Taking Back My Time | Sherrie Lord
Taking Back My Time
Sep / 05 / 2009
Tune in, focus, and clear out the
static.
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Not A Poser
I’m not writing — and it’s because I’m too tangled up in the BUSINESS of writing. That is, that greedy salesman called “promotion” has me running in circles like my hair’s on fire — namely, email, Twitter, Facebook, the blog you’re reading, and various author networks I belong to. I’m doing a lot of talking about “writing books,” but I’m not spending much time doing “writing books.”
But let’s be honest here. The time isn’t being stolen from me; I’m giving it away with both hands.
So here’s what I’m gonna do:
1. Email: Deal with each day’s stuff that same day. And write shorter emails in reply. (That’s gonna be a challenge; I write novels, not novellas.)
2. Twitter: Maintain my account, but Tweet only once a day, about what I’m generally doing that day. I’ll give you a general sense of what my daily life looks like, but I’m not a football game. I won’t be posting any play-by-plays.
3. Facebook: No more quizzes, no more games. Rather, I’m going to aim for periodic significance. That is, encouragement, fun photos, spiritual gems that come to me, and of course, the Biker Patch of the Week. Judging from the comments I received, people really enjoyed those silly patches; that’s a great reason to keep them going.
4. Blog: This one stays. I’ll be shooting for shorter but more frequent posts. So if you really want to know what I’m doing, subscribe to my RSS Feed.
5. Author Networks: I need to pay MORE attention to this aspect of my life and career. Writing is such lonely work, and artists get weird and do dumb stuff when they lose contact with the world beyond the one in their imaginations. I need the wisdom and encouragement, and I owe my colleagues access to the same from me.
In looking back on my mother’s typical day and mine, without a doubt mine is more complex, crowded, and stressful. But you see, she didn’t try to stay in contact with everybody she’d ever met. And since the Lord isn’t going to grant me any more hours in the day — and who’d want them anyway? — it’s up to me to cut some stuff from my to-do list. If I can’t hear myself think, it’s time to tune in, focus, and clear out the static.
Hugs, Sherrie ;-}
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