Need for Organisation

First, I would like to say I am back (YAY!) After a frantic two week holiday over at the lovely Japan and then another two weeks of busy and stressful school preparation (which has really snuck up on me), I can finally say that I am back :D

And that leads me to today's post... Organisation, something I need really badly. This year I'm teaching 6 junior classes (7-10) and I'm still trying to keep up with my writing, which includes complete the rewrites for my Japanese novel as well as write a long overdue sequel for my finished novel, Shadow Embraced (plus there are all the other WiPs I have sitting on my shelf that I would like to finish)... see really busy, busy, busy.

I don't care what anybody says, everyone needs a little bit of organisation in their lives. If they didn't have any organisation they would get nothing done. This is how I'm going to achieve my organisation challenge this year:

1. Set deadlines:
   Not something that difficult, but if you have a goal to finish that thing that needs finishing you'll be more motivated to achieve the deadline.
2. Reward yourself:
   For each goal you achieve, give yourself something special. It doesn't have to be anything big. It could be something like, 'I won't have any chocolate until I finish the chapter' and then reward yourself with the chocolate (okay, so I'm a bit of a chocoholic... it's my weakness).
3. Be realistic:
   Know what you can and cannot achieve. Don't say that you're going to finish writing a novel from beginning to end in one month if you're working a full-time job as well as tending to a very needy family. It just cannot be done (I know this as well).
4. Prioritise:
   Some things in life are going to be more important than others. Don't neglect those that you really need to get done (like your job to edit a chapter).
5. Don't forget you need to still relax:
   Sometimes you might need to admit defeat and learn to push back a deadline or just admit you're not going to achieve that goal. There's no need to constantly stress out, life's way too short to be working every waking hour. If you find yourself getting too stressed out, you may just need to go out (the movies is the perfect unwinding escape for me), and then come back and it will probably help you in the end, especially if you are stuck.

So, how is your organisation? Do you have any other tips for organisation?

Organised Chaos vs. Just a Mess

Well, Uni's definitely in full swing, my first assignment was due in yesterday (why do I want to be a teacher?) and I had to submit it via the internet. That's all well and good, but the uni's servers crashed and it took them two days to fix. Lucky the website came back online before I had to go to work so I could submit it.

With every assignment I've got, class reading, work schedule and everything else that's going on I'm starting to realise the true value of being organised (I guess my theory of organised chaos isn't working out so well at the moment).

I have uni work laying all over the place, as well as notes for my novel I'm starting to plan and pages of scribbled rewrites for Haven. Surrounded by all this mess I have learned that it is nearly impossible to think straight and get any proper work done. And, how can one write a novel when one can't focus on what the characters should be doing rather than on finding a pen to jot down something? It probably also doesn't help that my computer/study/writing room is also in our combined kitchen/dining/living room... that's what I get for living in a small town house.

So, how does everyone get organised? Do you have a room dedicated to the computer or writing? Or, can you write anywhere and under any circumstance?

Where did all the time go?

Well, I can now same I'm officially a uni student (I'd forgotten how nervous and excited orientation makes one... after all, it's a new place where I know absolutely no one)

So, my three days of uni combined with four days of work equals seven days... and if I'm not mistaken, aren't there only seven days in the week? This got me thinking of how unorganised I've been. Lets face it, I don't really have a schedule which I keep my writing to. I usually write when I feel like writing.

Hey, I work best under what is known as organised chaos... if I try tidying my workspace just a little bit then I won't know where anything is anymore because they will be... what's the words... oh, put away in the actual place they belong.

Now with a little bit more on my plate (well, actually a lot more, but I'm trying to keep a positive outlook on things) I decided that it's time to put a little bit more organisation into my life so that I will actually finish something.

How does everyone else handle life when things keep piling up? Is it better to set up a schedule and put some organisation into your day, or do you still write better when you let things just come naturally without limiting it to a time of day?