The Trick to Juggling

Susannah and I had another Skype session this past Sunday. Our conversations focus on marketing, but we also swap scripts and bounce concepts off of one another. This past session was a little more diffuse than the others. We've both set a few things in motion, and are either waiting to hear back or a little unclear about our next steps. So we worked on trying to clarify our course of action at least until the next time we spoke. By the end of the call, Susannah said that she's already done more this year to market her scripts than last year. I realized so had I.

In my last post, film composer Rob Gokee  commented on how well I seem to multitask. I've certainly improved my ability to juggle, but it still remains too easy to drop those balls that are not essential--that is, anything without a deadline. The fact that Susannah is eagerly awaiting to hear what I've done since we last talked two weeks ago forces me to keep the marketing ball in play. For me, having to be accountable to somebody else really helps.

I'd love to hear from others. Any tips or strategies for staying motivated and on track?

Comments

[Rob Gokee]

I, like you, do not do well with an open-ended or nonexistent deadline. The pressure to have something done at a specific time is a major motivator for me. I run into people who don't give specific deadlines more often than I thought I would. My solution is to "force" one on them. I'll pick a date that works for me and promise the material by that date. No one's ever told me no, and then the clock is ticking. I'm a big "list" person; I can't market and function without them, and they only work for me if I assign each task a due date. For me, this is especially important with marketing, because there's not necessarily a client waiting on you when you're promoting yourself; the whole point is showing them you exist.