As a writer with a limitless imagination and an interesting life, it’s easy to get caught up in too many projects at once and to end up abandoning things you really want to work on. It’s something I do all the time, and this summer I’ve done it yet again, and realized that I need to change course to truly create the future I want.
When you know exactly what you want, it’s tempting to try to force it all at once, but life doesn’t work like that. You need to choose two or three projects to focus on at a time, no more. You might even want to try focusing on one project at a time depending on your schedule and the kind of person you are.
I don’t have the focus to work on just one project for more than a few days at a time, so I’ll always have more than one going, but right now I have way too many things going on and it’s time to slow down. Trying to start your own business or freelance/fiction writing career is hard enough, but trying to start all three at the same time is ridiculous.
I’ve now found a “real job” that will give me a stable income so I can save up to get my ebooks professionally edited and formatted, and I’ve decided to stop actively searching for freelance work and to stop doing website consultations. Trying to market myself on those levels has taken me away from what’s truly important: my books, both fiction and non-fiction, and this blog, the projects that I am from now on devoting all my time to.
I will still accept freelance work, but I don’t have the time to hunt for it right now. There are a couple almost-finished article queries I intend to shop around, but after that, I’m going to focus in on my books for a while. In the end, freelance writing is something I do enjoy, but I’ve always wanted to make a living writing books and so I need to focus on creating the best books possible and editing the ones I’ve already created.
Are you focused on the projects that really matter to you? If not, what’s taking up your time that you can sacrifice to get back to what truly matters? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.