Fresh Start

 Christmas is over. New year is coming!

My search for an organised life is underway. My first step was to identify which part of my life to focus on at the beginning. Which part takes priority? Well, I think I found it. 

Where to Start?

General tidying is where I begin my mission. I basically live in one room. Not even a big room. This small space is my home and I have a lot of stuff. My belongings aren't at hoarders level, but I sew which comes with a lot of equipment and obviously, I own a lot of books. Not to mention notebooks, cooking equipment, shoes, makeup, clothes in general. It all fills that small area quickly. 

Christmas:

It's a wee bit early to be packing up Christmas, given that we've not even reached New Year yet, but even with this, I'm looking for order. Christmas jumpers boxed away together. Tree decorations together. Ornaments, candles, tinsel... everything has its own place even in storage. 

Books:

I love books and I own a lot of them, but this year, I'm planning to use my local library a lot more, to save myself buying them all the time. My books have different categories. 

There are the ones that I like to own and display on a bookshelf like a trophy - these are usually from my favourite authors like Nalini Singh, Kresley Cole, Johanna Lindsey and Gena Showalter. 

Then there are the favourites that I keep on my Kindle or reader, but I'll need them all. These are from authors like Eve Langlais, S.E. Smith, M.K. Eidem. 

I often buy Mills and Boon books from market stalls and charity shops because authors like Betty Neels, Emma Darcy and Patricia Wilson are often found there and I love them. 

There are the obvious classics that you have to own too. So I have my copies of Jane Austen's books, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Little Women. They're also shelf trophies. 

That's my Keep-Forever collection. 

There are a lot of books on my TBR pile that I know I'll read once and not go back to but I've always kept them just in case. I'm trying to change that. Now I'm trying to clear my reading decks of these books. Here's how:

• Local Library: The library in my area has an ebook app that supplies books I can easily read on my phone or tablet. And if I'm feeling in the mood for a hard copy, the nearest library is a ten-minute walk. 
• Get Rid: Sometimes when it comes to disposing of books I won't read, I just haven't found the ruthlessness, but this year that changes. Or at least, it changes a little bit. I've already started passing them on to friends. I'll donate to charity shops, and I've found an app where I can sell some. Not for much, but at least it helps me feel like I'm not just discarding them. 
• TBR: I own a lot of books I haven't read. It will make such a difference if I can make my way down this pile, which is in fact, many piles. 

Hobbies

I'm a crafter, particularly sewing and knitting; supplies can take over any empty space. I've started using toolboxes for tools of the trade. I've got tubs for works in progress. Bags for projects. Baskets of wool. But the main way to reduce the crafting chaos will be to use the materials and fabrics that I already own. Make them into clothes. 

Which brings me to...

Clothing and Makeup

I have a lot of clothes. And a lot of shoes. And a lot of makeup. Through 2025, I need to buy less. I could try selling some of what I own or that I've outgrown, but I've tried that through one of the clothes-selling apps and it was like a full-time job that made me very little money. I would post a belt for sale and people would try and haggle it down to a pound, then to send it, the nearest place was a five-minute drive away. With petrol prices, I'm pretty sure that ended up costing me money. 

So I'll try and buy less, try and make some from my fabric stash. I'll use the makeup I own. Utilize what I have. 

Office

I don't have an office. I have a laptop and a tablet and a phone and an epic stationery collection. That's my office. But it's spread everywhere, there is no order to it, so for the next year, I'll dedicate a section to writing. That's my goal. Even if it's a box or a case or the corner of the dining table. 

And so it Begins

Those areas are my initial starting point. That's the mess that needs order, and I have to find that order around my family, general housework, cooking dinner, the day job and writing. So... I'm going to be busy. 

The trick will be to stay motivated throughout sleepless nights (because I have a baby) and get my s*#t  together when I'd rather sit and watch Teen Wolf for the 6th time. It's my ultimate hobby. 

Getting my belongings in order is where it all starts. It's my January. 

If you liked reading this blog then take a look at some other posts or follow my Resolution journey on my website. 

Treats and Rewards

 

This week I'm all about organisation, and for every task I accomplish, I'm giving myself a reward.

Not necessarily huge rewards. I'm not giving myself a cruise for finishing a short story, but, for example, I have a week to finish the first draft of my WIP and if I succeed or work really hard at it, then I get rewarded with a night to myself with a takeout and a bottle of wine. Maybe a movie.

