LET'S CHAT WRITING DEADLINES // scheduling time off, parkinson's law, & learning what works

[@BenjaminTMilnes]

'I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.' - Douglas Adams

[@ABookIsHobSession]

A major thing I took away from this video: "Maybe flexibility is the wrong word, like working around your health shouldn't be a flexibility, it should just be what it is"

[@ihaveaplan5368]

I have NEVER met a self-imposed deadline. The "Future Mark" idea is cool.

[@vivianwakoff]

Dude, Future Mark sounds like a cool boss. Future Vivian isn't so nice!

[@SaraLubratt]

Parkinson's law is my favorite natural law. It has taught me how to better schedule my time. I also talk to "future Sara" all the time, she's great. So excited for you in finishing the reread despite all of the health issues and that you seem to be feeling better!!

[@herothebard]

Listen, as someone with both chronic migraines and bipolar disorder I know that it's a journey to be on. So if I have any wisdom to impart it is to be kind to yourself.

[@nocturnus009]

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” -Lao Tzu I’m getting past being deadline challenged & starting to find my rhythm with deadlines & project management. Also, as previous shared: Art for all is an amazing podcast about the creative process. Episode 09 needs to be required listening ahead of Camp NaNoWriMo & NaNoWriMo. Like placing upstream dams ahead of water reservoirs... like the Catskills.

[@KateCavanaugh]

Oooh yes! I'll check that podcast out ASAP, you know how much I love podcasts! Thanks Charles. :) :)

[@nocturnus009]

Squad @@KateCavanaugh... Glad you are in a space where the boyfriend/partner is encouraging your creative growth. You have previously heard my wish that everyone’s creative reservoir always be in the path of the deluge (it’s on my autocorrect chain): it has different, deeper meaning as I read the Artist’s Way trilogy & reread Creative License & the Betty Edwards’ trilogy. 🤯

[@thesmugroup]

I have never once met my own self-imposed deadline. I meet deadlines set by external entities (publishers, proofreading clients, taxes, etc.), but I’ve never viewed future me as someone worthy of working hard for. Hmmm. Definitely something to think about and change.

[@BentleyHouseMinis]

I am so glad you are feeling better. I have dealt with back pain in the past and it is no joke!🥴 Great discussion on deadlines vs. health! Really made me think.

[@malayka2175]

I have never made Future Me proud, in terms of my deadlines lmao. I'll try to see myself as a strict teacher who doesn't like extending deadlines 🤔

[@AbiofPellinor]

What you say about working around your health is so true. It's not flexibility it's just your life, and that's fine! I hope you're still managing to schedule your time

[@luvBB4lyf]

I'm not a writer but I just wanted to let you know that your videos have helped me so much in my work and personal endevours. Honestly, you've given me so much motivation, positive energy, and tips on how to... Well anything 😂 just wanted to pop in and say thank you for this great video as always. Accounting for our own health is something we tend to skip over eh 😅 hope you're having a lovely day and hope you're feeling better as well ❤️

[@InAllSenSeriousness]

How did you know I needed this video lol

[@KateCavanaugh]

Bahaha! I hope it helps! This was definitely one of those times where I'd heard all the advice before but it only now sunk in!

[@WanderLost]

This is how I have scheduled our homeschool for years. We do school for 6 weeks and then take a week off. We can all feel that it's getting to be too much and we are all ready for a break. It works so well for us and it's been working for a long time. My kids are highschoolers now, and this schedule has saved us when things pop up during the 6 weeks and we need to use some of our off week to catch up.

[@bpsara]

I love that! I have a very “obsess over this one or two things I really want to do at a time” kind of brain, so setting up a working pace like this might be really helpful to prevent burnout and to keep myself in check!

