Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to just put in the time, even if
Speaker 1: you don't know exactly what you will do in a
Speaker 1: chunk of time devoted to a long term project. Making
Speaker 1: space for that project frequently keeps your mind on that project,
Speaker 1: and that increases the chances that you will keep making progress.
Speaker 1: So I love writing books. Books also take a long
Speaker 1: time to write. They are planned out long ahead of time,
Speaker 1: and publication often happens about a year after the initial
Speaker 1: manuscript is finished. But time keeps passing, and for most
Speaker 1: long term projects it pays to start early. So lately
Speaker 1: I have been making space on my calendar regularly for
Speaker 1: two things. One is figuring out promotion strategies for my
Speaker 1: next book, currently called Big Time, which will be out
Speaker 1: in spring of twenty twenty six. I block out time
Speaker 1: on my calendar to figure out who I'd like to
Speaker 1: reach out to or what promotional materials I can create.
Speaker 1: The second is to work on writing my next book,
Speaker 1: currently called The Golden Hours, that won't be out until
Speaker 1: twenty twenty seven, but I will need to write it eventually,
Speaker 1: so I make some time on my calendar now to
Speaker 1: think about ideas and what I might like to include.
Speaker 1: There is nothing specific I need to do right now
Speaker 1: for either of those long term projects. Lots of things
Speaker 1: can change between now and when the deadlines will become
Speaker 1: more urgent. But here's the thing. By continuing to carve
Speaker 1: out time in my schedule for these projects, I keep
Speaker 1: thinking about them. I know that a few times a
Speaker 1: week I will be sitting down at my and making
Speaker 1: notes about the golden hours, so my brain is primed
Speaker 1: to come up with things I might like to include.
Speaker 1: I see things and make notes to write about them
Speaker 1: during my next session. I know that the longer I
Speaker 1: spend thinking about the book and making notes for it,
Speaker 1: the better it will be when it is finally done.
Speaker 1: For longer projects, it really is best to just put
Speaker 1: in the time over the long haul. This is truly
Speaker 1: the crux of spending time on things that are important
Speaker 1: but not urgent. There is nothing urgent about a book
Speaker 1: that comes out in two and a half years, but
Speaker 1: I want to do a good job on it, so
Speaker 1: it is worth spending time now on it, and spending
Speaker 1: time next week and so on. In time I will
Speaker 1: come to see things that I couldn't at the beginning.
Speaker 1: If you've got a long term project, I think it's
Speaker 1: worth it for you to just put in the time two.
Speaker 1: Are there other things you could be doing with that time. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: But one of the best reasons to plan your weeks
Speaker 1: before you are in them is so you can make
Speaker 1: space for the things you have to do now and
Speaker 1: make space for the unexpected and things you'd like to
Speaker 1: do over the longer term. That way, the unexpected doesn't
Speaker 1: derail the longer term priorities. Your week accounts for it all. Now.
Speaker 1: You probably don't have to carve out a ton of
Speaker 1: time because I don't have much specific yet on either
Speaker 1: of these projects. These tend to be thirty minute chunks
Speaker 1: a few times a week. When I'm really in the
Speaker 1: writing phase of the next manuscript, I'll make much more
Speaker 1: time for it. Right now, I'm just making sure I
Speaker 1: keep touching the projects, looking at them, kicking the tires
Speaker 1: a bit. Thirty minutes is enough time to keep things fresh,
Speaker 1: so it's worth a try. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.