This is the thing, with the chaos of daily living, something as simple as that is a treat. I have the house to myself, I'm going to make the most of it, but I do need to finish my current book, so as long as I finish, or get close to finishing, then I've earned it.

So, like I said, I'm all about rewards for the work I'm doing. I'm all about incentives this week.

An Organised Writer

I recently had a discussion with a friend about organisation and deadlines. We both look at distant deadlines as things that don’t need to get started right away. If you’ve got two months to do it, then that means you don’t have to start yet. After all, two months is a long way off.

As someone who works a day job as well as trying to build my writing career in my free time, it means I usually have deadlines and projects coming at me from all angles, and the mountain of tasks culminates in the result that I usually want to take a big nap rather than start, but maybe procrastination isn’t the only answer. Step in, organisation!

Step One: Stay Calm

I’ve got a bajillion things to do. I don’t know which to start with, so I do little bits of each and nothing seems to get done. Argh! Okay, take a breath. There are only a finite number of workable hours in a day. I need to sleep and eat. I don’t have time to be overwhelmed, so step one is to stay calm. You have to take it one thing at a time, so don’t concentrate on the mountain, focus on the first step. Panicking doesn’t make it easier. It just adds to the stress. Remember: one thing at a time.

Step Two: Absolutely Not

Do you have time to take on anything else? No? Then say that! If you can’t handle anything else, if you don’t have the time, if it’s too much then say no. It’s worse to miss a deadline or a goal because you can’t fit it in than to tell them you can’t do it in the first place. Let them find someone else. Also, if there’s something you can delegate then pass it on to someone who has the time, and if you need help, ask. So focused on their own work, people aren’t always aware that you’re struggling, and if your way of telling them is ranting or crying, (like me) then it might be better to say it outright.

Step Three: What To-Do

To-do lists, baby. Is there anything better than striking an accomplishment off your to-do list? Write down everything you need to do, whether it’s that day, that week, overall, write it down, keep track, and scratch it off when it’s done. Item number one can be 'Write a to-do list' and then you've got your first accomplishment right there. 

Step Four: Prioritise

What is the most important? What will take the longest? What needs to be started right away? What has a strict deadline and what is scheduled for whenever you have the time? Look at your to do list and work out which tasks need to be done first. We’re taking it one item at a time so figure out what number one is.

Step Five: Keep a Diary

I’m not asking you to fill in a journal, unless that’s something you want to do, in which case, go ahead. These diary entries are about scheduling your time. Whether you record it in your phone, your computer, your email calendar, or like me, an actual diary. Make sure you’re keeping track of dates, appointments and deadlines.

Step Six: Setting a Goal

What do you want? Where do you want to reach? How are you going to get there? Set yourself a goal and then make a plan. Whether it’s a word count to hit, a date by which to accomplish something, a deadline; whatever you choose, make it realistic. Make sure it’s achievable. There’s nothing more disheartening than realising you’re not going to succeed because you were unrealistic about what you could do.

Step Seven: Organisation not Procrastination

I’m a big fan of being organised. It’s easy to pop along a social media site or to clean the oven, maybe rearrange your desk, or even write a blog post about writing; all with the plan of putting off your current WIP. For example, I am supposed to be tunnelling through a writing slump, but I scheduled in time to write this blog. As soon as it’s complete, though, I’ll be back at work. I plan my time using the methods I’ve already described: To-do lists, diary scheduling, reminders. I track my time. Organisation doesn’t come naturally to me so it’s something I have to work hard at.

Step Eight: Stay on Top of things

Try not to let yourself get overwhelmed, and don’t use the method that my friend and I are such fans of: A distant deadline with time to spare. It only takes falling behind on one thing for it to snowball and soon you’re sitting under an avalanche of work about to topple on top of you. Get things done when you can.

These are the tips I use to stay on track, but I want to reiterate step one. Stay calm. I know it’s easier said than done, and if you’re like me - prone to anxiety - when things go wrong then someone telling you to stay calm only makes things worse. The words ‘calm down’ have never made anyone calmer, but if you can go in with a cool, organised head, then maybe you can beat back the stress before it gets its talons in.

Happy organising. I hope these tips have helped you, even if in some small way. Now I’ve got a book to get back to.