I have too many projects. I’ve said it many times, to write all the stories I’ve come up with would require a steady work output of seven novels a year for about 200 years.
I don’t think I’m going to make that. I mean, I’m going to want a vacation at some point, and then there’s the Uechi Ryu Summer and winter camps I’d like to start attending. And my 200th birthday party I’m sure will be huge.
What’s a realistic novel output? Two novels a year, at my pace. I’ve written as many as three, but that’s without extensive editing – and why nothing new from me has come out since October.
My goals for 2019 was finish some novels (done), edit some novels (done and doing), and rewrite some novels (doing).
One of the biggest keys for me was using Asana to flowchart my writing-editing process – Once I did that, I could keep track.
What else do I need?
Deadlines.
No deadline means a dead project.
No deadline means a flat line. Seriously. I have to set a deadline for every last stage of the writing-editing process. Otherwise, nothing is scheduled, and they slide under the radar, and the next thing you know, I’m looking up funny parrot videos on YouTube.
What gets scheduled, gets done.
One of the biggest influences on my writing life was Michael Hyatt. I felt a little disappointed that he had turned his blog into an online magazine. However, Michael Hyatt’s not too proud to say, “That was a mistake” and reverse his course.
So, I’m returning to study Hyatt’s methods. He’s a proponent of multiple irons in the fire, something conventional wisdom tells you not to. But he produces results, which may be a clue that conventional wisdom is wrong.
After all, the fisherman who sets up multiple bait hooks instead of one tends to catch more fish.
You can work on multiple projects at the same time – you just need a system to do it. After all, I write tweets, blog posts, linkedin posts, write and edit novels all during the space of a week. Plus work a job and train in Karate.
You just have to have a system that works for you. I like using Asana. I’ve tried EVERY PIM program, and found almost all of them to be fairly inefficient in some way or another. Asana allows me to schedule and keep track of multiple projects in various states of completion.
What works for you? How do you keep track of everything you’ve got going on>