[@HeatherSalterPurvesauthor]

I’ve started create myself deadlines because I’m working on two separate genres. So what I do is I have a editing and a drafting thing and then they just roll over each other

[@ashleyforshaw8449]

i have struggled with self-imposed deadlines ever since i can remember. the idea of "future me" being an entity is SO INTERESTING and feels like it might work. 😀i'm definitely gonna try it out. 💛LOVED the point about taking health into account. i've gotten better about being "flexible" about it (i fight anxiety/depression) and working with myself instead of against myself, but the point that it should just be matter of fact hit home. it's so true. mental illness is exhausting, not only for your mind, but for your body, too. like with a physical illness, it requires care. thank you for this video. 💛

[@jamesearp2329]

Jerry Jenkins talks about working in procrastination time into his schedule, but he holds his deadlines as sacred. In my old career in finance, we were taught that if you know you need to nap, or play games, or read the news, to feel free to do so - BUT only if you planned for it in your calendar - so you planning a week of self care time every two months is right in line with this, just on a more macro level.

[@roxxisquared15]

Thanks for being so honest, Kate. I relate to so much of what you're talking about here. I realise that I do this thing where I try to make up for time I've wasted by overscheduling myself the next day. On Monday, I was supposed to rough-draft two chapters of my novel, but I didn't do that, so on Tuesday (yesterday), I scheduled myself for FOUR chapters, so I could make up for missing Monday. I didn't do that either, and I felt doubly guilty. So to break that worrying pattern, today I decided to schedule a maximum of one chapter, even if I have excess energy after. I find that it helps to set teeny-tiny goals that I can knock out without breaking a sweat. But if you're like me, sometimes you'll still end up not meeting deadlines, even though you know all this. When it happens, don't overschedule. If anything, underschedule until you build up a nice speed. That'll mean shifting your deadline, but it's okay. It'll help you set a more realistic deadline next time.

[@lifebehindthecover903]

This is so timely to what I'm dealing with right now! I will almost for sure not meet my March deadline for editing.

[@quantwhodratherbewritingak8698]

Future Me is the enforcer, but Future Me also has a cupboard of cute little reward items to dole out for deadlines met. Future Me knows Current Me so well. 😜

[@bpsara]

Future you knows what’s up!

[@lucilechinaud6642]

I love your chit chat video

[@naomisbooknook9064]

Well this is timely. I’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety a lot lately along with a job a hate but can’t quite because I don’t have anything else lined up yet. It drains all my energy and makes it difficult for me to write in the evenings. (I’m a morning writer) when I don’t write I get more stressed Becuase I know I will be stuck in this job for longer. It’s a vicious cycle and I set pretty extreme deadlines for myself which stress me out too. I really want to finish drafting my 200k novel by may but that’s going to mean averaging 2.5k a day which is a lot with everything going on. I recently saw the thing about your work filling the time it’s given as well and I’m going to really try to use my time wisely rather than rewatching criminal minds and vampire diaries. If I really try I know I can get there but I will but perpetually exhausted. I don’t know.

[@Microscopyenthusiast]

Wow! Parkinson's law was and is ruling my life and I had no idea!😃

[@celinevaillant5275]

I love the idea of deadlines. The only issue is that no matter how much time I give myself (anything less than 1 year) I have so many other things in my life, work, school, family, health, the boyfriend that ultimately all needs to come first. Which makes me miss deadlines or less time than 1 year.

[@quantwhodratherbewritingak8698]

I’m on Day 3 of Sarra Cannon’s HB90 class for this quarter. I love it already. Setting realistic and achievable deadlines is the big learning curve for me. 20+ years of beating myself up for not being a 24/7 productivity-machine is quite enough. 😉

[@raelle4672]

Definitely at the multiple stories stage right now. Nothing published yet, but I'm working on projects for at least two pen names, with one of my projects potentially needing to be separated under a third pen name. It's difficult to juggle but usually my brain works on one particular project for 3-6 days at a time and then I need a break so I switch to a different project and I just keep cycling through them to prevent burnout over any one project.

