On time management

[girliejones]

I'm practising efficiency by admitting I am sick today and spending it in bed. I''m actually about to shut down the laptop and do the thing you do when you are really sick - watch crappy TV.

So here is a great link via @tansyrr on Twitter for advice on time management. I have to admit that after running ASif for 5 years and working at indie press

Comments

[cassiphone]

I agree with you very much

[girliejones]

For me, I sit at a completely different place on the process train, and it's made me realise that I don't actually care much about the writing process. As a publisher, I care about what I will have to publish this year, and next, I care about the finished product. I have to find work that I want to buy and that work will be chosen from finished pieces that get submitted. So in truth when I watch writers blog or talk about their progress, I'm weighing up how likely it is that I will see anything to consider. For me, that's the endgame.

And like you and like the blog post I linked to says, if you want it, then you will go get it. It might be at a slower pace than a writer with a full time job as a writer, but it IS amazing how much you can get done when you have to beg, borrow and steal some time for your own to write/work in.

[cassiphone]

Oh absolutely as a publisher you shouldn't have to worry about the private lives of writers

[girliejones]

It's true and it's not my job to feel sorry for the writer for the work or time that's gone into something. My main objective is to assess the quality of the product. So for me, I am concerned with being sured that there is a product to assess - that's one thing I do, rustle up work - and then look at the quality of it. So I am more concerned about getting a lot of finished work in so that I can find work amongst that to publish.

New writers often contact me for advice. And really, if you're not writing, or you can't get to it cause of the kids, the advice is ... write. And the advice is always *write*. It's the number task for making a sale - having something to sell.

[cassiphone]

Good for you - it's never too late!

It's so easy as a mother to put aside your own things and just concentrate on the needs of your child. Sometimes it feels like it's impossible to do anything but that - and certainly the world at times makes us feel that it's all we are good for.

You're not alone. Many women sacrifice years of career-building in order to raise their children while they are small. We can catch up if we have to!

[girliejones]

And also, it's not linear. X amount of time does not equal Y amount of achievement.

[redbraids]

Absolutely! That is why when people say "I don't have the time", sometimes this means "I don't have the headspace" (aka "mental spoons").

I know that if the slice of "my time" that I get is only bewteen 11 and midnight, I am unlikely to be as creative compared to having a more optimum time slot.

[girliejones]

And nor does it mean that if you have time later on in life, you won't be able to achieve your dream cause you left it too late.

[cassiphone]

Yes, that's absolutely true. A small amount of time, even a token amount every week, cam make all the difference.

One hour a week is enough to get something done in, especially if that hour is non-negotiable.

When I was trying to get back into writing when Raeli was 1, after about an 18 month break, I wrote 100 words a day for 100 days. I have a friend who was desperately trying to get into a habit of writing who wrote a sentence every day.

[girliejones]

This is how I do TPP as well. I have a lot of larger tasks and projects broken down into the next task that needs to be done and I can snatch 5 minutes or 10 or 20 all over the place and just get that one thing done and it moves something along.

[cassiphone]

There are so many "mommyblogs" out there, but none of them talk so well about writing and the stay at home mum as you do, Tansy

[cassiphone]

You're absolutely right, Thoraiya.

I'm not going to say that women can't have everything, or that they shouldn't try, but they sure as hell can't DO everything.