Let's get you back on track to finishing your script so you can win the next contest you enter. You've got nothing to lose by trying this technique, and everything to gain. You may find that the order of these 5 Simple Steps to Managing Your Day can be shuffled around and put into different orders.
Remember the Five "L's"
Laser, Learning, Leisure, Longevity and Love
Again, I list them here in no particular order. Do what works best for you.
Step 1: Laser
This is the time that you are most focused on what needs to be accomplished today. Is there something that needs to be sent out by the end of the day? Is there a phone call that you need to make that can't wait? Are you scheduled for a meeting or other appointment? For example, I am writing this blog posting during my my Laser Time.
Laser Time is when you work on that one — or several related projects — without interruption. This means no phone calls, no e-mail or any other work on the internet that detracts from you completing the goal. In fact, turn off your phone, close your door and ask not to be interrupted unless it's an absolute emergency.
How do you decide what is important to finishing your project? A phone call relating to an important conference call that will advance your career is necessary, while returning a call to your friend about going to a hockey game this weekend, can wait.
Use an egg timer
Buy yourself a basic timer with a knob that you turn with your hand, it doesn't have to be anything fancy. Give yourself a time frame to finish the project, let's say, 40 minutes to finish a specific task at hand. For example: regarding a proposal for my upcoming book, I make sure they are all proofread and spell checked in my alloted time before I email them out.
By giving yourself a deadline, you'll find a way to get the job done.
I like to get all of my Laser Time tasks done first thing in the morning, while the day is fresh and my mind is clear. Then, there's no looming tasks hanging over my head.
Step 2: Learning
This is the time you spend finding, absorbing and organizing information. It could be reading magazines, researching on the internet, making and returning phone calls as part of networking or writing e-mails to churn up new contacts. Consider this the bulk of your work day. While Laser Time is the time to complete a process or harvest your ideas, Learning Time is when you plan and gather for your project; sow the seeds.
Have an organized plan to utilize this time. Again, use the egg timer to limit your work on each different project you may be tackling. Expect to reach dead-ends in this process. The information you are seeking may not be where you expect it or a person you are trying to reach may be out of town.
My Learning Time is when I'm researching material for next blog posting, web series or book.
Will the work that I performed during my Learning Time today help me finish a project in my Laser Time tomorrow? Try to utilize this block so you can either pick up your research where you left off the next day during your Learning Time, or have the necessary material to complete a project during Laser Time.
Step 3: Leisure
While everything you work on should be considered fun, this time block has nothing to do with increasing your productivity at your job.
This is the time to watch TV, go to a movie or read that "guilty pleasure" book. You can also run errands. You may not consider a trip to the market, car wash or drug store Leisure. But it is time away from your actual work, and it is a necessity to your well-being and will increase your health.
Often times, I'll find inspiration for my next project by doing the most mundane tasks. Why? Because I'm able to break up my day and allow my brain to relax and wander, even if I'm standing in the check-out line at a book store.
Step 4: Longevity
Take time to go to the gym, bike ride, walk, do some Yoga or just meditate. Playing video games, or watching TV doesn't fall into this category. This is when you are actively taking care of your body.
While Leisure Time gives your mind a break from your work schedule — the mental component; Longevity is the physical aspect of your well being. Only have an hour for lunch? Brown bag it, take thirty minutes to eat, and use the remaining time to take a walk around the block. Half an hour of exercise is better than zero minutes of activity because you're doing something to get the blood pumping.
I love hiking and mountain biking. There's something about focusing all your pent-up energy in a brief but vigorous workout. It relieves stress, clears the cobwebs out of the brain and creates a fresh mental tablet for new ideas. It was after a particularly brutal, one hour hike that my brain wandered onto a new course that allowed me to write my next book!
Step 5: Love
This is quality time spent with your family or friends. Don't answer the phone, check emails, go shopping or begin any significant projects that will take up this time block. This is a time to re-connect with your loved ones.
Usually, this works best in the evening, so that everyone can share their stories of what happened during their busy day. Some examples are; dinner together, or a family outing. It could be helping your children with homework or watching a movie with a spouse, walking the dog, or phoning siblings and relatives to catch up with them.
These are the moments that make all the hard work that you accomplish throughout the day worthwhile and should be cherished. Without the connections to my family, nothing else I accomplish throughout the day, month or year is meaningful. It's the time I spend with them that makes any hardships worthwhile.
You should be able to put every action you do in a day into one of these categories. This will help you balance your day effectively and help you achieve all your goals, free from the helpless feeling that there isn't enough time to make it all happen. Time can be on your side, make it work for you.
Coming up Next: Now you're ready to open a new file on your computer, or break open a fresh notebook for your next script so you can win a screenwriting contest. What should you write? Read my next article, Writing for the Market.
About Sean Hinchey:
Sean Hinchey has been a script consultant for International Creative Management (ICM), Miracle Entertainment, Nash Entertainment, and Viviano Entertainment. He's also read the preliminary drafts of Michael Crichton's best-selling novels, State of Fear and Next and has performed extensive research for the stage plays and screenplays of writer/director Floyd Mutrux (American Hot Wax, Million Dollar Quartet).
Sean's expertise has made him a highly sought after judge for such prestigious screenwriting contests such as: The Big Break Contest, The Miramax Open Door Contest, Artists and Writer's Contest, Energy Contest, Smart Contest and The Chills and Thrills Contest. Throughout his career, Sean has read over two thousand scripts, giving him an insight into what it takes to become the winner of a screenwriting contest.
Three of Sean's screenplays have been optioned and one was a finalist in the Film in Arizona Screenwriting Competition. He won an award for his first non-fiction book, Backpacking Through Divorce.
Drawing from these experiences, he's written a book, 39 Ways to Win a Screenwriting Contest & The Nine Mistakes New Writers Make, set for publication in Spring 2010.
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