THE Schedule

This post is going to be a bit short and sweet. Who else gets a dopamine rush when they have an organized schedule and to do list? Who then forgets the list half the time and goes back later to checks things off and then gets that happy little rush again?

Just me? HEHE- I doubt it….

So far I’ve talked about a lot of the different things that I researched, plan to do, and also decided on. What I haven’t talked about was the to do list and the schedule I created.

This is where Google Sheets and I became well acquainted. One of the reasons I was able to decide on the date to publish the book was that I made a list of all the things that I knew I would need to do. This helped me look at the reality of this venture and have realistic expectations for when I can get the book out. It wasn’t just my editor and the cover designer who had an impact on when the book would be available, but how I could accomplish all I wanted to do without pulling out every last strand of my hair or losing precious amounts of sleep.

This is how I organized my schedule. I categorized each item from my list by Editorial, Admin, and Marketing. This let me know which hat I would need to put on. Maybe it’s best for the way my brain works but then I was also able to figure out what areas required what processes or more research. A ‘do by’ date was given to each task so that I could spread out my timeline but also prioritize certain things that had an actual time line. I added in a checkbox so I could see my accomplishments (again, something for my brain and to feel like I was DOING something). This was helpful so that I stay on track considering I now have six months until the book is released. Here’s a little snippet to see what my to do list looks like.

The notes section had anything from where I might find what I needed, who, or a website link. Obviously, the cost is to keep me within my budget and on top of expenses. Now, maybe a schedule or to do list isn't something you need. You might be fine with it all in your head. Seeing as this is only a small piece of the iceberg, especially since this is my first book I’m publishing, the list was a necessity for me. If interested in more on what my to do list might entail, feel free to reach out. Let’s just say there are fifty-two items on my to do list. That’s a lot to try to remember. But I’ll be glad to share that list with anyone interested so they can adapt it to what they like. If there is enough interest, I’ll add it on here in the future.