How can you balance competing priorities when writing?

Before commencing your writing, it's essential to establish clear priorities. Define the purpose of your writing, identify your target audience, and understand the project's requirements and expectations. Consider the time and resources available to you. Answering these questions will help you delineate the scope, set objectives, and establish criteria for success. Utilizing a prioritization matrix, like the Eisenhower matrix, can further assist in categorizing tasks based on their urgency and importance. This structured approach ensures focused and effective writing outcomes.

Writing is a lonely process because of the multiple responsibilities a writer has. As writing is deeply individualistic and unique, can't be sustained as a lucrative career option. Result: Multiple priorities - from passion to the one(s) that brings food to the table. Prioritizing the schedule while also scheduling the priorities would help greatly in delivering on time. at the same time, you will also have the time to do what you love along with doing what you ought to do. Delegating your work after building a network of like-minded individuals is another sure way of getting the work done without feeling fatigue. All in all, it's all about managing time and resources.

The start of any story is basciaclly the first two sentences and it should certainly convey what is going to be the most important in this piece of article and using eisenhover matrix can be really helpful in making choice of the priorities.

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." - Albert Schweitzer - Prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance. - Set clear goals and deadlines for each writing project. - Break down larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps. - Create a flexible schedule to accommodate different priorities. - Focus on one task at a time to enhance productivity. - Learn to delegate or seek support when necessary. - Regularly reassess and adjust priorities as needed. - Practice effective time management techniques. - Eliminate distractions during dedicated writing periods. - Develop the ability to shift focus between tasks seamlessly. #behappy ??

Here's the funny thing; I have used and taught the 'Eisenhower Matrix' for years, without knowing what it was called. Before I sit down at the keyboard to write I want to clear the important / urgent tasks from my agenda. Thus I free my mind for the writing work. If I can't clear all the I/U tasks before I need to start writing (perhaps one is a call to the west coast or another is waiting for information from someone else) I plan to toggle over to those tasks when it is time or I get the information. For me at least, writing doesn't flow if I have a brain full of other 'in progress' work; so clearing as much as possible ahead of writing time is important. As I sit down to write my phone is off, door shut, classical music on low.

Having pinpointed your priorities, the next step is to choreograph your writing ballet. Imagine your project as a performance with distinct acts—research, outline, draft, revise, edit, and proofread. Enlist a calendar, planner, or the avant-garde tools of project management to orchestrate your tasks and stage realistic deadlines. Don't forget to sprinkle some buffer time for unexpected plot twists, like feedback and revisions. With a meticulously planned writing process, you'll pirouette through your project, staying organized, focused, and delightfully motivated.

Planning in advance saves a lot of precious time. Planibg can be done on rough paper or some digital tool and the planned list of ideas can be updated with new information any time.

I break my writing into stages - research, drafting, revising. I use tools like digital calendars to keep track of deadlines. This planning helps me manage my time and keeps my writing process smooth and efficient.

You have to find the time to eliminate all other distractions. Zone in on your writing to focus on it and make it your primary goal or ambition. Another key is to make it enjoyable. Drink coffee or tea while getting into your story or the writing project's tasks.

The bulk of my personal writing (fiction and non-fiction alike) doesn't have deadlines, so where I really need to plan is Kickstarter updates. Working in customer support, I need to keep the backers aware of the status of five projects that are currently in various stages of production, and aim to update them at least monthly. This means communicating with both internal and external team members to find out what's happening with the game writing process, progression in the printing of the physical product, revisions to digital editions, and so on. I recommend Trello and Slack for keeping in touch during this process. I now keep personal projects separate on Notion, so I don't mix hard and soft deadlines.

One of the highly under rated skill is Saying no skill. It is fundamental to prioritize your to do or to write skill. So essentially focus is a key factor when it comes to writing a master piece.

I've learned to communicate clearly about my writing needs. Whether it's asking for more information or setting boundaries, effective communication is key to balancing my writing priorities without stress.

My three core communication pillars are kindness, necessity, and truth; if I don't meet at least two of those three with any communication I'm about to send, I think over what I've said and whether I even need to say it at all. As well as this, establishing response time to my own communications is paramount when dealing with a chain of command, team, or production line, particularly when working both remotely and asynchronously! Honesty and transparency are also an absolute must. Inaccurate or confusing information that gets passed on and further confused is a recipe for disaster.

One of the biggest things that many miss out on is delegation. By delegating you ensure 2 things happen: 1. You get a chance to focus on new things. 2. You make others feel valuable.

