Reading like a boss.

March is reading month. Since my crazy day job is at a school, I spend the month quoting Dr. Seuss, promoting family reading, and coming up with unique ways to entice young kids to read. Then as a writer, reading has many forms. Some for research (i.e. the articles on keeping spiders as pets, the most dangerous spiders, spiders found in various regions – yes, this was research because I personal HATE spiders but the killer in my current WIP has a thing for spiders), some for improving my craft, some for critiques, so it’s often hard to fit in ‘pleasure’ reading.

I love to read! And I know it benefits my writing. But with my schedule it’s hard to squeeze the time in. I have found that if I set a reading focus it hopes me work books into my schedule.  This year I’m reading through the alphabet. My list is over on my blog – http://www.lynceeshillard.wordpress.com

Books are a uniquely portable magic ~ Stephen King

Here are a few tips on how I fit reading into my busy life…

1. Make Reading a Priority

In most every case, you can make time for what you truly want to have time for.
2. Always Have a Book Handy
I keep a few books I’m working on reading through different parts of the house, my purse, and my car. That way, if I have a few minutes of extra time, I have a book handy to pick up and read.
When I’m headed out the door for an appointment, when I’ll be riding in the passenger seat instead of driving or when I’m going anywhere that there’s a potential I might have some “dead” time, I bring a book along. Sometimes, I don’t even get to crack it open. Other times, I end up having unexpected waiting time and finish half the book!

3. Set Reading Goals
I’ve been amazed at how much more I’m reading when I have clear-cut reading goals in place. Like reading at least 2 steampunk books in addition to any other books that grab my interest with a 3 book a month minimum. I don’t do weekly goals…
This year I’m going to ‘try’ to post the books I’ve read on Pinterest. I have avoided Pinterest with the same diligence as a person would the plague but I’ve been repeatedly told that it’s wonderful….
4. Turn Off the TV and deleted Candy Crush…
I’m not a big TV watcher but I did donate HOURS to Candy Crush… I don’t even want to think about the total.
5. Listen to Audiobooks
I do this while crocheting or working one of my other Linus Project blankets unless I need to focus on the pattern or I’m ‘cooking’ on a writing project. But you can listen in the car, while you’re folding laundry, while you’re exercising… any time your hands are busy but your mind is free.

These are five things I’ve done that has increased my reading time. I’d love to hear any of your suggestions/tips.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week :D

Time-Suck Black Holes

By Linda Lovely

In my late twenties, I was a senior partner in a public relations/marketing firm and regularly worked 60-plus-hour weeks and spent a fair number of days each month on the road. At the same time, I took night-school MBA courses with all the associated homework. I also played tennis, read books, cooked, cleaned house, socialized.

How? I wonder. Were the days longer? Was I more organized? Did my brain function better?

My mother warned me: “Time changes as you get older. It moves faster. You move slower.”

I’m not sure I believed her. I do now.

I started working out of a home office early in my career. So, when I decided to focus on writing fiction and becoming my only client, there was no shift in the work environment. Same computer, office, telephone, and in-home distractions. Pajamas remain optional work attire.

A key difference is that I’m now subject to self-imposed deadlines, and my admonitions—I must write 2,000 words before I quit for the day—aren’t nearly as effective as the arbitrary deadlines clients foisted on me. I can excuse slipping one day because our blueberry bushes need to be pruned and the weather’s warmed enough that I won’t freeze my fanny. Or I need to check Facebook to see if anyone responded to a post on my author page. Or I should spend more time researching an interesting tidbit that may or may not make it into my manuscript.

This is one reason I remain interested in traditional versus self-publishing. I always meet deadlines when I’ve promised someone else that I will.

Another key difference? My attention is fragmented. Social media—Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Linked In, and a dozen writer loops—compete for my attention. By the time I glance at all the media I’m signed into, that Internet black hole may have swallowed an hour or more of my day. Worse yet, I might not have even posted on any of the loops. That means the value of social media in terms of marketing my fiction or getting my name out there is pretty much nil.

