One Step at a Time

Sometimes writers (freelancers, bloggers, fiction writers, etc.) can get so overwhelmed with everything they have to do, it can get to the point where you don't know which thing to do first, how long to do it, why you're doing it to begin with and so on and so forth.

But here's the thing. Even if you have a huge to-do list, you can get what you need to accomplish done. Just take it one step at a time.

You hear so much about people multitasking--emailing while typing while phoning while eating. But all this does is divide your attention between so many things that you can't give any one of them the attention they deserve (besides, if you bolt your food while you work, you risk choking).

So, a few pointers to help keep your head on straight while you're trying to do your work:

1. Make a list of things you want to accomplish. These are your long-term goals. For example, "write e-book" might be one of them.

2. Break any big project down into discrete steps. For your hypothetical e-book project, that could include "pick topic," "research need," "write outline," etc. Any big project can be broken down into little steps.

3. Schedule the small tasks, too. If you make a note of them, you won't forget them.

4. Make a do-able list of various things you want to do. Not a huge list. Don't try to build Rome in a day or work on every single project you have. Create a manageable list of the various things you need to do--both small tasks and small steps toward completing larger projects. You can block out time for things that will take longer and do smaller tasks in between blocks, or you can "bundle" the small stuff and set aside a block of time to handle that, too.

5. Go through your list one item at a time. Don't try to do everything at once (or even two things at once). Focus on each task, so you do it as well as it can be done. Really paying attention to each thing you do will help assure your work is of the highest quality you can achieve. And you'll probably more be efficient than if you try to do more than one thing at a time.

6. Don't multitask. As I said, you'll just stress yourself out and the quality of your work will suffer, too. Erin at The Unclutterer makes a very persuasive pitch against multitasking. I agree with those points and would add that it reduces quality--in your work and life.

I'm reminded of Anne Lamott's great book Bird by Bird in which she tells the story of how a school project on identifying birds so overwhelmed her brother, he didn't know where to start. Her father told him, "Just take it bird by bird, son."



Very wise advice. Otherwise you might end up too much like these women.



And then you might have to start taking this stuff.