How Ben Franklin Got Me Here

 by Shannon Baker

I credit (blame?) Benjamin Franklin for me ever writing a single word toward publication. More accurately, Steven Covey (the 7 Habits guy) for being inspired by Ben to create the model of organization, The Franklin Day Planner. I know there are myriad organizational and goal-setting tools but this particular system smacked me upside the head about twenty years ago.

Until then, I had this vague I idea I’d like to write a novel someday. It would be a masterpiece and I’d sell a million copies. But I was young and busy and thought that I’d have more time to devote to that pursuit later.

Then I serendipitously ended up in a seminar on the process of the Franklin Day Planner. The idea is that you start with your values. You write all this down and from values, you develop long term goals, medium term, and short term, eventually landing on daily tasks that will lead you to success.

This isn’t new or groundbreaking. But it did get me off the “someday” track and onto the “write something every day” highway. I’m not saying that is a good thing. (Who is the writer whose best advice to aspiring writers is never start?)

Bit by bit, day by day, I approached my goals, made new ones and inched down the long and winding road toward publication, just like Ben said I would.

Along the way, I had a life. It got complicated with children and jobs and all manner of things. Eventually, I ended up going from one duty to another, checking off all those tasks in my day planner but not enjoying much of anything. During a giant transition period, I tilted. I needed simplify.

Away went the day planner, along with a husband and other useless things.

A little at a time I’ve added stuff back. Suddenly, I find myself in the midst of multi-tasking hell. I really love everything I’m steeped in at the moment but, honestly, the water’s getting pretty hot. .

I’m making lists. And losing them. I have an Outlook calendar at the office but it doesn’t sync to my phone or my home computer. I’m waking up at 3 A.M. in a panic. Who doesn’t do that, though? Right?

Maybe it’s time to get organized. But like a diet, if you do it once, you learn how to cheat and it’s never as effective the second time around, I fear I won’t work the Franklin method well. Plus, there are so many great electronic solutions out there. I just don’t have the time to search them out because of, you know, all that stuff that’s got me hopping.

So this is my chance to have you all do the research for me and report back. What do you use to keep all the chainsaws in the air? What can I use that will work on my Android and my laptop and make me look like the hip, together professional I pretend to be?    

Day 2 of blogging

It's day two and I don't know what to say today!  *PANIC*

Ok, well, not full-fledged panic, but still, I had a lot of ideas, where did they all go?  I'll tell you, right out of my swiss cheese brain.  Lately I have been having a hard time keeping track of time in general, but also where I am in process with any given book.  In the past I could easily forget what I did the weekend before or what day it was, but I would remember the order of a ton of mystery series, the major plotlines of most books, etc.  I had a great booksellers brain.  But in the publishing world, we skip around in time contstantly.  Today I have a vision meeting for two Spring/Summer 2012 books.  At the same time, back cover copy is routing for Spring/Summer 2011 books.

I am also organizationally-challenged.  Here is my desk:

And I cleaned it off a bit yesterday!

If I were a writer, I would be one who wrote by the seat of my pants.  No outline.  Writing, then going back and changing something in the first chapter, writing more, changing more...  The editor who sits across from me, her desk is clean and perfect.  She cleans out her email inbox and organizes all of her files accordingly.  UGH.  I don't understand those people!  How do they do it?

Recently I created a rather large spreadsheet that contained all the important dates for each book in the Spring/Summer 2012 catalog.  If it helps me organize and keep me on track, I will continue to do it.  I also color coded my meetings in my Outlook calendar to help my eye catch when I have specific meetings.  I hate when they sneak up on me.  And finally, tomorrow I will create a blog calendar, so I don't stare at the blank post page!  I think all this organizing might give me hives.  Good thing the weekend is coming!

Have a great day!