the craft. getting it done, practically.

A colleague on my team at work recently asked me how I get it all done. And quite honestly, it’s never the tight, neat answer that I think people would expect. I’m probably sadly one of those people who are grossly engaged in their work with fake boundaries that I try to set for myself but really I work all the time. I check my email first thing in the morning. I use the first three hours before I start a 10 hour workday to get writing and other personal brand items completed. I’m often exhausted by the end of the day and my husband also works around the clock. A friend of mine visited us for a week and literally said, “oh y’all like work in this house, I feel like I’m productive here.” Yikes.

Please don’t mistake this as a post about grind and hustle culture. I am in bed by 9-10pm most nights. I just try to make the most of the hours where I know I’m most productive, which is first thing in the morning. If you want peak Ashley, it’s probably from about 7am-3pm. I also carve out time for family and quality time for my husband, but I feel better about those things when I know I have used my time wisely.

I’m just trying to get somewhere here. I hope to write multiple books. I hope to be able to transition into film and TV at some point. I want to be able to build for our future and invest and get out of debt! You know millennials are down bad. That comes with a lot of focus and aim. I am not by any means the most organized person, I kind of just get it done, at times, haphazardly. LOL. However, this week, I wanted to share some of the tools and methods that I use to try to manage this crazy life of mine.

One of the first things I did was when my job offered an alternative work week, I took it. That means, I work longer days Monday through Thursday. But I’m off on Fridays. Once I sold my book and had these massive edits to make, I knew I would need more than Saturday and Sunday to approach it. So between early mornings and having an additional weekend day, I’m able to make real headway on writing projects.

Schedules and routines! I am a creature of habit. I like routines. I like making tea every morning and lighting an incense to ground myself. It’s crucial for me to have some type of consistency in my days. My husband’s life is completely different. Hello full-time music maker. LOL. But I’m at my best when I have things like PTW Power Hour where I know every Friday sans special circumstances that I’m at least going to get an hour to write. I also work to make sure this newsletter is done by Friday each week. Rushing a newsletter on Sunday nights for Monday doesn’t make for the best content.

Along those lines, batching or brainstorming are big keys in my process. As a creative, you literally need to make time to simply think. So for instance, I have a running list of topics for this newsletter. Sometimes an idea sparks up randomly during a week. But I try to carve out time to think about what topics surrounding writing I think would be ideal to discuss. When I sit down to execute, I can essentially pick something from the list.

Getting into actual tools:

I live and die by my Google and Outlook (for full-time gig) calendars. If it is not on the calendar, it does not exist. I have too much going. I also don’t shy away from blocking out my work calendar for writing things that I need to do. I know everyone doesn’t have that flexibility. But I do, and I use it. As long as everything gets done, how I divide my workday shouldn’t matter as much. But that’s between me and you.

Google Drive, of course! I mean it’s the best way to share files, organize and make sure that your work is essentially backed up.

I still use paper products and I know I need to try to move into the digital space with these things but I have tried and failed. So I still use a paper planner so I can plan out my weeks, do brain dumps and make check-lists. I use a planner, notebook combo. I take a lot of notes for everything in my notebook and then organize and prioritize them in the planner. This year, I’m trying out the horizontal view from Emma Kate Co. But I recently stumbled upon the Full Focus planner which I WILL be trying next year. (I have an awful habit of buying a new planner after I bought one and I’m dedicated to not doing that this time around.)

For notebooks, I tend to gravitate to the Fringe spiral bound notebooks with a soft leather cover. You can find at TJ Maxx. But it’s the perfect size for me and I appreciate the spiral so I can keep the notebook open to the right page.

As for actually writing, I use Google Docs for shorter pieces like pitches or newsletters, articles. When it comes to books and that type of long-form writing, Word is such a standard. And I’m actually learning Word has so many more capabilities than we even realize. I’ve also used Novlr which has a fun interface. I think it’s great for drafting, but for me, when I want to edit, I download a Word document.

For screenwriting, we’ve used Celtx but I’m thinking of making the leap to Final Draft, because it’s really the industry standard.

Most times when I try to incorporate too many programs into my work progress, it feels like more trouble than it’s worth, so I try to keep it simple and focus on my processes. We can have all the fancy software and gadgets and still not be getting the work done. The key is knowing what works best for you and showing up for the work, period.

Writing/Job Opportunities

Gardner Literary is accepting non-fiction submissions that grapple with racial issues, LGBTQ+ issues and all social issues. Read their submission guidelines here: https://rachellegardner.com/submissions/

Well+Good is soliciting pitches for a package that examines what "feminism," "womanhood," and "women's history" means to you in 2022—be that good, bad, or complicated. They’re looking for personal takes on these topics/terms. Pitches can be sent to alexis.berger@wellandgood.com.

Adam Chitwood is looking for experienced freelancers who might be interested in writing features about movies and/or TV for TheWrap. Email pitches to adam.chitwood@thewrap.com.

The NBC TV Writer’s Program is accepting submissions. (Deadline March 7)

CRWN Mag is hiring a Managing Editor.

HBO Max is hiring an Associate Copy Editor, Entertainment.

Bloom Works is hiring a Senior Digital Writer and Editor. (Deadline Feb. 23 to apply. Salary range $90-115K)

The Appeal is hiring freelance Copy Editors. ($45/hr)

Columbia Books is hiring a part-time Assistant Editor.

Rewire News Group is hiring an Associate Editor. ($60-65K)