[@mozzysstudio]

I had a hard deadline in 2020 to finish my manuscript by the end of the year. That. didn't happen. But, I'm redoubling my efforts this year. I have a writing community to support me and people interested in my story and characters, which I think makes a huge difference in my success with deadlines. Finding the proper motivation I think is really important. I'm really intrigued by the "Future Me Is My Client" kind of idea of yours,,,, I think I'll try that out! Thanks Kate!

[@authorgreene]

I find developing routines to be a better way to get things done than deadlines. With that said, I challenged myself in 2018 to write one dialogue-only story a week for a year. That kind of deadline-based challenge worked well for me, but I did find it exhausting to meet that deadline some weeks. This year I'm conducting and publishing one interview a month with authors from around the world. My approach to this isn't so much deadline-based, rather it's making sure I include working on interviews in my daily routine. Maybe it's just a mind-shift to call it a routine, but I don't feel rushed or overworked.

[@themidnightquillpodcast4573]

I'm a ghostwriter as well and I try to set my deadlines and schedule for my own pen names like clients but make sure I put them first in the day so that I do them first. It was a tip I saw on 20booksto50k and it has been so helpful - you will always priortise paid work first so putting your pen name at the top of the list forces you to get it done.

[@reginaduke7451]

Awesome! a new video!!!! I miss deadlines left and right, but I forgive myself if I'm helping friends. Like beta reading and reviewing books. Also, missing deadlines is my version of letting a book "sit" for a while. LOL (Yes. Back to vampire edits.) :D

[@MargaretPinard]

'but it's hard to justify it as a priority' TOTALLY...but do you realize you're trying to justify it to ... yourself? the inner critic voice? This is a great discussion for brain breakthroughs, Kate!!

[@nimedhel09]

Since getting back to writing, I learnt how to put healthy and reasonable deadlines for myself. Ths problem these last few months, though, is that life has been hectic, my health has been bad several times back to back and it has affected my mental health. And thus, the deadlines I had put on myself (reasonable ones too) were not met. And it has gone into a vicious circle of me wanting to write but not being able to and then putting pressure on myself, and now I just cannot write. So I have decided to take a little time off to rejuvenate and think about rearranging how I use my writing time and how I set my goals, mostly. We'll see how that goes.

[@cheslocked9036]

i seriously love how real you are with us, and how you are always able to learn from the past! been subbed since the summer of 2019 now and i don't regret a single minute of it. love u, kate!!!

[@caylaellsworth5354]

Hi. Hope your feeling better. I just wanted to say I really enjoy your channel.

[@Wallisimo]

Deadlines are critical for me simply because, if I don't feel the pressure of a deadline, I won't work. I try to be really generous in the setting of the deadlines though. I usually give myself 150% of the time I honestly think I need.

[@myownbravado]

Setting personal deadlines has been so hard for me when it comes to my writing. I think the only time I'm able to make some sort of self imposed deadline and meet it is for Nanowrimo, and I'm guessing that has a lot to do with the community aspect of it which makes it seem like it isn't self imposed? With university, work, and an unstable mental health, it's hard to know what trouble I'll be in next week or month, so that normally keeps me from setting goals at all. Of course, this also means I never finish anything which is a bummer. You give me a lot of motivation, though! Hopefully I'll get it figured out for myself soon.

[@nikkionherbeat]

This couldn't come at a better time. I'm starting a new job and I'm getting in the swing of youtube plus working on writing...plus feeling the monthly dip ugh setting deadlines is something I need to work on. I'm fine when other people set deadlines but I'm so bad at estimating how long a task should take.

[@MargaretPinard]

Migraines followed by back tweakage (I get those in my neck semi-regularly and it is KILLER)...sounds like you're 2020 is still in effect. 😔Sending good health vibes! And good rest vobes too 💕

[@ioanam.2374]

Here's another way to plan for deadlines: at my job we have the concept of work sprints that are two weeks long. When we plan a sprint, we tell the clients: these features will be done by the end of the sprint. But when we decide what to take in the sprint we only consider 70% of our real capacity. so 80 hours times the number of people in the team, and take only 0.7 of the total. I just thought it was an interesting process and wanted to share since I'll start applying this method in my writing life too. Long story short: plan for 70% of your real capacity, to account for downtimes and other things that may appear along the way.

