It’s a never ending process..

Process.

Processing.

Processed.

Wash/Rinse/Repeat.

And it’s never ending.

I’m not daunted by the never ending.

It’s evolving/involving/devolving…it’s shape shifting.

It’s good, it’s bad, it’s indifferent…it’s nothing…but isn’t that something?

It’s solitary, but you need interaction, the involvement of others, the convincing of others that what you’re doing is something of value, whether that value be this or that, and that may overly negotiable over time, but it’s the over-thinking/over evaluation that gets you stuck in the minutia of something that you’d never thought you’d delve into, something that seems to be the rabbit-hole of time suck that gets you more worked up than some post a friend-of-a friend made on FaceBook.

I’ve been going through a transition. Stop. Not THAT kind of transition. It’s one that I never thought I’d be going through, but I am. And it is what it is. Good, bad, or indifferent, it is what it is which gives me ample time to think/re-think/think some more. I’ve fallen into the habit of over-thinking, which has caused my face to grow long and added more grey than I care to admit. But it is what it is. I’m in it. My office looks like it was designed after some early refugee period. Stacks of notes, reference material, scribbles of ideas not yet thought through, and books. Books that I’ve henpecked, Post-It noted, and stuck pieces of possibilities that may never see fruition.

I’m constantly challenged with, “How am I ever gonna get this done?”

I’m going to rename my office, The Room of Overwhelming Possibilities.

I know others have felt this way too, but I’ve never taken solace in, “Oh, this is common, you’re not alone.” Yes, misery does love company but If I wanted to be miserable amongst others who are miserable I might as well be in a writers group.

Every project I have is huge, and I’m well aware its all about perception but hundreds of hours (I don’t have the time to put 10,000 hours into each project, though I feel I should but…let’s be real) I just don’t have. But I know these projects aren’t gonna write themselves.

I’ve been told there is one great thing about big projects: they are actually just a group of many, many small projects put together. And I know you can do a small project. But can I remain focused? Hmm, good question.

But when I feel like I’m at the first step of a very, very long journey, like when I’m looking at my goals for the new year, it can be hard to motivate myself to get going and feel like anything will be possible. It’s like standing at the base of a mountain and knowing that the journey starts with the first step only to get to the first elevation and your mind starts thinking’, “Why isn’t there an escalator?”; “Aren’t you too old for this sh*t?”; “Isn’t there laundry that needs to be done?”

I’ve mentioned my conundrum to a couple of acquaintances, Alice and Joe, and they had some…helpful advice on how to tackle some of my obstacles and/or projects.

Alice: Every Monday, you have to plan. Plan, plan, plan.

Me: So, you’re sayin’?

I’ve been told that one of the biggest wastes of my time is not knowing what I’m gonna do every day. It’s best to show up with a plan so you can hit the ground running, rather than showing up and then trying’ to figure out where to start.

I was told I need to come up with goals. Yearly, monthly, weekly and even daily goals. That I should check in with my big yearly and monthly goals, see how I am doing, and connect the things I’ll be doing day-to-day to my bigger visions.

Alice: By thinking big picture once a week, you’ll touch base with what’s really important so that you can be very specific and laser-focused during the week.

Me: Should I be forwarding these goals to all the studios, producers, and others that I want to work with? I mean, shouldn’t we all be on the same page?

I’m not a ‘Debbie-downer’ but in my line of work it does take a village and there are those, creative and bottom-line folk, that I have to answer to. And those are just the people that I know. And in the whole scheme of things, and by things I mean Hollywood, I don’t know a whole-lotta people.

Joe: Have you ever tried The Pomodoro Technique?”

Me: No, I’m not familiar with the Italian Kama Sutra.

Well, come to find out The Pomodoro Technique is all about making progress in small doses.

When you’re doing Pomodoro, you work for 25 minutes and then take a break for 5 minutes. Then you work again for 25 minutes, and break for 5. After you’ve done this 4 times, you take a long break of 10 minutes.

