As a mom, my life is ruled by lists.
For me, thereโs no other way. Iโm trying to remember when my little list habit
had its genesis. I believe it was back when I forgot a minor deadline, a doctor
appointment, and a present for a birthday partyโฆall in the same week.
Iโve learned a lot about lists along the way. Here are five things Iโve learned
about lists for life and writing:
Break the goals into steps and make them reachable. Iโve made
impossible lists before and found it really difficult to stay motivated with
โorganize shoebox full of loose photosโ and โfinish writing bookโ on my list.
Itโs so much better to see โspend 15 minutes sorting loose photos by eventโ and
โwrite two pages today,โ instead.
Block out distractions. When weโre focused on knocking items
off our lists, distractions really stand in our way. For writers (and, well,
probably most everyone else), distractions might be the allure of the internet.
They might also be our kids, television, or our attempts to multi-task. Iโve
found that I tend to finish tasks a lot quicker if I eliminate distractions.
This might mean disconnecting from Wi-Fi or asking my kids to give me 30 minutes
alone.
Donโt try to catch up. This is probably the most important
thing Iโve learned. If my previous day went out of kilter and I couldnโt do
anything on my list, I shouldnโt do two dayโs worth of work to catch up.
Instead, I start each day with a fresh goal and avoid that frantic feeling.
Reassess the list halfway through the day. If the day is out of
control and we were hit with a broken hot water heater, a teenager who missed
his ride to school, and a sick dog, whatโs the top thing we need to get
accomplished that day? This top goal could be call air conditioning company to
schedule repair or, for writing, have Beatrice finish questioning Frank about
the murder.
Keep the checked-off items for motivation. My to-do list is on
my computer and for a while Iโd just delete the items as I finished them. The
only problem was that I couldnโt see how far Iโd comeโฆhow much Iโd accomplished
that day. I felt so much better when I kept the crossed-off or checked-off items
on my list so that I could see all the stuff Iโd knocked out.
Do you live by your lists, like I do? What are your tips for keeping productive
with lists (either for chores, errands, appointments, or writing)?
***
Elizabeth
Craig writes the
Memphis Barbeque series as
Riley
Adams and the
Southern Quilting mysteries under her own name. A
lifelong resident of the South, she enjoys finding inspiration for the
Southern Quilting mysteries in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains of
North Carolina. She is currently at work on her next novel. Her newest
Southern Quilting Mystery,
SHEAR TROUBLE, released August 5th. Find out
more about Elizabeth and her books at her
website.
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