[@NancyChen53]

Parkinson's Law is very interesting, thanks for sharing! Also, I have to take breaks too due to health and always felt guilty when I couldn't get myself up to work, since I still have to show up to my day job. So it's good to see when others share the same kind of issues.

[@d.a.f.f]

I don't use deadlines for writing when I'm in school, bc school work is a priority and I just end up stressing more and writing less. But during the summer I set my final deadline for the day before I start school again, and smaller ones all summer long

[@KateCavanaugh]

Oooh, I think that's genius! That's such a good way to balance important things. :)

[@jamiececilielange5249]

I once did something similar to my back after falling and landing on my elbow. In my particular case, I went to the doctor, who told me that my muscles had tensed and I needed to take pain meds to relax them. I was sceptical, but it worked.

[@snapdragona]

Thank you for the update! And I hope you're feeling much better now! Deadlines are hell for me but they are helpful for now. That might change thought. I do have multiple projects going atm and have been considering using different pen names for different generes but I'm still weighing it out so idk, you've definitely inspired me to consider it though ♥️ hope you're doing well today.

[@kanifroh6292]

Oh yaay, I'm early for once :) and I *wish* I have a good relationship with my deadlines, this was so inspirational and I'm actually motivated to go through my own plan of action

[@dara-renee]

I haven't made a deadline in the year I've been writing. I also have only recently started taking my writing seriously. But I do like your idea to schedule in weekends! I'm going to do that today

[@garnellwallace5594]

I've always struggled to meet self-imposed deadlines, though now that writing is my only source of income, I'm looking at my deadlines like I would if I worked for a company. They have to be met and I have to learn how to set realistic ones so I don't stress too much about it.

[@Eve.Daniels]

LOVE Jack Edwards - his post Grad School mid pandemic identity crisis is just... Yep, that's how it feels right now

[@JtheWind]

Future me is a big softie and current me just doesn't respect her professionally

[@bpsara]

😂😂😂😂

[@amy-suewisniewski6451]

I think for me, I have to learn what a practical level of productivity is for me before I set realistic deadlines. I keep setting self-imposed deadlines before actually knowing how many words I can get in average, how fast I can outline, etc. Then, I end up failing because I just did not estimate well.

[@bytheBrooke]

Your poor back! And migraines! Hopefully, you feel better! Deadlines are such a good idea at the time. Then it turns into an explosion of chaos when attempting to make it (them). At least it's that way for me lol.

[@mathildeandersen6855]

Wow i needed to hear this! Thanks Kate!!!

[@KateCavanaugh]

You're welcome!!! :)

[@KBGHubTCGHK]

I do schedule in a few days every month other than saving Sunday to do nothing. Better when I got caught up with other stuff. For deadlines, I schedule with my editor, so I have to stick to a hard deadline. Otherwise, my deadline is just a extrapolate of my average productivity. I go indie publishing, so I build my other task around my production schedule. I am writing two pen names, one works on longer novel project and another one just-for-fun short story name that I write daily shorts for. Morning is for my main pen name and after dinner, I do my pen name stuff. I am looking to start one in 2022/23 though, for the different genres, still thinking, there's still time anyways

[@daniadominguez8770]

Actually for me setting deadlines is what keeps me motivated enough to write, for example im revising my book right now and I have given myself till end of camp nano to do it, and so far that forces me in a way to organize my time to make time to write, which otherwise I would not do since im also at school and that takes up most of my time

[@Tori-vz5er]

I am productive with deadlines that aren't set by me. Like the pressure from a uni deadline will have me bang out a 5k word essay in three hours but a deadline set by me will see me do nothing. I'm actually considering having the preorder deadline which is just setting your book for preorder before it's written and done because breaking Amazon preorders is like death apparently

[@iambadatnames5809]

I've met a self-imposed deadline maybe once? Currently I find setting a daily goal in the morning way more helpful than creating concrete long-term plans. But then I'm in an early drafting stage so it's not as tempting as when you're on a finish line, I suppose!

