The Secrets To Time Management For Authors

 

 

Authors can accomplish a lot in a given day or week when it comes to writing, publishing, and marketing their books. But they can easily be overburdened by an expanding to-do list. The key to good time management comes down to your mindshare capacity — the ability to mentally and intellectually handle so many things.  

Sometimes, one feels mentally burdened or emotionally drained when thinking about all that one wants or needs to accomplish. Getting your mind focused on what needs to be done, knowing how to do them, and understanding why you are doing them will free you up and motivate you to achieve. Knowing your why drives the how. Where there is a will, there’s a way. 

Here are things you can do to help you achieve while managing many chores, needs, desires, and opportunities: 

* Identify your bad habits and break them.

* Set a time limit for tasks, meetings, and calls.

* Turn off your technology for chunks of time.

* Create designated times to get work done. 

* Make sure meetings have s purpose and an agenda.

* Break down your big to-do’s into smaller bites.

* Either get stuff done, delegate it, delay it, or dismiss it… but don’t deny its existence. 

80% of your goals or accomplishments are likely to be realized from 20 percent of your time and efforts. So much of your time gets wasted. Don’t believe me? Track it. See how you spend your time — and then assign a value to your time. Figure out what you can outsource — or do more efficiently.  

Get out of time denial. Do you routinely underestimate how long things will take — and then play catch-up? Do you allow for potential problems to pop up? Can you anticipate what will happen once you undertake a task? 

A good guideline to follow is below, courtesy of Karen Tiber Leland and Keith Bailey, in their book, No Nonsense Time Management:  

• “Prioritize your time according to the goals that you want to accomplish in life. If you start by knowing where you want to go, it's easier to get there.  

• Organize yourself by creating structures that allow you to meet your basic need to feel stable and secure in both your finances and your family. This may mean setting up a regular Friday-night dinner with your family or having a certain percentage of your paycheck automatically deposited to a savings account.  

• Streamline the things that you have to do, but don't necessarily like to do (like chores), by simplifying them or making them more efficient. For example, do all your routine errands (bank deposit, post office, grocery store) in one outing, rather than in separate trips.  

• Economize by reducing the amount of time and energy you invest in things that are not urgent and that you view as a low priority. For example, you may want to clean out your desk, but don't need to spend a whole day doing it. 

• Contribute by giving your time and energy back to the community through a charity or a good cause.” 

You can accomplish a lot, far more than you already do. Getting a handle on your time will greatly enhance your success as a writer and book promoter.  

“Your success in your career will be in direct proportion to what you do after you’ve done what you are expected to do.”

—Brian Tracy, Best-Selling Author

 

“The key to life is to care but not that much.”

--The Adventures of Herbie Cohen, by Rich Cohen

 

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on LinkedIn. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.4 million pageviews. With 4,600+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.