the project!) when I sit down at the computer.

1. Reading
Writers are told to read, read often, and read in our genre. But there comes a time, when I need to put the book down and start working. Sometimes it's so tempting to start reading one more book, because the cover is so gorgeous, and that blurb so interesting, and... I have to stop. And start putting my own words on paper.

So these are the top three things that distract me from finishing my project. What are yours? Any of these? Or do you have other distractions that make you lose focus?
Share them below -- we'd love to hear about them!

Your Turn: Finding Time in the Summer (Jill)

Picnics, play dates, trips to the pool, vacations, ball games--these things and more fill summer days. And when our summer activities start, my work schedule...well, let's just say I'm not very productive. Most summers, I've just brushed the computer aside and waited until September showed up to get any work done.


But this summer is different.

I've made a promise to myself. I want the first draft of my work in progress to be finished by the end of June. It doesn't have to be pretty; it just has to be done. Afterwards, I can revise, revise, revise, but I want to have the story completed by June 30th.

When my girls were smaller, I made allowances and worked when my husband was home. Since my girls are a little older now, I can say things like, "For the next hour, don't bother me unless someone is bleeding or dying." That usually works. 

So I'm wondering: do you have any tried and true techniques to carve out that necessary time? When your schedule's all messed up, but a project looms that must be done, what do you do to get it completed?  We'd love to hear how you handle it. Share in the comments below!