Productivity Meets Creativity

I am neither a trendsetter nor a trend follower. If something is marketed as trendy, I'm likely to stay away until it has been around long enough to be considered a classic. Of the many definitions that can be applied to the word "classic," the most applicable here is "of enduring interest, quality, or style." I don't want my style to be described as always following the newest, greatest, chicest thing -- whether that's clothes, electronics, or activities. I want to be known as someone that is interesting in a steadfast and steady way.

I haven't yet mastered this ideal.

One trend I have been reluctant to absorb into my every day is the bullet journal. According to bulletjournal.com, the inventor of the bullet journal is Ryder Carroll, who "sees this as an evolving, adaptable practice meant to be self-curated as you determine what works best for you." People choose to keep a bullet journal for different reasons, emphasizing calendars or goals or daily thoughts compiled at the end of each day.

As I prepare to start a bullet journal for the year 2018, I am going to focus on working toward goals.

The paperwork has been signed, and In the Shadow of Mr. Lincoln will be published, estimated launch Summer 2018. It took me two or three years to research the historical time period and at least five years to write it. And then it sat for ten years. Literally ten years. It was printed and hole-punched and placed in a binder in 2007. It is now 2017.

I don't want my next novel to sit on a shelf for another ten years.

The next novel, with a working title of On the Brink, is set in western Pennsylvania just before the French and Indian War. The early 1750s, for those not obsessed with American history. If you can't tell me anything about the French and Indian War, don't feel bad. Even as a history teacher, I didn't realize how much I didn't know until I began researching.

The first draft is almost finished, although the last few chapters are really giving me trouble. Then it needs to be torn apart by an Alpha/Beta reader and then rewritten. Then copy edited before it is ready for publishing. If I want it to be ready by January 2019, I need to have a clear plan and a way to track my progress.

Hence the bullet journal.

I'll keep my readers up to date on my progress. Do any of you use a bullet journal? What works and what doesn't? Let's start a conversation!