Helloooo and happy Revenge of the Fifth day to you!
(What? You’re just now realizing I’m a geek? Really? ??)
Here we are again on our weekly post about all things indie – or at least a few random indie thoughts.? Each week I share some of the wins, challenges, and tricks I’ve learned (and am learning) along this indie-author journey — and hopefully, it will help someone out there on theirs! So, let’s jump in.
This Past Week
This past week has been chock-full of #WriterProblems… well, one in particular… I’m sure you’re familiar with it…
Too Many Ideas & Not Enough Time
Yep, I’m suffering bad from it. But… let’s be honest here, that’s a good problem to have, right? I mean sure, it’s frustrating, annoying, and can lead to overwhelm and the dreaded procrastination that impersonates ‘being busy’… but still, I’d much rather have too many ideas, than too few.
This is also a leading problem that multi-passionate entrepreneurs face. All. The. Time.
And since I am both an entrepreneur and a writer… DOUBLE WHAMMY! ?
For those who don’t know, I run a tech business, doing everything from web development, hosting, and more for both local clients, and the much larger ‘division’ of my biz focuses on indie authors. (Author’s Mojo).
And… woooo do I have something fun and awesome coming up for you all with Author’s Mojo! I’m excited!!! I can’t talk much about it quite yet… but it will be launching very soon and I’ll be sharing it out with all my friends who want to participate.
But – my real love and passion – even more than tech – is writing. And while the tech-biz helps pay the bills (a necessary evil)… I find myself almost in withdrawal during the busy times when I don’t have as many hours to devote to my writing. It’s a conundrum for sure… and it makes me a wee bit cranky, I must admit.
Truly though, the only thing we can do during those times is WHAT WE CAN DO.
How many times have you made plans for what you were going to get done in a day… and then get to the end of that day, worn out, exhausted, and only half way (if you’re lucky) through the list of things you KNEW you were going to be able to get done?
Sound familiar, anyone?
Yeah – we all do it. And a little spoiler alert… as you get older… that can sometimes get worse. In my head I am still in my twenties… but my body vehemently disagrees with that notion, and rebels frequently when I try to force the issue. ?
So — here’s how I deal with it. And this may make perfect sense to you… or it may sound like a load of rubbish — either is okay, we all have our own methods and ways that work for us.
I go back to the start. To the basics. To the absolute foundation of my goals.
My Priorities.
Because, let’s be very clear here… sometimes our goals and our true soul-deep priorities do NOT line up. And that’s where we get into trouble. And that’s what contributes to the stress, strife, angst, feelings-of-failure, overwhelm, etc.
Here’s how I do it:
Step 1 — I write down my TRUE priorities. My son, my health, my spirituality, what my heart TRULY wants… NOT what I “should” want based on what everyone else’s opinions are, or what society deems as what I am “supposed” to do.
Step 2 — I write down everything I want to do. All the projects. All the random ideas. All of it.
Step 3 — I compare. Is everything I wrote down on that “want-to-do” list in alignment with my actual priorities?
It’s important to sometimes take a step back and get really, super clear on what it is that is truly important to you, and then look at those things you say you want to do, to have, to be… and examine them… are they really what YOU want… or are they what you think is EXPECTED?
That’s great – but how do I apply that to all the different books I know I want to write?!
It’s pretty similar actually. Look at all the book projects you have that you want to get written. Then look over that list of your priorities. Do any of those book ideas resonate with your priorities? Do any of them FEEL better/fun/more relevant than the others?
Yeah – it sounds kinda’ “woo-woo” I know… but it works for me. If you choose your projects based on what lines up with your priorities – you’ll find it is MUCH easier to get “into the flow” of it, and much less apt to cause you stress, overwhelm, resentment and all that negativity.
But – of course – that’s just my two-cents! ??
What I Accomplished
- Masterclass workshop on WordPress / Elementor Pro
- Scheduled posts for the month for biz
- Compared Mac Dictate and Dragon Naturally Speaking — (? was the big winner, btw!)
- 2 newsletters
- 2 blog posts
- 3 websites
- Facebook Live
- Author tech coaching class
- 2k words written (not ideal… but better than 0!)
Big Takeaway
Get clear — really clear — on what you want, and you’ll find a lot of the “to do’s” were really someone else’s “Should do”… then smile and gleefully dump it from your list!
[bctt tweet=”It’s important to step back and get clear on what’s important to YOU, then look at those things you say you want to do, have, & be… are they really what YOU want… or are they what you think is EXPECTED?” username=”MoriganShaw”]