To-Do Wishlist

I have a lot of long-term projects, like everybody. Stuff I want to do, to get to, ‘eventually.’ I tend to get bogged down in everyday and shove it to the back burner, which is fine, but my problem is that when I do have time, all the things I wanted to do have slipped my mind. Which is why I spend a lot of time on Twitter and have very little to show for it.

To help myself remember to tackle all those things I want to do ‘someday,’ I decided I needed a To-Do Wishlist. Something that wasn’t my daily to-do list, but also wasn’t so far-reaching that it was a bucket list. I wanted something I could categorize, too; my projects tend to fall into difference spaces in my life. Some are parenting-related; some are writing-related; some are product designs that I’d like to get up and for sale. Each category has a list of stuff I’d like to get to, soonish.

So I designed myself a list. And even better, I laminated it, using my delightful new toy. Now, I can slip one or two into the pocket of my daily planner to remind myself of things I want to do in my spare time; or I can post some up on the wall above my desk as a running tally of work to do (this might be a ‘new house’ thing – right now, my desk has a big window over it and no wall space).

And, since I’m a generous soul, I thought I’d make my To-Do Wishlist available as a free printable.

Mindy Klasky on Strategic Planning

At the monthly Maryland Romance Writers meeting a couple of weeks ago, the featured speaker was our own Mindy Klasky, delightful author of some of the first light paranormal romances I ever read, which still have a fond place in my heart, plus overachieving publisher of no fewer than NINE novels last year in her sports-themed Diamond Brides series. Nobody better to talk to us about how to effectively plan, both strategically and tactically, a writing career and a book launch.

Organized Life: Grocery Shopping

Even before we had children, I grocery shopped a lot. I like to cook, and we have people over a lot – brunches, football, game nights, you name it. Now that we have two little bottomless pits eating everything we can put in front of them, I’m on a first-name basis with the cashier.

Okay, I won’t lie, I was on a first-name basis with the cashier before. I like to talk to people. It drives my husband insane.

When you do a lot of grocery shopping, you learn the virtue of an organized list. (Also when you make a lot of lists. Shout out to my fellow Virgos.) Separating your grocery list by department is something I’ve shouted from the rooftops for years. It makes it SO much easier to make sure that you’re getting everything you need in one efficient run through the store.