How to Herd Cats (Or Attempts to Organise My Life)

I often feel that my life is a chaotic mess. I rarely get one activity finished, before another one pulls my attention away from it and I end up with a very long to-do list that I can’t actually tick any items off because, although I have accomplished many tasks, I haven’t actually completed any of them in full. After messaging Rae the other day and finding she was having similar issues, and, working on the principle that sometimes we understand a process better when we try to teach it to others, I decided to share my current attempts at organising my writing life with you.

Getting organised feels to me like I’m trying to herd cats — there are lots of things independently wandering about and none of them ever stays where they are put. Most of my ‘cats’ are justifiable activities: I have a novel to finish editing, another one to write, regular short stories with deadlines to submit, a teaching job, housework, an elderly father in a care home, two children at home, a third child living ‘independently,’ and a husband who spends much of the year at sea — where he gets to focus on his job with no other distractions… Hmm.

The list goes on, as I’m sure it does for all of us. And while I am the sort of person who can easily leave the housework undone with few regrets, I also see other people managing to accomplish more than I do despite having just as many cats (if not more) in need of herding.

Earlier this year, I bought a book called The Organised Writer by Anthony Johnston and read it cover to cover. Anyone familiar with my reading habits (apologies to Carol MacLean for reading Jeannie’s War entirely out of order) knows that this is, in itself, a rarity. While it contained many helpful suggestions, and I would recommend it, I’m well aware that my brain simply doesn’t function the way Johnston’s brain does and while I’m currently working on untangling the mess that constitutes my thought patterns until I do, I will have to compromise with some of his guidance. 

So, what I am doing? Well, I have developed a four-pronged approach. I thought of a rather sweary title for it but then decided to call it the Fork Handles Approach. This will hopefully light my way to a more organised writing life. (Note: this joke doesn’t work as well in written form.)

The Fork Handles Approach

The To Do List: Write every task that needs done on this. Every task. (And yes, I have been known to write a task I’ve already completed down just so that I can tick something off — but I think this is okay — the more ticks I see, the more likely I am to believe finishing things is possible.)

The Week to View Diary: Every item on the To Do list then needs to find a place in the Diary. This sits beside me at all times so that I can regularly check what I’m supposed to be doing. I then force myself to do that thing first. Before I do any thing else. (This may sound obvious but believe me, it is the most difficult stage in the process for me!) I then get the satisfaction of ticking it off, both on my To Do list and in my Diary, thereby making me feel twice as productive! 

The Project Planner: While the To Do list/Diary combo works for most things, there were some troublesome items on my to do list, that just never seemed to leave — those bigger items that take more time, or that are actually the result of a series/combination of tasks. In order to deal with those I’ve started to use a Project Planner. I couldn’t find one that did exactly what I wanted it to do, so I used what I’ve learned from Canva and KDP and designed my own. (Some of you may recognise this as a procrastination technique, but it was fun and necessary and that’s the story I am sticking to!) I have actually sold a few copies of this and the new author name I picked for this project makes me smile. (This is also a bit sweary, so don’t click on the link in the comments if you’re easily offended.) Each bigger project gets its own page and can then be further broken down into smaller pieces. What I call Tiny Achievable Targets. I then still feel like I’ve accomplished something when I tick one of those off!

The Habit Tracker: I use this for all the never-ending items on my To Do list. Things like learn ten new vocabulary words every day, or exercise daily, or even — dare I say it — housework. How do you ever manage to tick those items off a To Do list successfully? I now have a wipe clean Habit Tracker right in front of me as I’m working each day. (I’m clearly still a work in progress when it comes to developing habits, but I am definitely improving.) 

Between all of these, I appear to be making some progress (my editor, if she’s reading this, will be rolling her eyes!) On the positive side, however, I have submitted competition entries more regularly this year, my writing is more consistent, and one day… someday… hopefully soon, I will finish The Viking's Princess Bride and publish it! 

Now, to learn how to focus on one writing project at a time. Wish me luck!

The Organised Writer

My Project Planner

Jeannie’s War