Overcoming Overwhelm
Overwhelm: bury or drown beneath a huge mass.
I’ve been a professional writer/author/editor for nearly 40 years. Even now, I still get overwhelmed when I start working on a project.
If you’re like me, you have too many things to do and not enough time to do them.
Especially when it comes to writing a book.
Sometimes the writing journey gets overwhelming. There doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done.
In the past, an author just had to write a book and send it off to a publisher and they did the rest. Today, authors must be writer, marketer, publicist—and sometimes publisher—to become known and have their books sold and distributed.
If that’s not enough, we also set big scary goals for ourselves that can add to the overwhelm.
So how do you overcome a “too long” to-do list?
Instead of trying to conquer the shortcomings of a traditional task list, create a will-do list.
Then take that to-do list and select several tasks that you’ll complete the next day: not ones you want to do or think you might do but tasks you’ll enthusiastically commit to do. Switch out your long list of intentions with a small list of commitments.
Here are several important principles to keep in mind regarding your new list.
1. It’s a list of commitments. Your goal should be to complete 100% of your daily will-do list every day. Don’t forget, these tasks are commitments. If you’re not serious about crossing off every item on the will-do list, what’s the point in creating one.
2. Once set, don’t add more items to your list. Your will-do list is meant to be a closed list. Once you create it, don’t add anything to it during the day. That means the only thing that can happen is that your list will get smaller.
3. Do things that matter. By selecting beforehand what tasks you’ll do that day, you’re more likely to choose the tasks that matter. If you wait to make those decisions in the heat of the moment, you’ll end up tackling the easy tasks or ones that seem urgent but aren’t important.
4. Develop your estimation skills. Knowing you need to finish 100% of your daily list—and nothing less-helps dampen our overly optimistic expectations. Truth is we cram too much stuff in our lives. The will-do list will put you back in perspective in understanding our limits.
5. Focus on one weak point in your writing. Athletes will spend 80% of their time working on the 10% or 20% areas where they’re the weakest. You should do the same. You’ll be encouraged when you see improvement.
6. Have an objective metric of accomplishment. Completing your will-do list is a good goal to use on a daily basis. It’s a simple, easy to track metric that conveys a powerful message: that you’re consistently keeping your promises to yourself. Try to keep a record of how many consecutive days you’re able to keep up with your daily will-do lists.
Your writing journey is full of overwhelm! You can, however, keep it manageable with practical, attainable goals that will help you make steady progress in your writing craft and career.
Want to learn more? Visit theysonewriting.com.
