Time Management? Sure! Yeah!

Saturday, July 31, 2010

I do feel somewhat better knowing I am not the only one late in adding my blog, and I do hope you all find this cartoon as funny as I.

Time management is an ongoing process. Of that I am certain. However, after existing in the corporate world for over 30 years I still revert to my own means of surviving each day and getting everything done for everyone on time.

I am going to begin my blog with my use of time management on the job since that is where I have spent over 50 hours a week for all these years. (I include travel time to and from work, because I figure from the time I walk out my door in the morning until I return home at night I belong to "The Man".)

My dedication to corporate America began in 1966. From 1990 to 1993 I attended college and earned my BA in English and professional writing. From 1996 to 2001 I ran a secretarial service from my home. Both of those endeavors required time management and for the life of me I cannot recall how I got everything done.

I am not a list keeper. I do not use a checklist or task list. Oh, yes, I have a task bar on my computer at work and every meeting I schedule for every person as well as every performance review and every vacation and time off pops up on that task list. Needless, to say it does not serve me well. Not that I would follow it even if it did.

I have heard it said if you want something done give it to a busy person. I have no doubt my co-workers and superiors agree with this and therefore seek me out when they need something done and they need it done NOW. (Or possibly yesterday).

I have a little sign on my desk that says, "I don't look busy because I did it right the first time." This is my idea of time management. I make every attempt to attack every project as soon as it hits my desk and take the time and energy required to get it done right and move on to the next project. Most days this process works well for me. Other days ... well let's just say there are some people who don't know what they want when they ask and come back again and again until they get what they THINK they want.

Okay, this is about time management and not about me venting. Sorry!

I do have reports due on Mondays, and on certain days of the month, that I know when they are due and what it will take to get those done. I do my level best to get these out of the way a.s.a.p. so I am open to handle whatever else may hit my desk throughout the day.

I work very hard to complete all of my work early in the week in order that on Friday, which is when most of management seems to melt into the woodwork, I am able to spend some time on my writing.

I do make lists. It is just that I normally will misplace them and have to rewrite them again and again to complete the task they were created for.

I am not a dedicated journaler nor am I successful at my daily quiet time with the Lord. Let me add here that around the first of the year I prayed for the Lord to wake me every morning with plenty of time to spend with him, possibly work on my writing, exercise, take a walk or do whatever might need done around the house. A short time later I began waking every morning between 4:00 am and 4:30 am. (My bladder is awake, but I'm not.) I go to the bathroom and return to bed, pulling the covers over my head until I absolutely must crawl out at 6:00 am. Why? I don't get much sleep during that time and I could accomplish so much with the Lord . Why can I not push myself into the shower (it isn't that far from the John) and wake myself up?

My suggestion for good time management is: Wing It and Wait!

Linking In with ACFW Colorado

We recently made an announcement on the ACFW Colorado and ACFW Rocky Mountain email loops for those who live in the area and are subscribed to those groups. However, we also want to reach out to anyone and everyone else out there with this opportunity.

For those who aren't aware, we have a unique feature on this web site contained on each of the chapter pages. It's a sidebar on the right made up of nothing but author links to personal web sites, services and blogs. This feature became a reality as a result of discussion last year regarding content on the site. Our local boards decided we wanted a way to connect everyone online who in any way was involved with ACFW Colorado.

So, whether you live in Colorado, reside in the Rocky Mountain Zone, or are a reader of this blog and like to keep up with what's happening with our bunch, we'd love to partner with you in promotion.

Do you have a web site or blog you'd like to advertise? If so, drop by one or all of our chapter pages and follow the instructions to advertise with us. It's only $5.00 per year, a true bargain for the potential exposure and new audience you might reach.

All links and payment must be submitted/received by November 1st. So, come on and link with us!

If you have any questions about this, feel free to leave a comment. I'll be sure to return to respond.

And if you're reading this, leave a comment to let us know what you think of this feature. Would you make use of it? Have you visited the chapter pages in the past and any of the web sites listed in the sidebars? Is there a manner in which they're displayed or featured that you'd like to see done differently to perhaps entice or encourage you to visit the sites or make use of the feature? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you.

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Tiffany Amber Stockton is an author, online marketing specialist and freelance web site designer who lives with her husband and fellow author in beautiful Colorado Springs. They celebrated the birth of their first child in April and have a vivacious puppy named Roxie, a Border Collie/Flat-Haired Retriever mix. She has sold eight books so far to Barbour Publishing. Other credits include writing articles for various publications, five short stories with Romancing the Christian Heart, and contributions to the books: 101 Ways to Romance Your Marriage and Grit for the Oyster.

Read more about her at her web site: http://www.amberstockton.com/.

Peak Writing Conference: Writing the Gift with Excellence

In case anyone has missed it, on this wonderful website we have a little nifty “events” page up there in the navigation menu. Go ahead check it out, I’ll wait…

Now then, when you’re done reading my ever-so-lovely post, click on that brilliant useful page and check out the Colorado Springs chapter’s one day conference, Peak Writing Conference: Writing the Gift With Excellence.

We will be having three wonderful speakers, Donita K Paul, Lisa Tawn Bergren and Beth Jusino.

The date of the conference is the 28th of February, the cost is $55 for ACFW members and $60 for non-members. And that cost includes food! I don’t know about you… but for me, when it comes to conferences, it’s ALL about the food. =)

I would give you more info… but then you wouldn’t go to that page and find out all the fantabulous stuff to be had there. You can even download the registration form from that page.

For me personally, the best thing about the conference is the fact that my best friend is flying in from California to see me (and Kim… and her agent. Whatever! It’s all about me! LOL) and will get to attend the conference too.