[@sashagreenwrites]

..also, I am sorry your back was out last week! Glad to see you are better now. :)

[@BoundByWords]

I love your experiments! Is there any chance you’d want to do a collab for any of the coming up experiments?

[@anjakuemski]

It is weird, isn't it? I never miss a deadline for paid writing assignments, but I couldn't meet a deadline for my own writing stuff if my life depended on it. :-D And yet, somehow I managed to finish some novels along the way. Don't be too harsh on yourself.

[@KateCavanaugh]

Bahaha, okay, I'm so glad I'm not the only one!! I wish I could rewire my brain where payment NEEDS to happen in order for me to prioritize it bahah. But I'm working on healthy deadlines and so far, so good. :)

[@SpaceCadette7653]

I agree with you. Meeting deadlines you set yourself is much more difficult that deadlines imposed by a publisher. Especially when those not meeting those deadlines means you get delays in being paid if you have to ask for an extension. (Edit for spelling error)

[@jijodobbas]

re: rereading In the last Nanowrimo, I wrote a novel for the first time. Since then, I didn't have the motivation (and sometimes the time) to work on the 2nd draft (or 1st draft as Kate likes to call it) - which will change tomorrow, when I will have the time! I'm kind of anxious because I almost did not touch the file since Nov 28, 2020 xD. I have peeked a couple of times and found it pretty cringey lol. So now I hope that I will push through and actually be continuing working on my novel despite the potential cringe. I really like the storyline itself and think, that my writing has improved since then. It would be sad to neglect it, now that i already wrote the discovery draft.

[@willow_rosie]

Wow, I'm right on time😆

[@KateCavanaugh]

Yesss! Super early! :)

[@RKStumblingbear]

I am not very good with self-deadlines. I am a procrastinator. I am trying a different method right now of just writing at least ten minutes a day and see how long that takes me to get things done in revising. I know I can write 400 to 500 words in fifteen minutes sprints, so I am curious if I am able to do similar amount of work. This tracking is to help me plan better and realistic deadlines in the future.

[@elizabetherwine2930]

I don't do well with deadlines. I set them, sometimes, but not usually for creative things. I try to meet deadlines, but it only works when I am beholden to someone else.

[@katendress6142]

I really don't do well with self-imposed deadlines. Part of it is my health; I'm in pain every day and it's exhausting, But if it's a work deadline or a commitment I've made to someone else, I can push through to make it 99% of the time. I need to figure out how to prioritize myself. Easier said than done ...

[@narcissamalfoy2666]

Yeah well I signed up for the ONC 2021…and then I also started writing for the March 2021 #JustWriteIt Challenge where I need 10k words until the 29th…and last year I applied for a judge’s post in an award and recently the award book was updated so now I have five books to judge until the 31st as well…and today’s the 16th…I think I took on a bit too much

[@AMG_Creates]

I have made deadlines but because there isn't a.....big consequence? (or any)...for missing it I just let it go by. I've made two big ones that I've wanted to get done and they've flown past like a jet while I wave here on the ground.

[@kathrynwrites8629]

I think I accidentally reverse engineered the method your talking about, with the whole "future you" thing. I think that it's partially because all of my finished writing projects are ones that involve others. So freelance, and comics. And normally right after I hand it over to future me I have to hand it over to another tangible person, and I think this is defiantly a factor for me. But it's also probably partially why I've never finished Nanowrimo.

[@bhsprinkle]

I'm sad to hear you were injured. I've never really managed to meet self appointed deadlines. Really don't like deadlines in general because I am not speedy at anything. In fact, because I'm not fast enough I get anxiety.