Then repeat, until your big project is completed.

Apparently what makes this technique so very useful is that it helps you get started by only asking you to work for 25 minutes. Anyone can do something for 25 minutes. And then you get a break!

You don’t have to take on some huge project that seems will never end. You just do in 25 minute chunks. Perhaps this is where chunking comes from.

And if you can’t do 25 minutes then start out doing 5–10 minutes and work yourself up to 25. So, you can do chunks of…chunks.

It’s all about the starting. You gotta start before you can finish. I think Cicero said that. Or was it Ron Jeremy? I’m not sure.

Alice: Okay, but my favorite technique is probably time blocking. It’s a way of planning your day that forces you to be really focused every hour. It brings together big picture thinking and goals with the focus of actually getting things done. It is awesome!”

Me: Awesome?

Is The Lego Movie theme song ringing in your ears too?

Alice: Okay, first you have to prioritize the most important things on your plate.

Me: Alright.

Alice: How do you know what’s important?

Me: Oh, I know, but I’m sure someone will tell me.

Alice: Well, you’re no longer married, so you shouldn’t have that problem.

Me: Sure.

Alice: You just have to look at what will push you closest to your most important goals, and work backwards from there. In other words, where is your time spent most valuable?

Me: Right about now, I’m thinkin’ that I’ve been spending way too much time with acquaintances.

Alice: Oh? You also need to think about what you ‘need’ to do.

Me: Prioritize.

Alice: Right. Projects are always in flux, deadlines change or get canceled altogether, but the most important things mostly stay the same, right?

Me: Sure.

Alice: If you decide what is important and block out time for it, then you’ll be able to visualize how much remaining time you have to be flexible with when you have an unexpected meeting or sudden deadline.

Me: I need to start visualizing?

Alice: Oh, absolutely.

Me: I need to close my eyes…and visualize?

Alice: It’s not necessary that you close your eyes, but you certainly can.

Me: To find my ‘happy place’?

Alice: Well, you don’t have to…

Me: I don’t have to go to my ‘happy place’?

Alice: No, I mean…in your minds eye, to visualize…to guesstimate how much time you need.

Me: Hmm. So, no ‘happy place’ and hope that my minds eye isn’t near sighted. Or is it far sighted?

Alice: Regardless, you need to plot out your day.

Me: I’m thinkin’ I’m gonna be spending a lot of time just planning, where’s the doing?

Alice: Listen, I find it helpful to plot out each upcoming day at the end of the day before. This way you can make adjustments based on what actually happened during the previous day.

Me: I’ll be planning for the next day?

Alice: Right. So, try to leave some available time open in case your schedule changes. And if your schedule doesn’t change then you’ll have some freed up time for any extra work you want to get done that isn’t vital for the week.

Me: Plan for some free time for ‘just in case’ but if that doesn’t happen then I’ve already scheduled some extra time to handle other things.

Alice: Right. And then you can execute.

Me: Sorry? Who am I…

Alice: The doing. With your days planned you can get to work and pack more in to every day. The longer you do time blocking, the better you’ll get at judging how much you can do in a given time and how to best structure your time, your days, your weeks.

Me: I see.

Joe: Oh, and be sure to pay attention to your rhythms and schedule things..

Me: I don’t think I have any rhythm, or hold a tune for that matter.

Joe:..for when you are best able to deal with them. If you get tired mid-afternoon, don’t schedule anything big; if you’re really creative first thing in the morning, block off your calendar for any meetings or calls, so you can do your most focused work.

Alice: And progress doesn’t have to be exhausting. It can feel pretty easy, actually, if you’ve got the right steps laid out and a smart strategy for tackling them.

Me: Wouldn’t it be better if I just made a list of all my hopes and dreams, and forwarded them to the people that have the most power and influence for making them happen?

Alice/Joe: Yeah. Try that.

I think I need to refine my process, or processes.

I’m not looking for perfection, I’m looking…maybe for a better plan.