The To Do List

I was just catching up on some fun client blog reading, when I came across this post by Lynne Kelly on her blog Making Stuff Up and Writing It Down.

If you have trouble with organization in this crazy ride we call life, Lynne offers some sage advice.  She also links to some other posts that can be helpful.

The thing is, most people need some type of system, right?  I think it's safe to say that a majority of writers have another job of some kind to make enough money to, ya know, live. So writing is a second job. Add family, friends, hobbies, etc...and that's a lot to keep track of!

For me (granted, I'm not a writer, but I work with writers so I've usually got projects on the brain), I have many, many lists. I have a list for every day of the week. Then I have a To Do Soon list (for things that don't need to be done on a specific day, but should be done in the next few weeks), a To Do Later list (for those lower priority things that I want to look into/get done, but don't need to be done in the next month), and one separate list I have is for contracts alone. I wouldn't be able to keep track of what stage each contract is at without it. Also, if I'm working on a particularly big project, I'll make a list just for that. I check all of these lists every day to make sure there's not something I'm missing.

And of course I have my submission lists that I check weekly.

Finally, I use my work calendar. I have lists on there, too, of things I need to follow up on by a specific date. And my calendar emails me reminders the day before because he is awesome (yes, I've decided that my calendar is a dude).

It sounds like a lot, but once the system is in place, it's just a matter of adding and deleting things daily since all of this is on my computer. And I do this so I don't miss something vital.  Even with all of these lists, every once in awhile things slip through the cracks. But not often--thank goodness!

So what's your secret?? How do YOU keep track of it all?

The Pie Post

New York has gotten so much snow and ice that walking on the sidewalk today was only possible with ice skates. Which I actually saw someone doing. Uh, I was too stunned to think to take a picture of this, but I DID take a picture of some plants outside my apartment.

It's like they've been fossilized.

So, okay, the storm Chicago had yesterday might make us look like wusses, but still. We're cold. And between winter, getting over the flu, and liking delicious things, this seems like a good time to talk about pie. We've carefully selected the recipes that made us go, "What is this, and why haven't we already made it and then ate it?"

Without further adu, a compilation of pies:

Pie in a Jar

Yeah. This exists. And the recipe for it is here! Brought to you from the fabulous folks at Our Best Bites.

Pie Pops:

In the words of Bakerella, "Hi, I'm the cutest thing on earth...now eat me." Go visit Bakerella and the pie pops here!

Pie I Invented This One Time:

One chilly day in Northern California, my best friend and I baked an apple pie. We went on some vague instructions from the guy who sold us apples at the farmer's market. On his advice, we used three kinds of apples. We skinned them, diced them, threw them in a mixture of flour, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and put it all in a pre-made crust.

But before we put this all in the crust, I had the best idea I've ever had in my life. I buttered the inside of the crust and pressed brown sugar into it. Do. This. Do it.

Here I am cackling over my own genius:

And there you have it. Pie.

Sometimes taking a brief break from writing is the best thing you can do for your writing. Go have something delicious.