Organizing for the Writer podcast interview

Delightful Healing Diva, Sonia Haynes, interviewed me about how I help fellow creatives get their shit together. Her writing podcast is entitled Organizing the Writer, but  almost any person can use this kind of help. We get overwhelmed by modern life and the demands on our time.

I find it challenging to create with two children and a full-time job, plus the frequent travel and moving, but I always manage to find time. When friends and colleagues notice my ability to juggle so many commitments they ask for my help.

[Adorable, time-sucking jerk.]

The thing I want to emphasize is that some people work well in a mess. The point of organizing yourself is not to have a clear desk and a modernist sensibility. That works for some people, but then other creatives are old-fashioned Victorians at heart and need a room full of chotchkes, busy wallpaper, flower-based textiles, several cats, four rugs that have never been vacuumed, and a stack of papers that threatens to teeter and crush them. That kind of mess–as a source of inspiration–should not be disturbed. Or, that is, do not disturb it if it’s working for you. And please be honest with yourself about that.

What creatives often don’t do well is organize the rest of their lives, because our heads are chock-a-block with ideas and we’re easily distracted by the latest shiny thing happening inside our brains. If you’re the sort of person who is wasting several minutes each morning tracking down house keys then you’re wasting precious time that belongs to your creative work. That’s a crime against your craft and you need to address the problem areas. Honestly, a professional organizer is worth their weight in gold.

In honor of full disclosure, here is my desk, unedited, including my current reading material (excellent!). By necessity of my constant moving and travel I’ve become minimalistic and keep most of my research materials on virtual cloud storage.

Meanwhile, the inside of my head looks like this:

[Mark Twain’s desk and telephone.]

#writing #healingdiva #children #Hild #podcast #MarkTwain #creativity #organizing #SoniaHaynes #timemanagement #novelreview #parenthood