… but I can’t get any of it done.
Heard that one before? Said it before?
Me, too.
Maybe you’re a little like me. You have a gazillion ideas floating around in your noggin 24 hours a day. You wake up at 2:00 AM with a new project. Add it to the pile.
There are plenty of systems out there for managing your time and I have tried quite a few. I’ve written articles on time management myself, but here’s a juicy little secret: Sometimes I suck at time management. Sometimes I get it wrong.
I use iCal (Yes, I’m a Mac Dude) and I’ve worked up several different systems for managing projects and my life; color-coding entries, creating calendar groups, using Mail notes, and syncing with my iPhone. Yet somehow none of my handy little gadgets or apps has been the Better Mousetrap for me.
I read something by Sark that magically simplified the way I’ve been thinking about the whole project/goal/time… thing. To sum up, she suggests that you break every thing you want to get done into “micro movements.”
For example, say you want to write a blog post but you just keep putting it off because what the hell are you going to talk about this time anyway (never happens to me, but we’ll pretend – ahem). You break writing your post into tiny little movements that get you closer to your goal, which is a posted entry. Then you schedule each step. The first step could be as simple as Tuesday, 4:00 PM: put notepad and pen next to laptop. The next step could be something like Wednesday, 9:00 AM: read one thing (could be anything; cereal box, paperback cover, blog post, ingredients on graham cracker package, whatever).
Get the idea?
This seems so slow, right? You can schedule it however you want, but the point is to break a big project down into doable chunks. Saying to yourself “tomorrow I will write a scintillating new blog entry and post it” is just a humongous task. Can you do it? Maybe, maybe not.
It’s highly probable that you can place a notepad and pen on your desk at 4:00. That’s pretty easy because you don’t have the pressure of thinking about what’s good, what’s interesting, who will care, do I need a photo, blah blah blah. It’s just one tiny step that you can manage.
I’ve been working on this for a week or so. I’m not perfect at it, but it seems like the smaller chunks I break things into, the easier it is and more I actually get done every day. It’s actually kind of fun scheduling times to “think” about things or just read something. Look at my calendar from this week:
An iCal entry to read something. I managed it.
In the past I would have made a goal to learn everything there is to know about licensing my art. Wow. No wonder I feel like I have so much to do.
In this case, I saw a section of Tara Reed’s web site and thought that I should take time to read it. That’s all. I don’t have to create 12 pieces of art, contact manufacturers, or imagine a new line of pajama wear. Just read an article. One micro step towards my humongous goal of licensing my art. In this case, the link I posted here takes you to a page where she has some of her products for sale, which I’ve purchased and used. Tara also has an affiliate program which I participate in – so I earn a commission if someone clicks on it and purchases one of her products. Those things are NOT activities I would dive into from that reminder in iCal. Those are sideline activities that I would schedule for another time.
As another example, you see the entry that says “Think about an agent?” Check. It’s kind of goofy and funny to see an entry like that in my iCal, but I feel better. Now I don’t have to think about an agent anymore today. Except now, because I just wrote that sentence. Wait, is that okay? Did I just f*** up?
The other thing I learned is, take it easy on yourself. Go ahead and be driven and goal-oriented, but jeez! Give yourself a break now and then.
Go read a cereal box or something.