I’ve long been searching for the magic productivity bullet. Diaries, journals, kanban boards. Different configurations of planners and bullet journals. The problem is, these things can be ignored. To manage anxiety, I rely on CBT techniques which involve making lists, except sometimes I get too anxious to make a list, and if the list in a software thing, I can easily ignore it. Also, as you can imagine, this makes things worse!
If it’s a book, less so. I started with a nice paper diary this year, but I’d make a list, and time would march forward, and things wouldn’t be done and I couldn’t bring myself to face that the last list I wrote was two weeks ago.
Usually, I keep stuff in my head, and do full steam ahead on that, with other urgent things lurking in the background like lurking monstrous tentacles.
I’m trying to get a book out this year, in record time, but while I’m focused on editing, there’s other stuff I need to prep for. Covers, promotional bling…. Stuff that should be done as early as possible, but I don’t want to think about. Time to make a list, and yet if I use a diary, I get anxious when I see how few weeks are left. Why is project management easy at work, and yet hard to bring into my personal space?
But since I also have a streak of ruthless pragmatism, so it’s time to bring out the paper diary again. Except, this time, I’ve resurrected one of my old bullet journals. No dates, months, just a list of things that can be crossed off. The journal is a physical artefact, so I’m less likely to ignore it as an app. Got a lot to get done over the next few months, and it’s important I stay on top of things leading up to getting Book 3 done….