PLANNING ADMIN
I've always been someone who loves to be organised. I like to know what I'm doing and when I'm doing it. I have my planner, I have check lists on my iPad and I like to make sure that when it comes to the end of the month, the next month's stuff is all ready to go. Some of that is because I'm chronically ill and disabled, and just don't know how my health is gonna be from one moment to the next, and some of it is because I just like to ease that anxiety and having things planned helps me do that.
I've been using a paper planner for about four years now, and it's really opened things up for me. Before that I would plan on a private blog, and would just do things when I could. I did a stint of using the sticky notes app on my computer, and again, it was just about making sure that I had something visual I could look at and know things were all in their place and ready to me done. Even with my planner, I still use my iPad calendar app as a way to plan months in advance.
My point is that when it comes to writing and revising and all of the writing work, I'm pretty solid in how things go. I work on one thing a day, most days anyway, but there's other days when I have to do the admin work. Like writing these blog posts, and the vlog scripts, or doing the month's instagram images, and the reels and all of that. I like to put aside a day here and there where I can sit down at my desk, or in bed, and get these things done with little fuss.
Of course, I've found ways that work best for me. Like I know that in my planner, I will have vlog scripts and blog posts on the same day, but I actually, usually, do them on different days because they eat up my time and take way too long to bash them all out in the same day. This works for me, and it allows me to move things around if and when the need arises. Like sometimes I'll do all the scripts or posts in one sitting, and other times when there are more of them to do, I'll split them over two days just to give myself some breathing room.
Doing all of that helps with my anxiety, it helps me not push through and do too much in any one day, and it allows me to know that come the first of the month, I will have a whole months worth of posts, and images and all of that ready to go. It's been a tool that's helped me a whole lot throughout my writing career, and it's been something where I've learned new things, and pivoted to others. I've also got some idea of how long these will all take, because I track my time, so I know what time to set aside.
With all that said, I wanted to try and give some tips when it comes to planning those admin tasks. Whether you, like me, are chronically ill and disabled, or not, sometimes the admin side of writing and being an author can be monumentally overwhelming and it's hard to work out what will work for you, and what will leave you stressed to the max, and rushing around to try and get everything done.
#1 DO ONE THING A DAY
This works for me because it allows me to just focus on one thing, and I'm not putting all my energy, focus, and time onto several different things. I usually have about nine admin days a month, and those work for me, and if it's something you can do, then start there.
#2 BE READY TO CHANGE
If something isn't working for you, don't keep pushing, change the way you do things, and even if it takes you time to get into a groove, that's okay. This doesn't have to be set in stone, and you just gotta do what works for you, and that may change over time.
#3 PACE YOURSELF
This was a big one for me. While I usually only work on one thing a day, I also have days scattered here and there where I will do two things, and on those days I make sure they're not all in a row because that will burn me out. So be ready to pace yourself and take it easy. Don't jump in at the deep end, start small, and work up as and when you can.
So I hope those help, and I hope you're able to find a way that works for you. The admin of the author life is never ending, and you just gotta do what works for you, and don't worry about anyone else.
Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!
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