Time to Get Organized

Folks, for approximately the 772nd time in my life, I've decided to get organized. It's serious this time. I bought a whiteboard. Color-coded markers. Dug my planner out of its hiding place in the bottom of my black hole of a book bag and dusted it off. My desk once again has a writing surface available.

Books don't write themselves. They certainly don't edit themselves. And it's time to buckle down and start taking things more seriously.

At some point, if you take writing seriously, you'll have to act like you take it seriously. That means putting in the time, effort, ink, and elbow grease to get things done. It means carving out time, resolving to make some sacrifices.

I'm not an organized person. (If you don't believe me, check out my closet. I never worry about monsters hiding in there because they'd just be knocking things over on their way to come out). But if I want to get writing done, I need to organize it into my life and make it a priority.

If I'm serious about this writing thing (and I hope I am), it'll mean working two jobs--my day job and my writing job. That means dedicated sufficient time to writing so that I can actually get things done. That means being intentional about my time and not wasting three hours on facebook. (Guilty as charged).

This time around (since I've done this approximately 770 other times, give or take), I know it won't be easy. Life will be great for about a week and then I'll hit a road bump and I'll give up on being organized. Except, this time, I hope I can dig up the endurance to not give up.

It'll be hard. Frustrating. A struggle. But in the end, I hope to come out with something publishable on the other side. And maybe, this 772nd time will be the time that it works. That it pays off. I hope so.

Do you struggle with being organized?

How do you work writing into your life?