Another difference seems to be a lessened capacity to say “no.” Could you (fill in the blank) edit/produce a newsletter for our nonprofit, serve as secretary for our organization, bake cookies for an event, judge a contest? I don’t mind—in fact, I enjoy—granting most such requests, but I seem to have lost my ability to say “no, I don’t have the time to do it now, maybe later.” Perhaps it goes back to those deadlines. Since they’re “just” mine, they’re not as important.

One of the suggested themes for this month’s blog was “turns in our lives.” I’m not going to say I’ve made a New Year’s resolution, but I will say I’m going to look at time differently in 2014. It’s a precious commodity and I need to claim more of it for the things I enjoy doing most—and one of them is writing fiction. Time is moving faster these days and I need to grab hold of more of this precious commodity for myself.

So, authors, how do you make sure you meet your self-imposed deadlines?   

Christmas is Fun!

Ha!  I sit here at my computer with piles of presents sitting on the floor waiting to be wrapped.  There's menus to plan, grocery lists to make, cookies to be baked, cards to be addressed and sent, and the house needs a thorough cleaning!

I thought I was ahead of the holidays this year.  I bought my Christmas cards in October, all the stamps in November, and now I ask you, where did the time go?

We bought our tree on Tuesday and decorated it Wednesday.  I’m starting to get in the mood for Christmas.

I kept putting off loading my Christmas picture of myself, my husband and my mom on the Costco site.  I wanted to include this picture in with the family Christmas cards.  So here it is 12/12/13 and tomorrow I can pick up my pictures.  Sigh!

Seems like I’ve just now recovered from Thanksgiving, we were lucky enough to have wonderful visits from family near and far.  So enjoyable!!  And as I said my last goodbyes to departing family, I remember thinking a few days to recover and rest and then I’ll start on Christmas.  Ha!  I let that thought fly right out of my head.

Tomorrow I’ll get my Christmas cards sent.  (At least I don’t have to wait in the Post Office line, since I did already buy my stamps.  That’s terrific isn’t it?)  Then I can scratch one more thing off my to-do-list.  I’m feeling better already!

Now I’m thinking about what kinds of cookies I should make.

Watch out Christmas, here I come!

Happy Holidays to All!!!

What is your favorite thing to do to get ready for Christmas?  My favorite thing is baking cookies!!

Leaping Less Often--Making Time for Me

Leap Year. An extra day. Oh, boy!

Since I don’t need to spend time on any Sadie Hawkins activities, maybe I’ll invest the day finishing projects that have fallen to the bottom of my ever-expanding to-do list. Often these are half-finished home improvement, clutter removal, paper filing or garden projects. Tasks I figured would take me, say, a day when I started them. Unfortunately I have a severe handicap when it comes to estimating woman-hours per job.

As my husband will testify, I have no problem leaping. My inclination is to say, ‘Sure, I can do that. Shouldn’t take me more than a day (or hour) or two.” I’m an optimist. And, yes, the appropriate adjective is cockeyed.

When it comes to professional matters, I’ve learned to follow the advice provided by my better half after observing my time management skills for a number of years. Before I promise a client a completion date, I tell myself to take a deep breath and multiply whatever number I think is realistic by three or four. Usually this means I only have to stay up until midnight to finish on time instead of pulling an all-nighter. If I’ve promised someone else to finish a job, I keep my promise.

I’m not so kind to myself. I find it very hard to say “no” if I’m asked to judge a writing contest, help a fellow author with a critique, write and layout a newsletter for a nonprofit I believe in, or serve as secretary for our neighborhood association. Often that means the only pruning my roses get comes courtesy of beavers, and the floor has become my filing cabinet because I can’t stuff another thing in the hanging folders.

So, this leap year (starting now), I promise myself to become more selective with my leaps. It’s okay to say “no” to outside commitments in order to say “yes” to my own projects—including reading for the sheer pleasure of it.

Now there’s something to leap on. Time for me.

How do you carve out time for yourself—to write, to dream, to relax?