Daily Wordcount Check-In: So how did you all do this past week?

URL shortcut for this challenge: http://bit.ly/dailywords

So how did you all do?

Post your update here or on the Facebook page.

Time management tip for writers: keep a work diary

If you find yourself vowing to do some writing but then reach the end of the day not really sure where the time went, I strongly advise keeping a time diary for a few days. Make sure you pick days which are fairly typical in terms of your planned schedule.

Write down EVERYTHING you do during the day, along with a time stamp. Yes, everything. Don't be embarrassed -- you're going to throw this out when you're finished, so no one else will see it.

I tried this and was horrified at how much time I was wasting or frittering away on non-work activities. The exercise really makes you more conscious of how you're spending your time.

These days I still try to keep a work diary, but not nearly so detailed...just enough to help keep me on track.

Has anyone else tried this exercise?

Writer Productivity Tip: unsubscribe to as many mailing lists as you can

So far, I've managed to easily meet my goal of 500 words a day. I'm even thinking of upgrading to 1000 words a day, but am going to wait a couple of weeks to make sure I'm not just experience a burst of "beginning of the year resolution" enthusiasm.

How are the rest of you doing?

One thing I'm doing to help minimize wasted time: UNSUBSCRIBING TO UNNECESSARY MAILING LISTS. I've mentioned this a while back, but since then I've let a number of services put me on their mailing lists without doing anything about it. Instead, I just delete the messages as they come in, without reading them.

NO LONGER.

From now on, if I find myself about to delete a mailing list message, I'll think very hard about whether I should be on the mailing list at all. And instead of being lazy and just hitting the delete key, I'm going to take the time to scroll to the bottom of the message and figure out how to unsubscribe myself.

A related tip: never EVER put people on your promotional mailing list without asking their permission first. It drives me crazy when I start getting promo e-mails from an author with an accompanying message like, "Hey, I thought you'd be interested in my work. If you want to be taken off the list, just let me know." It immediately makes me want to NOT buy the author's book. Ok, rant over.

Finding More Time To Write, Quickie Tip: Learn How To Say NO

Though I've gotten better over the years, I still struggle with this one word. Seems (at first, at least) much easier to say yes. I'm talking about the small favors that people ask you to do, the ones that you're sure will only take a few minutes of your time. The most insidious: the favors that you know would be fun to do, or the ones that are almost work-related.

Be wary of saying yes to too many of these. Inevitably, they'll add up until WHOA, suddenly you find yourself spending more time on these quickie favors for other people than you are on your own work.

Stay focused on your goals. Prioritize.

Learn how to say no politely but firmly without feeling guilty.

To clarify (because I'm already anticipating at least one person piping up and righteously saying that she's GLAD to want to say yes to those asking for help): I'm not saying you should ALWAYS say no...just be selective and be realistic. And be able to say no when you need to.

My post about time management, creative productivity, managing multiple projects

For those interested, I have a new post up on the MiG Writers site:

Time Management, Creative Productivity and Multitasking

Khaled Hosseini likes to read a few lines from a favourite novel before he starts to write

I find reading about other people's work habits inspiring. The Kite Runner author Khaled Hosseini, for example, typically gets up at 4 a.m. Has some coffee and breakfast, reads the paper, then writes for 2-3 hours before going to his other job. He says that reading a few lines from a favourite novel before he gets started helps him get into the flow of things.

Read more in this Red Room profile.

Time Management Tip

It's often not so much about finding time to write as MAKING time to write.

Um...

But don't give up reading THIS blog, of course.

:-)

Laurie Halse Anderson: Your Time Is Your Currency

YA author Laurie Halse Anderson has a post that everyone should read. I'm serious. If you haven't already, please go read it RIGHT NOW:

Laurie Halse Anderson: Your Time Is Your Currency

I dare you to read this and NOT be super-inspired.

Time management and writing...and a poll

Apologies for the sporadic schedule of my blog posts lately. I'm finding it much easier to post regularly in my inkyelbows Twitter account, if you're interested in writing tweets...I usually post there at least several times a day.

Since the SCBWI Summer Conference, I've been approached by a number of publishers interested in my illustrations and/or writing. While it's wonderful to have the attention after years of trying to get publishers to notice me, I'm now scrambling to get my projects finished so I have something to send.

Which brings me to time management. There's a fine balance between working on building up a strong author platform and not spending enough time creating the content for that platform to support. But where do you draw the line? I'm still figuring that out myself.

Meanwhile, however, I'm about to send off one mss today (yay!) and aiming to finish a nonfiction book proposal to send out by the end of next week.

What about the rest of you? How do you balance social networking and blogging with your writing time?

How do YOU avoid getting distracted by the Internet?

Some writers are able to switch off their computers and stay off e-mail and the Web all day. Freelance writers who rely at least partly on client work for income, however, sometimes don't have this luxury. The Internet can be a wonderful resource for writers but it can also be a major timesuck.

To those who DO have to go online at least a few times a day: How do you manage your time online? Do you limit the amount of time you spend on social networking sites? What tricks and tips can you offer others? What -doesn't- work for you?