[@NeverAskedtobeMade1390]

I've never met a self imposed deadline and I think a lot of it has to do with setting unrealistic goals when I have a rare good day and the fact I have no real consequence for passing those deadlines. I'm writing for me so there's no outside force like grades or risk of being fired to really put that fire under my ass. But I'm also really bad with planning anything in the future past the next few hours in general. Time is the ever elusive mongoose for me.

[@HaleyWrites]

I am also TERRIBLE with deadlines lol. And I can never manage more than one project at once. It's just so hard to manage! SO I have not figured out how to tackle that (yet). Eventually, I would love to be able to work on more than one thing at a time. But as of right now...one project is hard enough lmao. 😅

[@vivianwakoff]

I usually build some "extra fat" in terms of time. I'm a firm believer that you hope for the best, but prepare for the worse. For my current project, I had originally set aside 4 weeks for the first draft. But in these 4 weeks I had a crippling bout or two (or five) of self-doubt, I hurt my back, and the WIP itself blew past my original target word count. (My fault. I didn't count for the fact that it's fantasy.) So I needed the week of "extra fat" I had set aside. On the other hand, editing has been a breeze for this book. (To the point where I think I must be doing something wrong. It's been that smooth.) So I'm "gaining" that lost time back, so to speak. Funnily enough, that whole "extra fat" concept was something I picked up in Film school. It was something a former professor said about budgeting during our producing classes. And I quote "If you don't need the extra fat you can blow it out at the end of shooting in a killer wrap up party!" I took those words to heart!

[@kaseylealma]

I always set deadlines but since I don’t really have someone waiting I don’t usually complete by said deadlines

[@willow8783]

I'm currently working on two stories, that I'd like to publish under different pen names once their done, very unintentionally. I had all but shelved one of them and started the new one when two ladies from my writing group gave me some feedback that forced the book right back off of the shelf. I wish I had an answer on how to juggle two stories but I'm still struggling to juggle my writing time and my real life responsibilities.

[@quantwhodratherbewritingak8698]

P.S. Kate - when will we learn about the second (secret) pen name experiment results?

[@yellowbluegreen9614]

How do you always release the video i need. I try not to prioritize writing over college because one of them will still be there in two years time but I still set writing goals and trying to get better. For example this march I'm trying to do a fast draft but I need to be honest with myself that it's just not going to happen as quick as I want. Self-discipline is a skill I can apply to all aspects of my life.

[@writingwithrafael1812]

Clicked so fast :)

[@KateCavanaugh]

:)

[@kb2vca]

Here is a contrarian's thought. Forget deadlines that you impose on yourself. Better to schedule your time. In other words: Mondays from 6 am - 8 am you treat yourself (meditation, exercise; the news, NYTimes Xwords etc) From 8 - 10 you work on your writing projects. From 10- 12, you attend to emails and the like, from 12- 1 you attend to lunch. from 1-3 you work on writing projects ... etc etc. No deadlines to be subject to but schedules that YOU determine because they suit YOU. And if you feel unable to work because of a migraine or some other acute or chronic condition then YOU control YOUR schedule and YOU change it for however many days you want but the schedule is changed and no deadline LOOMS over you like a parent. Schedules are yours. Deadlines belong to others so let them own what's theirs. A schedule is yours and you own YOUR schedule.

[@sandrameesala6804]

Hmm Parkinson law. I need to research on it

[@kimlum1627]

This is my first year setting real deadlines for myself and I'm struggling HARD

[@HERway-sk2mb]

👍👍

[@netaricker2343]

I swear I can't be the only one who thought you said "I threw out my bath" because omg

[@KateCavanaugh]

BAHAHA. BYE BATH, SEE YA LATER.

