Good afternoon, squiders! It’s finally October, and yet it is still so hot. I just want my autumn weather, is that so much to ask? Hot drinks and sweaters and boots and all that jazz.
So, September was okay, productivity wise, but not great, and I think it ultimately came down to still being a bit unfocused. Too many potential projects, too easy to give up on doing anything and instead read fanfiction.
(Must stop reading fanfiction. It is a sign of procrastination.)
So, I’m trying something new this month. A random number generator. My very own random number generator.
I’ve made the following Google Sheet:
On it I’ve listed all the things I might potentially work on for the month, and then I’ve made separate sheets for each project with the steps on them. Like so:
Now, you might be wondering, where does the random number generator come in?
Ta-dah! Random number generator. Every time I open the document, or make changes in the document (such as crossing out a step as completed), this number changes. It aligns with the list of projects beside it.
So, the idea is that I, instead of waffling over the many possible things I could be doing, simply go into my spreadsheet, see what the number is for the day, and then work on that. Problem, in theory, solved.
(I haven’t had a chance to check it yet, as I made the spreadsheet Wednesday, did not have any time to work yesterday, and am working on Book 1 today as I need to get the draft to my final beta who is going to check overall flow on the whole novel. But I’m optimistic!)
You’ll note that there’s a couple of yellow items at the bottom that do not have corresponding sheets of steps. In an attempt to rein myself in, I’ve designated these projects as follow-ons once other things finish. Both the novella outline and the Rings Among the Stars edit can only be started once the Book 1 submission materials list is done, and the book from Prospector (which is our interlibrary loan program) needs the Trip Book to be done first.
Anyway, we shall see how this goes. Any thoughts, squiders?
