Show Notes

 

Summary:

Episode #40: Take Charge of Your Writing Space, Tasks, and Projects

Episode 38 introduced four major areas we can manage: our writing space, time, energy, and attention. The next week, in episode 39, I posed a series of questions to help us evaluate our writing spaces in order to create a master "punch list" to work through in the week ahead.

In this episode, I review some progress I made on my own punch list; remind us to add a whimsical, playful element to our workspace; and then dive into another aspect of our space—ways to manage our writing tasks and projects.

Whether you choose an analog or digital solution (or a combination of both), dump everything into one task management or project management system and commit to it. Have your system (journal, notebook, checklist, or app) with you at all times to store any ideas that come to mind.

Finally, before we leave the topic of managing our space and move on to managing our time, I suggest thinking through a system for storing and accessing physical files—printed paperwork. Digitize what you can and store the scanned documents on a hard drive or app like Evernote. For the remaining physical, printed documents that must be archived or at your fingertips for easy access, a simple drawer with file folders may do the trick.

Take charge of your space, tasks, and projects for a more productive (and I predict happier) writing life.

Post your progress on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook using #writingspace, and I'll try to track you down! I'd love to read about (and see) how your space is shaping up.

Listen for the full podcast.

Resources:

The Play Project: A Month of Fun for Anyone (especially writers and other creatives)

Take Your Play History

#29: The Energizing Work of a Playful Writer

#31: Plan a Playful Year

#39: Manage Your Writing Space to Be a More Productive Writer

#38: Manage Your Writing Space, Time, Energy, and Attention

Beyond the To-Do List podcast episode that mentions committing to one project management system

Todoist.com

Bullet Journal overview

Bullet Journal search on Pinterest

Poets & Writers Toolkit: Productivity Apps for Busy Writers (Tweetspeak Poetry)

20 Awesome DIY Office Organization Ideas That Boost Efficiency (via Lifehack) 

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Image by Ann Kroeker, using photo from Pixabay, free for use under Creative Commons CC0.