6 Step Life Hack For Busy Writers
Use a framework that increases your productivity and lowers stress
If you’re a busy writer, you know the importance of having a system for organising every aspect of your writing life.
In fact, you also know that you need to be able to organise not just your writing but also your personal and professional lives BEFORE you can even focus on your writing.
You want those ducks neatly lined up just as they are.
But the plethora of writing and organisation-related advice floating around actually adds to the chaos and overwhelm you already feel. Even when you take time out to understand and implement a system, it doesn’t quite seem to work out. It’s often either too rigid or ditsy.
So, you give up in frustration and go back to the chaos and overwhelm of your busy writer life. Only, this time with the added guilt of not being able to implement that ‘fantastic panacea of a system’ that worked so perfectly for the person who taught it to you.
I know. Have walked in your shoes more often than I would like to admit.
No one knows your life’s circumstances better than you.
As a solution focused person, I am always on the look out for ways to make things easier and more manageable in our busy writer lives.
So I came up with a system of my own to hack this busy writer life
And that is what I would ask all you busy writers to do.
No one knows your life’s circumstances better than you.
Create your own system. Find a framework that makes sense and use it to create your own organisation and productivity routine. The rest will follow.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the bare bones of the FRAMEWORK/SYSTEM that I have devised for my busy writer life. Have a read and see. Take what suits. Discard what doesn’t.
Are you ready?
I have a cute acronym for my system/framework. It is the POODLE 😂
Here are the bare bones of the 6 step system/framework:
Prioritise- You decide what needs to be done in which order.
Organise- Find ways to batch tasks and put a system in place that flows.
Outline- Plan an outline of your day/writing tasks.
Delegate- Find humans and /or apps to take some work off your hands.
Let Go- Everything doesn’t have to be perfect. No, seriously, it doesn’t!
Execute- Plump out that outline and do what you need to do.
That’s it my friends and fellow writers. That is my starting point. a framework that helps me to balance my writing career with my family life.
Of course, I have specific tools/ apps/systems that I use with each step. But, they are not compulsory. For example, I use a free version of the app Trello to track my writing, my submissions, my competition entries etc. You might choose to do it on a doc or even on paper. It is the ‘keeping track’ that matters not the ‘how you keep track.’
This framework is flexible and totally adaptable to your circumstances. It lets you incorporate your own ways and needs. I am an apps and chrome extension junkie. You might be the sticky notes kind of person. Do it your way. The framework still holds up.
Give it a try and see. Would love to know your thoughts.
I do go into a more in depth ‘how to implement’ and ‘suggested tools/apps’ for each one of my 6 steps Poodle Framework. If you are keen to check that out, you might want to sign up for my FREE weekly Newsletter linked below.
Thank you for being with me so far. I appreciate you giving me your time and attention.
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