Blessings… and happy writing!

Opportunities with Our Web Site

Yes, yes, it's me. The illustrious...or perhaps *infamous* web designer for our brand new ACFW Colorado web site. It's been an exciting venture to get it set up and established, not to mention handling all of the little tweaks and updates. And of course, with several different "cooks" offering input on the recipe that would eventually become the site, it's been at times harried to keep up with everything and make sure all requests were handled.

Like so many others here among my fellow board members, my life is a busy one. But it was just like God to allow me time to make it through my THREE book deadlines this past week before it came my turn to post on this blog. Yes, that's right. If you haven't figured it out yet, we're on a rotating schedule that is shared by all of the board members for the currently existing chapters of ACFW in Colorado. As we form new chapters, we'll add the new board members.

In my "other life" when I'm not doing web design, I'm a published author and the treasurer for Worship! Write! Witness!, the Colorado Springs chapter of ACFW. Last year, when it came time for elections for the board positions for 2009, I had a momentary lapse of sanity in considering the position of publicity officer and handing over my position to someone else. It was our very own Mary Davis, president of the Springs chapter, who talked some sense into me. :)

For those who aren't aware, I'm pregnant and expecting our first baby in March. It's going to bring about a lot of change, and I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I thought I could take on anything more than I already do. So, thank you, Mary, for being a somewhat sane person during my brief spell of insanity!

Now, let's get back to this fantastic web site. Yes, I can say that, since I designed it and maintain it. LOL!

How about a peek in what's coming in the next week or so? Would you like that? Yes, I thought you would.

But first, here's what we have to offer right now:

• A blog on the main page that you can follow, posted to by the board officers for our existing chapters
• Individual chapter pages featuring their upcoming schedule and speaker line-ups for 2009
• Links along the sidebars on the chapter pages to member web sites and blogs
• A preview of other groups in Colorado who may or may not be in the process of forming an official chapter, so if you live in that area, you can get in touch with others who live nearby (if they become chapters, they'll have their own page)

Next up is a page spotlighting current and upcoming events that will be taking place in Colorado. These will include our one-day conferences and our annual retreat for now. However, if there will be multi-author book signings or speaking events, we'll also highlight those as well.

In addition, we'll soon be offering the opportunity for you to request critiques of your fiction writing by professional critiquers. There will be a page where you can fill out a form with your request and submit your pages. Proceeds will benefit the chapters in Colorado.

That's all for now, but stay tuned to all of the exciting things happening. We've just launched, but already, we're buzzing and hopping.

And don't forget, our national conference this year is coming to DENVER! It's been 5 years since it's been here, and we're all excited. If you're a fiction writer and are able to attend, you don't want to miss it. Of course, your favorite board officers here in Colorado will be there to greet you too. *winks*

That's all from me for this month. Thanks for stopping by.

* * * * *

Tiffany (Amber Miller) Stockton is an author and freelance web site designer who lives with her husband and fellow author in beautiful Colorado Springs. They are expecting their first child in March and have a vivacious puppy named Roxie, who is half Border Collie and half Flat-Haired Retriever. She has sold six books to the Heartsong Presents line of Barbour Publishing. Other writing credits include several writing articles for various publications, five short stories with Romancing the Christian Heart, nine contributions to the book, 101 Ways to Romance Your Marriage and 2 contributions to Grit for the Oyster. Read more about her at her web site: www.ambermiller.com.

ACFW Colorado Goes Live

Back in November, ACFW Colorado launched their own Web site, thanks to Tiff Stockton, our resident Web designer. And with the new year, we are finally ready to blog. We want this blog and the Web site to be helpful to everyone interested in writing Christian fiction. It's specifically geared to promote the American Christian Fiction Writers who live in or near Colorado.

I'm the Colorado Coordinator in the Rocky Mountain Zone, and I have the responsibility of helping the established chapters keep going and aiding new chapters getting started. I've been writing for a long time—over twenty-five years! But I've wanted to be a published author since I was very young. Raised in a Christian home and living in other countries the first few years of my life (my parents were missionaries), I've always had a desire to point others to Christ through my writing. As far as being published, I've had several articles published in magazines and newsletters; I maintain my own blog, The Writer's Tool; and I've had several devotionals published, with many more coming out in devotional collections from Barbour later this year. As for fiction, I write cozy and historical mysteries—none of which are published . . . yet. *smile* I've been a member of ACFW since 2004, and I served as president of the first chapter established in Colorado, HIS Writers, for nearly two years before moving on to the position of Colorado Coordinator. By day, I'm a freelance editor, working for two Christian publishers and several individual clients. I live in Westminster with my husband, Roger, of over thirty years, and we have two adult children: Kathy and Randy.

Take some time to check out the rest of the Web site. We'd love to hear from you, so please use the contact page to let us know of your interest or concerns. Leave a comment on the blog to let us know what you would like to see us talk about in our posts.

We have a rotating schedule of bloggers each month. Kathy Kovach, the Rocky Mountain Zone Director, and I, along with our chapter officers will be blogging at least once each month on various topics related to the writing life and writing Christian fiction. So check us out each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as we blog through 2009. We'll start the official rotation on Monday, January 5. In these first-time blogs we will be introducing ourselves, telling you a little about us and our responsibilities within ACFW Colorado, and keeping you up-to-date with conferences, workshops, and chapter meetings.

If you're not already a part of one of our chapters, please check out each chapter's page and find out where they meet and what they will be doing each month. I look forward to meeting many of you, if I haven't already.

May you all have a blessed and wonderful New Year!~

Marjorie Vawter