Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Holiday Time Management Tips To Keep Your Writing On Target

Holidays provide a serious distraction for writers who want and need to complete their work.

So what can you do to enjoy all of the activities of the holidays, and also get some writing done? I’ve listed some of the things I’ve learned over the years when I had a very busy work schedule and family responsibilities.

• Make a schedule of what needs to be done, and when it needs to be done. Go day by day and week by week.

• Combine as many activities as possible, i.e. go to the bank, to the post office, to the drugstore, and the grocery store.

• Inventory the freezer and make room for holiday meals.

• Plan all menus for the holidays, including breakfasts and lunches. Spend one afternoon or evening cooking. Do a mini-freezer cooking session to put 5-10 pre-made entrees into the freezer.

• Make breads, pies, cookies, that can be frozen and used later. Pre-measure dry mixes (like scones) and store in air tight containers. Prepare for drop-in visitors. Collect hospitality supplies, cheeses, crackers etc.

• Solicit help from the family. There’s no reason hubby can’t address Christmas cards while you’re helping the kids make cinnamon ornaments or Christmas cookies.

• Create a master shopping list. Utilize the internet and catalogs for gift shopping.

• Set up a gift wrapping station with all supplies in one place. Wrap presents as they are purchased.

• Get up earlier and/or go to bed later to create that extra time needed to write.

• Utilize the time you spend waiting at children’s functions, doctor’s offices, wherever you spend a few minutes that you can write a paragraph or two. Use breaks and lunch at your day job to write.

What do you do to keep your writing on schedule during the holiday season? I hope you’ll share your experiences by leaving a comment.

5 comments:

Nas said...

Great advice. Love all the tips.

Ruby Johnson said...

Nas Dean and Jonathan:
Thank you so much for your comments and for your addtional resource on time management. I read somewhere that if you have small children, you need to add two hours to your schedule, because they tend to play "search and destroy" all over the house.
Ruby

Macky said...

Wow thanks for the great tips! I really enjoy reading articles and blogs regarding time Management...its really helpful esp for me, a newbie as a dad, so very hard adjusting schedules

anyway, let me also share to you this interesting site i found

Improve Productivity and Effective Time Management

thanks!

Macky

Unknown said...

Good Post! Very informative, glad that you are going to continue writing things like this!




Hospitality Supplies

Ruby Johnson said...

Santhiya:
Thank you for your comment. Glad you liked it. I enjoy the comments and the helpful information I get from readers such as yourself.

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