Working Smarter - Managing Your Time

In the last post I talked about writing regularly and scheduling the tasks that are linked to our goals.  Time is our most precious commodity, so it is something we need to manage.

Let me make a confession here - I’ve never been much good at multi-tasking.  I used to feel a little guilty about admitting this, as most people seem to think of it as a good thing.  Yes, I can multi-task the automatic, easy things, but when it comes to an important project I need to concentrate on it. 

I’ve been encouraged in reading a few research studies that say multi-tasking makes us less efficient than when we focus on one project at a time, and that managing two tasks at the same time reduces the brainpower available for either task.  Apparently multi-tasking also boosts our levels of stress related hormones - not a good thing.

‘An interruption that breaks your concentration can cost you 10-20 minutes of lost focus.’   Imagine how much little you’re going to get done if you keep on flicking onto Facebook or Twitter or (add your own favourite site here!)

We all have lots of different things going on in our lives, and I often find myself flitting from one thing to another.  For simple automatic tasks it probably doesn't matter too much, but when it comes to those goals we've set, like finishing the first draft, or editing it, we need to be stricter with ourselves.  When we stop (for just a minute!) to look at an email or a website, it takes us time to get back into what we were originally doing, and of course that minute is never just one minute.

I used to teach personal efficiency programmes so I know most of the theory - though that doesn't necessarily make me great at actually doing it!  I started timing the little 'breaks'. You know the ones - I'll just look at this email, just have a quick look at Twitter/Facebook etc.  If you've ever timed yourself on these secondary activities you know how long they can take.  You promise yourself it will only be a moment, but it never is, and added to that is the time it takes to get back into your original task.

I mentioned in the last post about the eight weeks I had to finish Lives Interrupted.  At that point I decided to test a different way of working.  I worked for fifty-minute blocks, doing nothing other than write my novel.  I didn’t look at email or websites (not even for research), no phone calls, and I set an alarm so I didn’t have to worry about the time.  My focus was amazing.  I was often surprised when the alarm went off, and was stunned at how much I wrote during each of those fifty-minute periods.

I’d then have ten minutes to look at emails, take a break, get a drink or whatever else I wanted to do.  Then I’d set the alarm again and work for another fifty minutes.  My word count using this method was far better than it had ever been.

Setting these blocks of time worked whether I was writing the first draft, or editing subsequent drafts, and I use it for my contracting project work.  Developing training materials or a technical manual also needs extended periods of focus and concentration.

Now you might be thinking, if an interruption loses you time in focus why do you have a break at all.  The reason for that is we each have a limit on how long we can work without losing our focus anyway.  It will be different for each of us, but generally it’s around an hour.   

Work to your strengths, both in the time of day you write and the length of time.  I can jot down ideas for scenes, or snatches of dialogue in odd five-minute spaces, but I need a longer period of time to get into my writing.  

The next post we'll look at where and how you work.

Take yourself seriously and other people will.  

Working From Home

Today is the first of November, and for writers everywhere November means Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month), but don’t worry as this post isn’t actually about Nanowrimo. To be honest I’ve never taken part in it, though I do think that writing a first draft as fast as possible is a great idea. The main reason I’ve not yet taken part is that I’ve never been in the right writing place – I’ve either been finishing a first draft, editing, or last year getting to grips with KDP, Smashwords and CreateSpace.  Yes, I agree, pathetic excuses, but I’m just not a multi-tasker when it comes to major writing or work projects.

I’m fortunate in being able to work from home most of the time, with only occasional projects requiring me to work from a customer’s office, and I was interested when I saw this article earlier today.

In my last fulltime job prior to working for myself, I was asked to put together a business case allowing staff to work remotely depending on their job role. In writing the business case I did quite a lot of research, and as part of that I met with staff and managers from several companies that had already implemented flexible working conditions.

The conclusion I came to was pretty much the same as shown in the link and the Stanford Business report mentioned in the article. 

Working from home isn’t possible for all jobs and won’t suit everyone, but it is a great option for some people.

