The Joys of Multitasking

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These days, I'm wearing many hats. From the minute I wake up, to the minute I flop down on my bed (usually) at night, I am doing several things at the same time. Writing stuff for new novel and other projects, marketing stuff for current novel, looking after a toddler, running a small business, catching up on reading, social networking, keeping up with house chores and other responsibilities, etc. It's mostly fun, but it can be overwhelming sometimes. Just ask any working mum how she juggles all the things she has to do in one week. 

So at the beginning of this week and this month (hi there February, you crept up on me), I set myself some new targets. Must do another few thousand words on WIP. I must finish writing that short story. Must write that flash fiction I promised to send to the magazine. Must eat healthy and fit in exercise. Must read that novel and review it, the author has been waiting since November...

Fast forward to today, and I feel like I haven't achieved a single thing all week. I'm sure I must have done some things, maybe I just don't think it's significant enough. Sure I looked after an active toddler all day, everyday and managed to send a few emails here and there, but I'm seriously slacking on my writing goals. It's not like I haven't tried to write. In fact, yesterday I was feeling guilty for not writing, so I sat at my desk, ignored the noise around me and forced myself to write. But by the time I finished and looked at what I'd written, it didn't make sense at all. I gave up and went to do other things instead.

I think trying to do several things at the same time can sometimes be counter-productive. It becomes difficult to focus on one thing and get that done. There are times when my head feels so full of "things-to-do" that I actually prefer to shut down and just read a book instead. I'm realising that I need to find a more efficient way to organise my tasks each day, so that I make the best use of my (limited) writing time. It's alright to set goals and targets, but there's also a need to check how they are working out for me in my day-to-day activities.

How are you doing with the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year?

My 2012 Review and Goals for 2013

It's the first week of 2013! Happy New Year to everyone. I hope this will be your best year yet, and I pray you'll have many reasons to be thankful by December.

Like most people, I use this time of the year to reflect on the past twelve months, and also make plans for the coming months. 2012 was a remarkable year, globally and for me personally. There were big world events like the Olympics and Paralympics, the re-election of President Obama in America, chaos in Syria, bad news as Eurozone crisis gets worse, historical elections in Egypt, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in the UK and so many other news; good and bad.

On a personal level, as I look back on 2012, I think of it as a year where I had to work really hard, but I feel blessed because I made a lot of progress with my personal and career goals. I achieved some things I was aiming for, I had some surprises along the way, and I also had a few disappointments too. I'm glad I was able to finish writing, editing and publishing my book, Nothing Comes Close, plan and execute a book launch, and collate some of my favourite flash fiction stories into an ebook. I was able to set up my own independent publishing company, Accomplish Press and even get recognised with an award nomination.

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As the new year progresses, I have some goals on my next-to-achieve list, some are "must happen" and some are "maybes" and "like to achieve". I remember someone told me that dreams are just that, dreams, until you write them down and make plans for incorporating them into your life as you go forward. So I've decided to write down my main goals for 2013 here:

1) Writing: I plan to finish working on my second book. This involves the writing, editing and publishing. To achieve this, I should cut down on distractions and aim for writing around 4000 words a week. I also want to write some more flash fiction and short stories.

2) Reading: Last year, I read only eighteen books (insert embarassed face here). That's bad, so this year, I'm determined to read a lot more. I've already got four books lined up to read this month, and several others to look forward to as the year progresses. If you want to know what I'm reading, follow me on Goodreads.

3) Be More Social: Yes, I need to get out more. I work from home, and my job involves hours of sitting at a desk typing away. And for many months last year, it seemed like my default answer to every invitation was "no, sorry". By nature, I'm an introvert but this year I'm going to make more of an effort to accept a few more invitations, go out and meet people, network with other writers and publishers, and generally connect with people in the real world, instead of just the virtual one.

4) Exercise more: Don't we all struggle with this one? I know all the benefits of eating a healthy diet and exercise but somehow, in the midst of working and looking after my family, it gets pushed down my list of priorities. I'm going to take it more seriously this time. I actually started making changes towards the end of 2012, so I just need to be consistent with it. One motivation: I'm approaching my thirtieth birthday and I want to make sure that I'm fit and healthy now so that I can keep up the good habits well into my thirties and beyond!

5) Publishing: I have three projects in the pipeline for Accomplish Press, and a partnership that I hope will enable me to expand the reach of the books we publish. I’m hoping that I can bring more writers to the attention of the public in 2013 and invest more in our campaign to get more young people to read more books.

So there we have it! I would be scheduling regular intervals throughout the year to check up on how well I'm doing with these goals. So help me God.I look forward to celebrating each milestone as I achieve them.

Do you have goals for the year? Feel free to share some of them in the comments.

Enjoy 2013!

On Life: Having a Dream

A dream makes life worth living
A dream gives you purpose
A dream gives you focus
A dream gives you ideas
A dream gives you inspiration
A dream gives you determination
A dream gives you tenacity
A dream gives you passion
A dream gives you vision
A dream makes you see possibilities
A dream helps you overcome challenges
A dream broadens your horizons
A dream gives you fulfilment
A dream gives you abilities
A dream gives you ambitions


Some notable quotes:

"To me, there is only one form of human depravity - the man without a purpose." --Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it." --Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

"It's never too late to be who you might have been." --George Elliot

"The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach." --Benjamin Mays

"By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own." --Mark Victor Hansen