Warmer temperatures, Daylight Savings Time and the urge to get back into the garden are all signs of the coming change of season. Spring is around the corner. Or at least, I’d like to think it is. My mind was racing when I should have been sleeping as I tried to plan out my Monday.
Honestly, I don’t know how all of the writers out there manage a full-time job, family, day-to-day tasks and getting words onto the page. I’m retired, an empty-nester, and I don’t always find the time to sit down to write. So last night, I tried to strategize what my scheduling priorities should include each day.
Don’t laugh those of you who miraculously navigate all of the issues, find time to write 5,000 words a day, and have abs of steel. I hate clutter around me and find it difficult to concentrate if my space is in disarray. I don’t even need to see the mess. It can be anywhere in my home, and I enter into a creative catatonic state where I can barely write a coherent Facebook post. I know…I’m challenged by minutiae. Does this mean that I clean regularly? No. I wouldn’t have a mess if I were on top of my housekeeping. That is why I decided to schedule.
For years, I have saved pins on Pinterest about cleaning and organization. If you have been on Pinterest, I’m sure you have seen the meticulous schedules created by the organized among us to help the unorganized. I believe they are all written for me, personally. Somewhere out there, these wizards of time-management have a poster on the wall of their neat-as-a-pin laundry room that features a photo of me surrounded by mountains of laundry and piles of paperwork, looking frazzled and sporting a not-so-trim waistline. I write fiction, so cut me a break if I tend to exaggerate…
Let me get back on track. I sat down with a pencil, a notepad and my cell phone. After about twenty minutes working on my goals, I’d come up with my schedule. I’ll try it for a week or two, see how it works for me, and make changes, if necessary. I started my new schedule immediately. And look! I’m writing this blog. I guess I’m off to a good start!
OMP Admin Note: Kate McGinn is a writer and OMP Network member – one of a group of networkers who blogs on a regular basis about various causes and issues.
Kate McGinn’s fiction can be found on Amazon in the flash fiction series BITE SIZE STORIES (Volume Two) along with five other guest writers. The first two books in her Clare Thibodeaux Series–EXODUS and WINTER’S ICY CARESS are available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
https://www.amazon.com/Kate-McGinn/e/B01KUKTYFQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1473258208&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kate-McGinn/e/B01KUKTYFQ/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1473258097&sr=1-2-ent
theonemillionproject 
There’s definitely a balance between rigidity and fluidity with a schedule. I think the important thing is setting one – sometimes life gets in the way, and you have to adapt. But over time you’ll start to realise when you’re just making excuses, and when you actually need to get to work… Thanks for sharing Kate! Enjoyed the read.
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Thanks Joe for your comments. I was very schedule driven as a nurse but less so now. But I’m trying. LOL!
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