Priorities

By James M. Jackson

If you don’t have more you want to do or “should” do than you have time for, carry on: this post won’t be any use to you.

Since you are still reading, you share my problem: too many things on your “to do” list for the time available.

My number one best advice about solving prioritization problems is to learn how to politely say no. The more capable you are, the more others have stuff they want you to do. And, unlike me, who dislikes asking anyone to help me (not one of my stronger attributes, but that’s a different post), most people have no problem suggesting how you should spend your time.

Employers think they can unilaterally add to your to do list, and it takes effort and cultivated skills to learn how to manage up. With family, especially your life partner, it can be tricky to understand that occasionally “no” is not one of your options.

Those are external issues. The hardest challenge for me has been saying “no” to myself. I have so many ideas: new things I’d like to do, others I want to do better, and some I should stop doing (but which require me to do something else to accomplish my objective of stopping).

Not all of my ideas are great—some are crap. Many, however, have merit.

Some people grow TBR (to be read) piles or ebooks on their readers that seem unbounded. I’m that way with worthy ideas to pursue. Many authors share that “problem” with respect to stories they want to tell. I have those, and nonfiction projects I’d love to do, and classes to teach, and so on. But it’s not just in my writing business that I am creative. On no, I have places I want to go, things I want to see and do. And then there are all the projects I’d love to do to “improve” my land, (not to mention tasks like pulling rocks from the road that I must do to maintain my land). And, I have my own TBR list.

How can I say no to any of it?

I’ve learned I can’t. But I’ve also learned what happens if I try to do everything (or even a small subset of everything): My stress climbs like a Saturn rocket powering a moonshot, which soon leads to emotional and physical burnout. And for me, that’s a precursor to depression. Not good.

Q: What’s someone with a creative mind like mine to do?

A: Maintain an exceptionally large “project-on-hold” list.

I do not reject any idea that intrigues me. Just because it’s a wonderful idea or project or whatever, does not mean I can add it to my to do list. It has to earn its right to my time, and that’s where prioritization comes in. My initial response to any new idea is “nope;” I have too many other good ideas. But if the itch persists and the idea settles in as one I want to pursue, the “nope” becomes “not yet,” and I add the idea onto my “project-on-hold list.”

A concept can linger on the project-on-hold list for years. Occasionally, I delete one because it no longer holds my interest. I allow project-on-hold ideas to activate under two circumstances. The most frequent occurs as part of my annual project review process. Every December, I designate priorities for the coming year. I start with a fresh sheet of paper to try to avoid allowing sunk costs to dictate how I plan to spend my year. Less frequently, I’ll make a mid-year change when something comes up that is so compelling I must take it on. My rule in that case is I will only add the new item if I remove another. If I can’t eliminate enough else to free up sufficient hours, then I know the bright shiny new idea was not as compelling as I thought.

I have enjoyed success with this process. It has allowed me to have what Jan calls “serial passions.” Yet, on a day-to-day basis, I can still end up with too much to do. That’s when I reimplement lessons learned from old time management books. I employ a two-factor system.

The first factor is how important a task is: A, B or C.

“A” tasks are keystone tasks or those that relate to my physical or mental health. An example of a keystone task is my daily to do list. I know if I don’t do it, I’ll let the day slip away. That’s fine if I have a mental break day or I am on vacation or I know I am devoting the entire day to driving from Point 1 to Point 2. Otherwise, that five minutes in the morning sets the day up for success. Other “A” tasks are foundational: for example, if it’s a run day, it is extremely important that I run. Not only does it support my physical health, but I know that missing exercise is often a precursor to a depressive episode. So, it is important for me to not allow “other tasks” to become an excuse to avoid exercising.

“B” tasks are those that are important to me in the larger scheme. I’ve decided much of my writing business comprises “B” tasks. However, if a task is “gilding the lily” or its only value is to satisfy my curiosity or because I find the analytics interesting, I relegate it to the “C” list.

I currently do Wordle, Quordle, and Sequence daily and post them to Facebook. That’s a C-level task for me. Why is something so inconsequential even a C? Because it brings me several positives: the games challenge my brain. And I share results with others, which keeps me connected to community—both important for my wellbeing. But they are not so important that I should blow off running just because I haven’t done the day’s Wordle.

Overlaying the A, B, C categories is urgency. If the front tire of the car is flat, it’s urgent I get it fixed, even if I don’t expect to need the vehicle for a week. But you never know when you might need it for an emergency. Urgency sometimes must trump priority.

Some urgent tasks, like the flat tire, are extraordinary. I can’t do much about them other than to adjust. Others exist because I screwed up. I didn’t leave enough time to meet a promised deadline. Or I didn’t get a vital piece of information I needed to solve a problem. If those self-induced urgencies pile up, it is a critical warning sign that my priorities are catawampus, and it’s necessary for me to reevaluate them.

What about you? What is your method of prioritizing life and your tasks? How is it working?

* * * * *

James M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree series. Full of mystery and suspense, these thrillers explore financial crimes, family relationships, and what happens when they mix. You can sign up for his newsletter and find more information about Jim and his books at https://jamesmjackson.com.

Organize Your Writing Life in a Way that Will Keep You Sane

I was never the kid who did homework on Friday nights until I had to be.

Early in my schooling years, I’d live it up (usually with pizza and a movie) on Friday and Saturday nights and then spend my Sundays scrambling to finish writing papers or doing math problems while beating myself up for not doing my assignments earlier.

This all changed very quickly when my long-time gymnastics habit turned into an actual competitive team commitment. Soon came 25-hour weeks in the gym to go on top of all my school work and other extracurricular activities like volunteering and, I don’t know, being a 12-year-old kid.

Suddenly, my schedule was my life.

In order to get everything done, I finally had to be the kid who sat in her room working on algebra problems until 10 p.m. Friday night. I didn’t care if this made me a total nerd because doing my homework on Friday night meant I could do what I wanted the rest of the weekend. Hang out with my friends all day Saturday, go shopping with my mom, watch the Chiefs game with my dad, play with my little sister, head to the gym for a little extra work on my own Saturday mornings.

The sky was the limit, as long as my work was out of the way.

Thus, work before play became my motto back in middle school when it was a must. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to do all the things I wanted to do.

And it’s still my motto today.

Basically, my fiction is my “fun stuff.” What I want to sit down and savor. I don’t want to feel rushed. Or pressured by my other commitments to finish a scene, hit a word count, or whatever. So, I get other things finished first, and save my fiction for last.

This isn’t an easy task because these days, I also live and die by my schedule. It is PACKED. I have a full-time job, a family, a habit of ultrarunning. I have freelance—both writing and editing—and blogs like this one and the one I do over at Mysteristas. And, of course, I have my own writing habit.

Add all those things together, and I am one very busy person.

I can manage it all, but I need to have a hierarchy going or I get in trouble. So, just like when I was back in middle school, it’s always work before play.

My full-time job comes first. Then my paid writing and editing gigs. Then my regular unpaid gigs like this one. And then, finally, comes my “fun” writing.

(Obviously, family comes before ALL those things, but this blog is about work.)

Therefore, to stay sane/on top of things, I’ve got to get my paid obligations finished before my unpaid ones.

Not the most fun thing to do in the world, to be honest. I’d much rather spend all my extra minutes tweaking my work in progress, but, I’m an adult, and therefore I’m going to finish my freelance first. 

Every. Single. Time.

That said, actually sticking to my motto is especially hard when I’m in the thick of a project (like now) and can feel the words crowding center stage in my mind.

But, it must be done.

And once it’s done, I’ll have my fun—without all the other things I have to do hanging over my head.

How do you prioritize your writing life?