A few years ago I spent a couple of days in another city working with some trainers on a project. We hadn’t met before, and in getting to know each other I mentioned that I usually worked from home. At first they all said how lucky I was and they’d love to do that.  Then after a moment one of them said. ‘Actually I don’t think I would like to work from home. I’d really miss meeting up with everyone in the office.’  Another then said they'd find it hard to get their work completed because of household distractions.

These are valid reasons for people preferring to work in the office environment.  We are all different and need different surroundings and motivation.

Personally I love working from home, but then I’m always amazed at the number of writers who seem to enjoy (and thrive) writing in cafes.  It wouldn’t work for me.  I was away a few weekends ago, and had a lovely breakfast in a very busy and noisy café. It was great for people watching, but writing! 

Wouldn’t it be boring if we were all the same?

Brain Stress

I'm not good at multi-tasking.

I used to say this apologetically, feeling there was something wrong with me, or that I was owning up to some deep dark secret, but now I say it proudly.

Over the past couple of years I've read enough to know that jumping from one activity to another is not necessarily a good habit.

This is an interesting infographic on digital stress and our brains, and what happens to our concentration when we are multi-task - certainly something to take into consideration when the tasks are important.

The suggestions in the What Can Help section aren't new, but I've found implementing similar initiatives has been very useful in helping my productivity.

Limiting the number of times I check email and use the internet, together with completing similar tasks at the same time helps immensely. I've also found the kitchen timer very useful in helping to keep me on track with work. I set it for fifty-five minutes and keep writing until the alarm goes off. I then have a five-minute break to have a drink/snack, stretch, and do something different to keep my inspiration up. Every second or third break (depending on what else is going on), I take a slightly longer break and use it to check emails, or do a group of those similar tasks.

Since doing this I've been a lot more productive when writing, and if you're keen on knowing how productive you are, you can check your word count every hour.

Unfinished Projects

On Friday I started off talking about multi-tasking, and ended up on the subject of finishing projects.  There is certainly no point in putting away the laptop and notebooks after sending a manuscript out to publishers and agents.  If you want to make a career from writing you need to produce more than one book or article.  But there are other times when it might be a good idea to turn to another project for a while.

I found it hard (read impossible) earlier this year to get back into the edits I needed to make in Lives Interrupted.  I would open the manuscript; open the edit file containing my notes on what I had completed, and what was still left to do.  I would read a few lines and feel this unbearable weight press down on me.  It was as though I was preparing to climb a mountain.  I'd close the files and walk away from my laptop.

It wasn't that I didn't want to write, but more that it seemed insignificant compared to what was happening at the time.

Ultimately, in an effort just to write, I put the editing aside and started working on a short story to submit for a competition.

It took a while but it worked, and I came out the other side with a renewed enthusiasm to get back to my novel.  Sometimes we do need to put a project aside and work on something else - just not too often I guess, or we end up with a hard drive of unfinished writing.

Multi-tasking

There's a myth out there that women can multi-task and men can't.  I guess like a lot of generalisations it's true for some people, but not others.  It's definitely not true for me.

I can multi-task the simple things that don't need my full concentration, but when it comes to important, or more intense activities, I have to focus on that one thing.

I'm envious of writers who talk about working on numerous projects at the same time, though I sometimes have less than generous thoughts of whether they're actually working on them all at the same time, which usually leads to random thoughts of a line of computers with a writer dashing madly between them.

I'm able to switch between a non-fiction (paying work) project, and a novel, but nothing more than that.  In much the same way I read one novel at a time.

Over the years I've been writing I've finally learned not to be so envious of someone else's talent, or way or working, and go with what works best for me.

I have a three-quarters complete first draft of another novel, which I started working on while I was waiting to hear from publishers/agents about Lives Interrupted.  I'm eager to get back into it, but also mindful not to get too ahead of myself before Lives Interrupted is completely finished.

When I started Lives Interrupted the manuscript didn't seem to move along very fast, working on it evenings and weekends.

When my job finished I decided to work for myself, but gave myself three months off to finish the first draft.  I worked on it full-time, and finished the first draft with a week or two to spare.

There is nothing like the relief and joy of getting to 'The End'.  However good or bad it is, without that first draft you don't have anything to mould and improve, and I guess that's the point.  Whether you can work on six things at the same time, or just one, it's not much use to you until it's finished.