Allena — My process sounds a lot like yours. I'm a to-do list / organization junkie. 4 White boards, 2 bulletin boards, another calendar, publishing plans, site plans, marketing plans, daily and weekly to-do lists, apps — if it keeps me organized, I use it. So you don't sound crazy to me at all! One of my favorite things to do (and I try to do it at least quarterly, although sometimes more often) is to re-evaluate all of these tools, maps, and plans I've laid out to see what is and isn't working for me. Success is less about the planning for me, and more about using those things to stay adaptable. Some things always get cut. Other things always get added. And in the end things are usually better for it. 🙂

Devon, I would just sue them and the hell with messing with them. It's such a pain in the ass to have to mess with these types of people. There are times I wish I had an attorney on retainer! Luckily, those times are few and far between.

My career and routine is ruled by To-Do lists. It's just how people like me (type A, perfectionists, whatever) work well. So my lists are a "work" list where I place my daily break-down of tasks. It's the only "immediate" to-do list I use.

Then, I also have an "administrata" list, which would have, for example, long term admin crap I have to deal with. I have a "marketing" list- easy enough to understand. I have a "article ideas" list and so on and so forth. As I plan my week/days, things are moved from those lists to the only immediate one- the "to-do" list.

So, how do I start my writing career over? I start culling things and adding things. I go through all these lists, and I see if the items match my current direction. If I've evolved in any way since the last "restart" or if things change (for example, child 1 takes up another sport and I have 5 hours a day to work instead of 6, etc), then that is reflected in those lists. Things get added to them, too, during a restart. But it's a much more proactive addition…

Wonder if this makes sense or if I just look CRAZZZY. :} Have a productive day!

I finally had to consult a lawyer and go to ASJA about a current nightmare client, who has crossed a few too many lines in the past few weeks.