So Many Things @_@

I'm such a mess with deadlines. I always wait for the very last minute since it's only when I'm against the clock that I feel the urgence to finish it. It's like a rush.

My advice? Prioritize. Do one thing at the time.

I agree regarding prioritization.

You can organize your activities into four boxes:

Box One: Don't want to, but have to.
Streamline those activities as much as possible so that you aren't investing more energy into them than is necessary. Automate them if possible.

Box Two; Don't want to, don't have to.
Stop doing them. Cut them out of your life.

Box Three: Want to, and have to.
Enjoy these things! Invest your energy in them.

Box Four: Want to, but don't have to.
Enjoy these things to, but prioritize box three first.

Sitting down and writing that all out as a visual reminder really helped me.

When I get overwhelmed with the things I'm doing, want to do, need to do, and would like to do, I write them all down as a list, like you have. This would include mundane responsibilities like cleaning the house, etc.

First, see how much time you have in the day to do the responsibilities, the necessities. Figure out how many hours per day you have for everything else you'd like to do. Do this for every day of the week.

Then see how long it takes for you to do an activity. Limit most activities to an hour or two a day. For example, I'll devote one hour to writing a blog post, and then another hour for to updating social media. And that's it. Not a lot of pressure, that's the key. The next day, I'll be doing crits and working on my fiction. And so on and so forth. Do something different every day, or alternate your tasks to every other day.

Rather than trying to see how much you can squeeze into one day, only give yourself 2-3 "tasks" per day over your seven day week. Or six day week, if you feel you need an off day. If you start seeing more than two activities per day, save the less imperative/important activities for next month. Readjust your schedule every month, if need be.

Being overwhelmed sucks, and leads to not being productive at all. Give yourself leeway, and don't cram up all your time. Good luck!

I put things off until I can put it off no longer. Then I leave it for a bit. Eventually the thing I wanted to do becomes the thing I should have done ten years ago and at some point along the way I chuck everything I have at it and to hell with everything else until it's done.

I don't recommend my method.

I use lists and a planner (actually 2).

For dayjob I write on my desk calendar all the things that need to be done and add as I go through the day. Sometimes my to do lists create lists of their own. I pick the most necessary tasks first then prioritize.

I have 2 planners because I have separated my personal/creative/writing from my professional freelance stuff. I carry the personal one around and make lists of what I'd like to do, what needs to be done (mostly housework) and any progress on projects. Lately there's a lot of pages that are blank but currently dealing with SADs heavily this winter.

The professional planner has things I need to. I have daily tasks such as twitter and fb stuff and promotional stuff for clients. These I can't put off.

Another thing I use is whiteboards. In my writing corner I have a calendar, a weekly board and several corkboards. I use this ad a daily reminder of why I'm doing this. It helps.

Getting on a schedule helps too. If you start the day with x project and keep doing it for a few weeks it will be second nature. Then add another and another.

Melanii said:

Ever wanted to do things but you had other things you wanted do and things you need to do?

This is me right now. I composed a simple list for myself - though it's quite long. This includes creative projects, advocacy projects, and house/myself projects.

I'm bad at doing this due to bad motivation and depression forced upon me by my Bipolar.

How one of you sort out all your projects, errands, and things to do? And make sure you do it?

Let's share!

Click to expand...

Coming from one diagnosed bipolar...I HEAR your struggle. I've been known to flit about aimlessly. The struggle is real. I change strategy all the time. I feel that I need to...to trick away the rut of routine. One of the things I do is chip away at a few of the meaningless less time consuming items. To strike three things from the list that are low-impact and quickly taken care of kind of tricks me into thinking I'm less swamped. Sure, the big things are still waving their meaty paws about saying, "Do me! Do me!" But I feel the accomplishment of having struck a few things from the list. Doing the big monumental list items first is not always the best way to go. This sometimes just intensifies the sense of doom and despair. Especially when you're in your downswing.

Good luck! You are not alone.

PS: Make sure to keep frivolous playful things on your list. When you don't have the time for freeplay...that is the time you must take it. If you've been dying to see the latest exhibit at your museum...but you know it will take away from valuable time needed to take care of tasks...trust me---take that museum trip. This also seems counter-intuitive but is soul-quenching and helps you to redouble your efforts. We (those of us dealing with this illness) need our distractions. I find distractions help me to get on task.

I have to have lists, they are all over my desk on diff kinds of notes - postit notes (annoying they stick to everything) and bits of paper and in tiny notebooks. I quickly flick through them a couple times a day. Also put to do's on my daytimer, without which the entire month would not even happen. Those are things I'm SCARED to forget. Lists, that's the answer for me. And then I put an important list in my purse and then I never can find it again. That's life.

Whatever I'm doing, I feel like I should be doing something else.

I have no answer to this. Lists may make me more productive, but they don't take that feeling away.