A New Year

It’s hard to believe this is 2016. Didn’t we just celebrate the Millennium? Last week, I talked mostly about looking back and a bit about looking forward. Today it’s about looking forward. What I want to accomplish . . . today, this week, this year.

Since I’m still “on vacation” so to speak, visiting our son and his family, it’s difficult to think about getting back to a routine. Yet, I know I have to. I released The Case of the Fabulous Fiancé on December 8^th and proceeded to do as much promotion as I could. If I’d written as many words for the next book as I did for guest posts, I’d be a third of the way finished with The Case of the Meddling Mama. Promo has to be done, though. Besides, short pieces are a lot easier to write than a 75,000-word novel.

Yesterday, I wrote a post for tomorrow’s visit to Pamela Thibodeaux’s blog. Stop by and find out what I treasure (as regular readers of this blog, I’m sure you’ll guess). Now I need to buckle down and return to the third Alex O’Hara novel. The first scene is written. The rest is still in my head.

The commenters on last week’s post recommended scheduling and compartmentalizing my life. I did make a To-Do List for what I need to accomplish in my writing life. I need to make a list for home—the everyday/week stuff. After that, I need to divide my time into blocks and plug in items from the To-Do Lists. I’d better include things like sleep, meals, shopping, and exercise. Also fun time—playing with the grandkids, “dates” with the Hubs, reading, and watching movies. 

Are there really only twenty-four hours in each day?

I need structure. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s too easy for me to get involved in a project (like a

new story) and nothing else matters. That’s why making a schedule will work. Maybe. Making the schedule will be a lot easier than sticking to it. I’m not trying to give myself an out. I need to be realistic. If it takes setting an alarm to tell me to stop reading email and start laundry, I’ll have to do it. But I’ll also have to be flexible. If Hubs says “let’s go to the show” I’ll leave Alex and Nick and the Meddling Mama, even if someone is in jeopardy. Hubs needs some attention, too.

Do schedules work for you?