You may have heard the old question, “How do you eat an Elephant…”
This quote is attributed to General Creighton Abrams, a captain in Belgium during WWII. This concept goes beyond the battlefield to any large task you are undertaking, including writing.
Bit #13 – One Bite At A Time
The beginning of a semester or year is a great time to get ahead. If you find yourself in the middle of something though, you can still organize your projects to increase your productivity. Begin by looking at your syllabi (if you are a student) and any other projects you are working on. What writing projects are you currently engaged in? What projects are on the horizon?
Get out your calendar and mark your due dates now (if there is no assigned due date, create one yourself, so you have something you are working toward). Then, work your way backward from those due dates.
To do this, break your writing tasks into manageable chunks (see examples below). All writing tasks have natural chunks or parts to them.
Then assign each chunk to blocks on your calendar (since you are scheduling your writing each week). Tasks always appear more manageable when you see smaller (completely doable) tasks to tackle instead of one giant, looming assignment.
Example #2: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E_Crf3qkq_x9y0qyi-lfIKAgwPCV_eywYWGaGLlR0CM/edit?usp=sharing
