The Big O (Organization) & The Big P (Prioritizing)

I'm not a linear thinker. I'm left-handed, right-brained, and ideas come to me in flashes of disjointed inspiration and dreams, which I try to put together later in some coherent fashion. This may be a good thing for creativity, but it sucks for being an organized person--especially when I also have a short attention span and am easily distracted Look--something shiny! What was I blogging about? Oh yeah...So I was about to say that my top resolutions for 2011 are to get more organized and prioritize. I've said this in previous years, but without any sort of attack plan. Yesterday, I bought my very first Weekly/Monthly Planner. (Can you hear the sound of gospel choir singing 'hallelujah' in the background?) I'm going to use it to schedule and log marketing info., sales, and my writing word counts.

But, that's just one weapon in my attack plan. I've realized (can I get another 'hallelujah'?) that it's impossible to DO EVERYTHING THAT I WANT TO DO. So, I also need to prioritize. I've always wondered why, as people get older, they get 'stuck in their ways'. Well, I've realized that it's partially due to life editing. There are only 24 hours in a day, and you have to sleep for 1/3 of them, and possibly work for another 1/3 of them. That doesn't leave a whole lot left to indulge every one of your interests. You have to prioritize what's most important to you, so if you get hit by a bus tomorrow (sadly that happens a lot in my city), you won't be lying on your death bed thinking, 'Gee..I wish I had...' If I was at the end of my life, I would most regret not writing and publishing more of the stories in my head. So in 2011, I'm not going to study French,  play with tarot cards, bellydance, read 20 magazines each month, read all of the newspaper every day, clip lots of coupons, or watch much t.v.  Instead...(with the help of the ROW80 challenge to get me started)...I'm going to write.  I intend to publish three more books this year, and that's only going to happen if I'm organized and able to prioritize writing over dozens of other distractions (reading excepted--books are food for the brain). I see a lot of other indie writers with similar goals on their blogs. Here's wishing us all a year filled with gazillions of happy, creative keystrokes.