IT'S RAINING LISTS
Is anyone else out there getting fed up with the whole idea of writing lists of goals? The self-help industry constantly stresses the importance of writing down our goals. They warn us that if we don't write down our goals we will never achieve them.
Throughout my own life I have spent considerable time writing down long lists of goals - sometimes with categories and sub-categories - but that's just me. I have many notebooks - far too many.
I am beginning to wish I had the time back I spent writing down these goals. How many hours? Do they add up to days, weeks, or months? I have a feeling I might have achieved more if I had just got on with it. My to-do list is now a to-do-file and yes, there are categories and sub-categories and sometimes it's even colour coded.
Somewhere along the line we have become slaves to these lists. What's wrong with sitting still? Gut instinct can provide us with the best ideas and yet how do we find time to listen to our gut - when we're too busy writing lists?
Maybe the emphasis is on writing lists and goals because if we don't, we can't control the deluge of 'stuff we have to do.'
I am currently building a website and I am not just swamped and overwhelmed by information - I'm drowning in it.
Every time I research something I find a great piece of information - I put it on my list. Unfortunately that great piece of information leads to another and another until I feel like it's raining lists.
As a writer - I am becoming more and more aware that I need to unplug, switch off and just write. I have found that some of my favourite achievements - a short comedy documentary about Zombies, a prize-winning story I wrote simply because I couldn't sleep, a book I wrote to pass time on a boring daily bus journey- were never on my to-do list. I just did them - without the list.
I may sound like a hypocrite here but I do actually still think we need to write a list. But it should be short and ruthlessly edited. If there have been items on the list for over a month that you have not started - then maybe you should cut it out and move on.
Be careful not to let the goals we think we should achieve - confuse us with the ones we can.
Is anyone else out there getting fed up with the whole idea of writing lists of goals? The self-help industry constantly stresses the importance of writing down our goals. They warn us that if we don't write down our goals we will never achieve them.
Throughout my own life I have spent considerable time writing down long lists of goals - sometimes with categories and sub-categories - but that's just me. I have many notebooks - far too many.
I am beginning to wish I had the time back I spent writing down these goals. How many hours? Do they add up to days, weeks, or months? I have a feeling I might have achieved more if I had just got on with it. My to-do list is now a to-do-file and yes, there are categories and sub-categories and sometimes it's even colour coded.
Somewhere along the line we have become slaves to these lists. What's wrong with sitting still? Gut instinct can provide us with the best ideas and yet how do we find time to listen to our gut - when we're too busy writing lists?
Maybe the emphasis is on writing lists and goals because if we don't, we can't control the deluge of 'stuff we have to do.'
I am currently building a website and I am not just swamped and overwhelmed by information - I'm drowning in it.
Every time I research something I find a great piece of information - I put it on my list. Unfortunately that great piece of information leads to another and another until I feel like it's raining lists.
As a writer - I am becoming more and more aware that I need to unplug, switch off and just write. I have found that some of my favourite achievements - a short comedy documentary about Zombies, a prize-winning story I wrote simply because I couldn't sleep, a book I wrote to pass time on a boring daily bus journey- were never on my to-do list. I just did them - without the list.
I may sound like a hypocrite here but I do actually still think we need to write a list. But it should be short and ruthlessly edited. If there have been items on the list for over a month that you have not started - then maybe you should cut it out and move on.
Be careful not to let the goals we think we should achieve - confuse us with the ones we can.
For more about how not to manage your time visit Grace Jolliffe at http://www.practical-creative-writing.com/time-management.html and for lots of practical advice about creative writing from an experienced writer - visit me at http://www.practical-creative-writing.com
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