Busy, Not Rushed

I’m busy, so a post today on that subject.

I divide my available daily working time into three sections: work I do for my creative projects (I’m on the second draft of a novel at the moment), writing I do for this blog, and writing and consulting that I do for clients. And I’m pleased that the client work is picking up. I enjoy it and the money is good. Busy, busy, busy.

But there’s danger here. It is so easy to let a full schedule result in feeling rushed and overwhelmed. When I responded to Penny, my editor, with a short reply stating as much, she reminded me that I should follow my own advice and maintain control of my own schedule and my life. And not to put too fine a point on it, she reminded me that I don’t do my best work when rushed.

You should be so lucky to have a Penny in your life. We’ll talk about the value of friends, mentors, and coaches in a later post.

The writer, in particular, faces the pressure of the deadline continually. This used to be reserved for the pros, we happy few, we band of brothers and sisters, but now that social media requires blogging and communicating from business executives, industry experts, and virtually every small business owner, that special torture is available to a much wider audience. The tyranny of the blank page and the looming deadline is ever present.

It is so tempting to just dash off that next post. You need something up NOW. You’re in-between meetings. You have a few moments. Why not push through a new post?

I have an answer for that: because there’s already enough crap on the Internet. If you ask yourself, “why doesn’t my blog generate any traffic?” it might be that your writing isn’t clear, interesting, or well thought out. Just another piece dashed off in the heat of the moment.

You’re better than that.  You can do the work, but you have to allow the time for it. If it’s important enough to do at all you should give it the attention and space it deserves. Or don’t do it yourself. This is one of the reasons that I’m busy. If you don’t have time to write, hire someone like me to do it for you (that’s my plug for today – email me at whowrites@me.com).

Here are some tips to help you write and not feel rushed or overwhelmed:

• Work a week or two in advance. It may be difficult to do initially, but once you fill your pipeline with well-written pieces, you’ll be able to relax a bit, knowing that you’re working on pieces for next week, not TODAY. I typically work a week in advance for this blog and try to work two weeks ahead for clients.
• When you want to respond to a current issue or topic NOW, write your piece, save it, and take a coffee break. When you come back, read the piece out loud. If possible, have someone else read it before you publish.
• Schedule time away from the keyboard. I recommend taking a break, getting away from your desk both before AND after writing a new piece. The before break lets you do just that, “break” from the thoughts and activities you were just engaged in so you can focus on your writing when you get back. After, so you can “get out of your head” and let your body and mind rest for a moment after the intense focus of writing.
• Use your writer’s notebook. Don’t rely on your head to keep all those ideas for future posts. When you think of something, capture it. This will help you both relax and end up with a list of ideas, thoughts, and plans. That blank page is not so terrifying when you have a book full of great things to write about right next to your keyboard.

You can be busy without feeling rushed. These are words for myself as well as you. Exercise control over the process of writing and all the things you have to do. If necessary, find a way to do fewer of them. But for those things that you do choose to have on your schedule, do them intentionally, methodically, and take the time necessary to do them well.