[@jessicacoffman2976]

LOL future me is calling present me a stopped workaholic because about a week ago I sprained my wrist really bad but before I could get a wrap for it the car broke down And me oh stubborn me decided that no I'm not going to take a week long brake and let my wrist heal I'm just not going to use it for anything but writing ... :(

[@klatchabobby]

My Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were spent crying

[@SennaCrow]

Girl, you need to have forgiveness added in or you'll feel sooooo freaking stressed when you don't meet deadlines. It's like having to write yourself up or give yourself a bad performance review, and those don't feel too great and can even cause a lack of ability to continue making progress cuz of fear of failure. That crap builds up over time. Quickly so on the things that matter the most to you, or about which you are the most passionate. When I had this epiphany, I literally went down the same rabbit hole. I got tough-boss on myself and my mental health suffered because of it after about two months. Even though I was looking at it like I was doing Future Me a favor by getting more done. Dont get me wrong, the accomplishments were amazing. But be careful not to go overboard in the excitement. All of mine involved putting in 72+ hours a week working at a prison 5 days a week, plus 20 hours a week or more writing and editing, plus building shelves and doing yardwork and everything else. AND researching how to copyedit, build out style sheets, and more. I was halfway suicidal when I had to leave my job and try to learn how to sleep and eat again at the end of a 2-year period of this. The Future Me Boss thing is great and all, but it can be a horror if you dont keep the urge to "please and honor the Future Me" on a leash. I reverted to Top Ten Quarterly goals, which were allowed to be extended into the next quarter AND which had built-in easy tasks that would be auto-completed. The Accomplishments Log will really, really help when you feel like you haven't achieved or done enough--or quickly enough. Learning to enjoy and be proud of what you have done is almost more important than setting goals for progress when it comes to mental and emotional health. Be more proud of what you have accomplished than desperate to complete more and be more accountable, and the work will flow easier and be more exciting and less damaging overall. You'll naturally become more productive because you'll enjoy putting the work out instead of feeling pressured by your Past Self, Now Self, or Future Self to do so. The healthiest part of it is to be not just forgiving of yourself when you don't meet the deadlines, but to ignore the term failure and celebrate even a single step, cuz that step is still the most monumental, beautiful thing to have been able to do, and it needs to be embraced wholeheartedly. Like giving the Past Self a giant, warm hug for doing what she's done, like telling the Past Self how freaking much you appreciate her and ALL the hard work she has done to get you to this point. It isnt about the Future Self. It's about loving the Past Self and embracing and inviting the Current Self to go on this beautiful journey that all the Selves enjoy and love together. Please, please be careful with the whole Future Me Boss Accountability thing. Most dont take things as far as I do, but I'm chronically high-functioning anxiety and have to stay on top of it or I revert to not sleeping or eating and just working constantly without reprieve. To this day, I still find myself having been awake and working at my desk for anywhere from 12 to 22 hours straight with barely a meal or a drink. I have soooo much to do and a HUGE deadline and set of tasks to complete before I return to working at the prison (yet I'll still be writing and all my extras, and I'll still be setting up the last of my self-taught accounting system that I built and still need to work on. I've planned over 40 books for a series I've worked on for 17 years, and soooooo much more.) Trust me when I say to take a breath and move calmly forward. Take care of yourself.

[@jenny4444js]

Wow! That's a lot! I agree 100%. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Xx

[@sashagreenwrites]

What is this thing you call a deadline??? :) When it comes to deadlines, I sometimes feel like my GPS..."recalculating". I used to set some ambitious and intricately planned deadlines, and rarely meet them. Now I have more flexible writing deadlines and give myself a break when life happens. I realized I tend to avoid projects or lose steam if I feel like I am blowing deadlines, so I decided to instead give myself lots of mini-deadlines. So far, that seems to be helping. Now excuse me, I need to make a right at the next light..."recalculating" #dadjokes

[@AlwaysWrite]

Deadlines? More like guidelines!

[@mpsensha]

Self-imposed deadlines are not so bad.

[@Microscopyenthusiast]

Wow! Parkinson's law was and is ruling my life and I had no idea!😃