Not every area of what you are writing about is your area of expertise and hence it is good to ask for help and drlegate some of the steps of process to the ones who are more capable and can do it more managebaly.

No matter what you do in life, you can't do it alone. Think about the best writers, producers, & leaders our world has known. They always had people beside them, giving them knowledge about something. This is because it's impossible to know EVERYTHING. Don't be afraid to say "I don't know how to do this, can you help me?"

When overwhelmed, I delegate. Outsourcing research or editing frees up my time, allowing me to focus on core writing tasks. It’s about working smarter, not harder.

Working within even a small team that has multiple points of input into something like a Kickstarter update or social media blast means asking everyone for their input and encouraging them to say things in their own words, before doing an editing pass to ensure the company voice remains consistent. I'm very fortunate to be able to approach other team members if my focus is needed elsewhere to get drafts written for review and timely release.

Being perfectionist is an obstacle to your progress as a creative artist. So just show your work whem you think the world can appreciate. But it is also necessary to overcome shortcomings when identified.

There are two quotes that help ease the "perfectionist" in me: 1. "Perfection is impossible, but excellence is always available." 2. "Balance is a process, not a destination"

I strive for a balance between quality and quantity. I aim for 'good enough' rather than perfect, using tools to check grammar and readability. This approach helps me meet deadlines without compromising quality.

I practice the art of word vomit, then clean up. I believe that it's more important to get everything on paper and then make it pretty. Going for perfection during the creation process is a surefire way to kill the creative flow. I start with a blank page, and then just write, and write till I get the desired, required and necessary words written. Then I step back from the project to give my brain, and sometimes fingers a chance to breathe and recover. Then I quickly jump back into the fray for the cleaning and editing process. If necessary I bring on a second pair of eyes to help with the editing.

Writing can sometimes be extremely taxing especially when we first the unfortunate stance of a writers block. I often find myself in that situation and then dreading the idea of writing. More of than not, I find myself putting it off as much as possible. Recently I decided to start writing small little pockets of information along the way, this way, you don’t have to worry about writing huge chunks when the time comes. This allows you to take a step back from everything and see things in clear perspective.

Self-care is often neglected when it comes to managing stress. Because this is put as a last priority completion is put in priority. But taking care of self does not have to be on lower priority.

Nurturing the spirit of a writer involves tending to your soul's sanctuary. Writing, a dance of the mind and body, demands a sacred pact with your well-being. Enchant your days with restful pauses, nourishing sustenance, ample sleep, rhythmic exercises, and moments of serenity. Unearth the ancient art of stress alchemy through meditation, journaling, or the gentle murmur of shared words. In caring for yourself, you cultivate a garden where creativity blossoms, productivity sprouts, and joy becomes the sacred ink that dances upon the parchment of your soul.

If I could have separate space for writing, I would. As I mentioned above I like to clear any Important / Urgent work items from my task list before I start in. I also like to minimize distractions and have calming music playing. I have coffee and water always available and do take regular stretch breaks. Eyes away from the computer screen during breaks; quick snacks, and walks out to the mailbox refresh me. If I do get interrupted I assign the new task onto the matrix and work through anything Important and Urgent before going back to writing. That is often the time I will toggle back to make that phone call to the customer in California or check on the information I was waiting for. That way when I sit back down I am not stressing out.

This is a lesson I didn't learn until it was almost too late. It's so easy to overwork yourself because you're trying to meet a deadline set by a manager or yourself. But I always try to remember that my work will still be there after a 30 minute break. For me, taking my eyes off my work and coming back to it later, gives me a fresher perspective.

You just need a checklist to plan your work and to know your priorities. First, make a to-do list and follow the writing process step by step. Short breaks are necessary to refill your energy and refresh your mind. Give yourself a margin of time to hit your target on time.

Practice and become comfortable writing in any place, at any time, using any tool. Use a laptop, dictate into your phone, scribble on scraps. Take advantage of walking the dog, taking showers, and even insomnia. Except for the very fortunate, that dream of endless quiet hours, alone at a desk, with books and tea and a view of the trees is just that - a dream. Life is busy, and if you want to be productive, writing in the nooks and crannies is the way to do it.

Before actually sitting down at my keyboard I might make a paper list of things I will need to complete the particular writing assignment. Gathering those resources ahead means not having to interrupt my work flow to find that book and dig out the pull quote, Google a fact check, or locate spreadsheet information on the shared drive.