Stop Writing!

How's that for time management? When I started writing seriously a little over two years ago, my writing plan was the "catch as catch can" variety. This meant I wrote (and did all the things that go with writing - research, plotting, craft honing, etc.) whenever I could. I kept my laptop on the kitchen table or on the island and maintained a "drive-by writing" schedule. I actually wrote a good deal of Glorious that way and, strangely, it worked.

What didn't work about it is that I felt as if I never had enough time to write because I was always doing it in snippets. The truth was I hadn't prioritized the rest of my life in order to accommodate the writing. A few months ago, this finally sank in and the answer, surprisingly, was: stop writing.

What I mean is to allow yourself to be "done" for the day. You could always write more. You could always clean more (but who wants to!). You could always do anything more. But, there are only so many hours in a day (cue Bill!) and you have to prioritize (see Maven Erica's Monday post).

It's very, very hard to stop writing (or whatever it is you love to do). Some days it's almost impossible, in fact. But there comes a time, when you simply must focus on other things: family, paying bills, bathing, eating. You laugh, but how many times have you waited to eat until your head was pounding and your stomach started to devour itself because you Couldn't. Step. Away?

I began to incorporate writing tasks into my to-do lists. Instead of:

1) Laundry
2) Balance checkbook
3) Grocery shopping
4) Writing

I got more specific:

1) Finish scene with Wroxton and Tess
2) Read Maven Lacey's scene
3) Map next scene
4) Laundry
5) Balance checkbook
6) Grocery shopping

Notice how the writing stuff moved up? No accident! I find that if I do my writing tasks first thing, I don't feel harried later in the day for having not written. And by not written, I mean not written enough. You have to recognize your limitations and accept them. My mom says things are much more complicated nowadays because people just have more to do. You might think that's a "good old days" nostalgia idea, but she's right. Even she has more to do now that she's retired!

Since I've adopted this technique of stepping away from writing when I've accomplished my daily goals, I actually feel more productive. Writing to daily goals increases my production, for sure, but it also helps the other aspects of my life that maybe get ignored (okay, sometimes I still forget to eat!).

How about you? Ever step away from the ball to increase perspective or productivity? What tricks keep you sane in the neverending tangle of things to do?