From To-Do to Ta-Da, Part 1

Overwhelmed? Desk a mess? Too many projects? Deadlines looming? Not sure what to tackle first?

Overeating to escape? Oh, maybe that was just me. Yesterday I downed yogurt, two kinds of fruit, cereal, a peanut-butter sandwich, cheddar chips, meat loaf, cheese, celery, a trail mix bar, a light beer, and a popsicle. I could have kept going if I hadn’t fallen asleep. Much of my frenetic eating had one purpose: to distract me from the challenges waiting in my office.
 

When I started this post, I wondered if I could stand to begin one more new document. I have so many unfinished Word files that I can’t remember what I named them. I start a new file when I get a new idea, and yesterday I had plenty of ideas.

We just got a pub date for the memoir I co-authored with my brother. Mr. Joe is due out in seven months, and we have begun the publicity campaign. Here I sit in the deep Ohio winter, wearing my sweats and fuzzy slippers, faced with our mission of creating a buzz--but not facing it alone. I am oh, so glad that Joe is in it with me.

Oh, you thought the publisher would do this? We’ve talked about these roles before: the publisher publicizes the book and the authors publicize themselves. Joe and I also have a publicist who makes our job easier, but many responsibilities still fall to us, the authors.

Yesterday Joe and I practiced interviewing techniques. We discussed what content to develop for our electronic press kit (EPK) and even touched on possible new projects. He is investigating websites related to books and has started a blog.

I started a gazillion Word files and ate.

Today had to be different, yet my brain was still in such a rat race with itself that I couldn’t think. So I stopped. I stopped and did what has never failed me: I took the time to get organized.

1.       Before I could be recruited for “Hoarders,” I cleaned off my desk. I moved everything off the top and ran a disinfecting wipe over the surface. I looked at every folder, sheet of paper, and sticky note, discarding what I could. I filed folders away and put books back on the shelf.

2.       I made a to-do list. This solution is tried and true, but many times I have to be facing disaster before I remember to try it. The length of the list doesn’t matter; its purpose is to separate the tasks that have become one big jumble and help us identify the most urgent ones. Here are mine:

Gather or create (with Joe) material for electronic press kit
Choose book excerpts
Write query letters
Send promised photos to horror website
Research magazines
Develop articles (with Joe)
Keep blog going

3.       I started working the list, my mind finally calming at the idea of one task at a time. For me, it’s the only way to work. And, for today, I can check off the last item on the list.