The human brain can track up to four complex thoughts simultaneously, and yet — just before lunchtime today — I counted the open windows on my new 17″ laptop.
Six OpenOffice windows (five text, one spreadsheet), four Live Writer windows (my blog editor), three draft e-mails, a still warm-to-the-touch Google Talk window, and yes — two Copywriter windows (perfect when line and character counts are important).
By my count, that’s 16 writer-driven windows , and in that environment — one running at 4x my brain’s rated capacity (no jokes, please) — how much room am I creating to think?
Multitasking With a Mono-Brain
You may have noticed a lack of posts lately. A story of alien abduction would cover my tracks in the most traffic-friendly way, but the reality is different; I’ve started a book-length personal project.
For a writer who’s spent the last two decades hammering out 300-word pieces centered around single-sentence headlines, it’s a change.
A big change.
Almost immediately, I ran into a hitch. It wasn’t writer’s block.
It was the sheer number of writer-facing media channels calling for my attention.
At the risk of sounding like a codger, it wasn’t always this way. And yes, it’s interesting how the addition of a “deep thought” personal project finally exposed the problem, which kinda snuck up on me.
Still, this isn’t a plea for time management tips; I’m figuring out what works, and yes, it’s overdue.
The Hard Part
Fitting a couple hours of personal writing into a day already crammed with dangling participles and caffeine isn’t without its difficulties.
But neither does it lack in satisfaction.
I’m not going to bore you with detailed summaries of writer’s angst.
I do aim to interest you in the juicy bits. After all, this book project came to life at the intersection of blogging and what others have called the online world’s “empowerment of the individual.”
In less stuffy terms, it means I wouldn’t be writing the book if it wasn’t for a blog, and I wouldn’t have written the business plan if it wasn’t for the Internet.
The Value Added Author
I talk often of the Value-Added Copywriter. It’s a laudable concept — the idea that someone knows how to do things beyond their narrow specialty.
Equally laudable is the idea that we’d leverage that value-added knowledge for our own benefit.
Stay tuned. And keep writing, Tom Chandler.
Technorati Tags: writing,book,writing a book,brain function
Comments 7
Oooh, sounds intriguing. I’ve been using your “value added copywriter” mantra for a while now, and it definitely positions me above the fray.
Can’t wait to hear more about the book!
Julie: The book project isn’t marketing-oriented. Maybe that’s the second book, but I’m confining myself to one mammoth project at a time.
Wow! A real, gosh-derned, retro paper-based book. Good for you, Tom! You going to self-publish or do you have a publisher lined-up? I know people who know people … or so these people say.
Roberta: You should see the spreadsheet I built; in the undersized marketing I’m writing to — and because I’m the #1 content blogger — self publishing just makes more sense.
I know people who know people, but they’re mostly good at using auto body tools to convince other people to do things. Probably not that helpful in this case.
Ah, this has me reflecting on the mid-day semi-awakening I get (middle of my day anyway, I’m a night owl) around 4:45pm, when shutting down the computer to get to the P.O.
That’s when all the various “in process” text files containing bits of info for this or that blog or update or later-on editorial use all line up and reveal themselves from behind browser windows and word docs; one by one each jumps to the forefront, asking: “Well, are you going to do something with this tidbit of info or what? Cuz’ ya didn’t save it for later…”
Despite this sometimes rude awakening (how could I have gotten so side-tracked that I didn’t finish this or that…) I LIKE shutting down the computer when I leave the home office– sort of like doing the dishes before going on a trip. Both actions lend themselves to something of a “clean start” upon return.
Good on you for the new project in the works Tom. As Robert Plant recently said,”Pity the fool that stands still.” Not that any of us stand still, but we can stand still in the sense of doing the things we do over and over again… what Plant means is changing modes via new projects and growing within the action taken.
‘Tain’t always easy– almost always is prompted by an inner push to grow– and that of course can involve a process of letting go… another topic. Enough said!
Thanks for the inspiration. ~Lisa
Lisa: I understand the shutting down windows thing. I often find myself with 18 browser windows open, saving the page contents of half of them for “later” posting on a blog. Right.
As for the Robert Plant idea, the best teacher I ever had once told me “Comfort is Your Enemy.”
True.
Hi Tom,
Does seem a common dilemma for information junkies that shutting down is more a process of decision-making than it is a couple mouse clicks. You may know but I just need to share that for me one of the beauties of Firefox (besides adblock) is that upon start up it recognizes when the computer was shut down without closing the browser first, so that one can choose resume where one left off with however many windows/tabs were left open last session.
Only… as the sentiment of your “Right” comment so clearly conveys, I’ve come to realize that if I don’t get to drawing from the info in those saved windows/tabs within a couple days of discovery, getting to them is wishful thinking and it’s best to let them go.
Same with bookmarks, I access those in my bookmarks taskbar frequently, but pages “bookmarked for later perusal” rarely get accessed again.
Within the past year the term “wishful thinking” has become a meaningful word to me as a business term, offering a focal point from which to discern if taking on, continuing to work with, or even desiring to work with a particular task or project is actually where I need to be spending my time. Helps me answer the interior question of whether I can actually take on or continue to hold an aspect in question, or if it’s just that in an unlimited world I’d love to be able to.
Such discernment may be obvious or second nature to those with more wisdom than I. The flash I get from writing this is that it’s better to both choose your plate and then what goes on it, than it is to load an offered paper plate from life’s pot-luck table (the worse is taking a paper plate b/c your regular plate is full!); sometimes it’s great, and certainly offers food for thought, but often evolves to a soggy foundation with wobbly or spoiling sustenance.
Okay… back to work here.
~Lisa
Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
Post a Comment