Last week my brother died unexpectedly. My sister-in-law didn't know logins and passwords for their accounts online, so couldn't see what bills were paid and what owing. We were able to find some; her son will probably have to help her figure out others.

On the plane home I was thinking about several writers who have died or become incapacitated. Their facebook pages are still up. I'm guessing that means no one in their family has access. Or family members, especially in the case of someone who is single, may not even be aware of the social media sites where their loved one was involved.

So this is my challenge to all of us creative people. Make sure someone somewhere has a list of the social media you are involved in. The list should include login information and passwords for each site. It should mention which services you are paying for and which are free.

For example, I pay for my website hosting (monthly), my domain name (annually) and ad-free yahoo mail (annually). These automatically come out of my writing business checking account, which my husband is a signer on. I also have a writing PayPal account which is tied to my checking. I have free accounts: facebook, gmail, google+, twitter, linked in. A number of them send notices to my email. If I'm using all these when I inevitably die, I want my husband or daughters to be able to cancel or change, whichever is appropriate.

As I'm typing this, I'm thinking a list of the listserves I participate in would be helpful as well. For those, the email used would be appropriate to note. And what about physical magazines or memberships in organizations? Those could be recorded too.

I know these things would be low priorities for my loved ones, but eventually, when they got to them, how much nicer to have the information than to keep having notices trickle in.

I'm struggling with juggling everything in my life as yet again I took on a big volunteer position. Some days I think, that was such a stupid thing to do. But yet . . . I love the volunteering. And since I've moved to a new community it's a great way to meet people. Other days I remind myself I've achieved balance before. That means I can again.

Earlier this year a friend met with me and asked how I'd kept it all balanced. (This was before my life changed with a move, etc.) Here's what I told her and what I need to listen to again myself.

Discipline
First, schedule days and times for the different tasks. And then stick to it.
I'm a morning person. That's when I should write. However, it's so easy to waste time on stuff that isn't creative. It's not that those things don't need doing, but I should do them later. Therefore, my renewed covenant with myself starts with the following Monday through Friday schedule:

• Mornings: focus on personal or assigned writing. Obviously deadlines are important, but if I never get to write my stuff, I'm committing to too much work-for-hire or writing assignments.


• Don't read any email, writing newsletters, or listservs until after lunch.


• Blog posts, book recommendations on my website may be done in the afternoon.


• Volunteer tasks may be done at 3 p.m. or after.


• Until things are less busy, spend less than ½ hour per day on twitter and/or facebook.

1. Thursdays are my "write outside the house" days. I meet with a friend at a library and write. Unless I'm waiting for an email to complete a project, email can wait until I get home. If I am waiting for one, check for it then get off the internet.


2. Fridays are "focus on my instructing" days. I'm paid to critique assignments and give instruction for my students. It takes time, so unless I have no students, this is the day's focus. Often this work flows over to Saturday.


3. Monday finish up any instructing not done. I've been lax on this lately and it gets stretched out too far, which frustrates me. Being frustrated is counterproductive.

Prioritize
I like reading writing online resources: blogs, newsletters, etc. I like participating on writing listservs. I like doing chats or follow agent events on twitter. I like and need to read children's literature. There's a problem for me with these things--they take time and often distract me from my main purpose--writing. So, how am I handling this?

• Selective subscriptions to writing newsletters and blogs. I've unsubscribed from ones I wasn't getting to, from ones that aren't as important to me, and even from ones I've enjoyed, but for which I just don't have the time.


• Narrower participation in listservs. I've always chosen digest format, but now I've cut down to four listservs. Two are directly related to my volunteer position. One is for my local area writers. The last is a private small group of writers who support each other.


• At the moment twitter chats just aren't happening for me. I'm not even reading transcripts. I'm rarely on twitter. If I am, I use tweetdeck.


• Evenings, except for my Thursday critique group, are my reading time. Most of the time I read middle grade and YA fiction. But it's okay to read an "adult" book now and then, too. Or to watch a movie with my husband. Or spend time with friends or family.

Life and Volunteer Duties
I'm putting the "to do"s in the afternoons, evenings and weekends. This includes house hunting, laundry and chores, paying bills, shopping, etc.

That volunteer position - I'm committing to not spend every day on it, especially not Fridays. In the past I've found it helpful to have a different email for the volunteering. That means when I open "my" personal writing email, if I see one related to volunteering, I should not read it, but forward it to the other email. And then don't check that volunteer email until the scheduled time of 3 p.m.

Of course, sometimes there are appointments or other commitments which interfere--instead of stressing about them taking my writing time, my plan is to do what needs to be done and move on.

I think all this will help me be less stressed and more productive as I try to balance writing, life, and volunteering. Here's to "sticking with it."

picture courtesy of j mason on morguefile.com

Thanks to Ladyheart on morguefile for this image.
If you're only using your computer for word processing, internet and emailing, you're missing out. Make that box help you stay organized and even keep you on task.

First, organize. If you haven't already, create computer folders to classify your writing projects: nonfiction, fiction. Those folders might include subfolders: picture books, magazine pieces, etc. Break it down farther if needed (i.e. separate folders for each specific novel in your novel folder).

Did you type up your notes from a conference? Save them in a marketing folder on your computer. Store electronic copies of guidelines and theme lists there, too. Use a document to record books you've read, the publisher, and your thoughts.

Maintain a file for "manuscripts out." Include a section for ones to be sent plus what each house or magazine has from you now. A file that lists each publisher and what you've sent is a helpful companion.

Use a spreadsheet or a money management program to keep track of writing expenses and income to make tax filing easier.

Back up these important files and folders on a regular basis. A USB drive is an inexpensive and quick way to do so. I also love using dropbox to make it easy to copy files from my desktop to my laptop and vice versa.

Second, keep on task. Use your computer as an electronic nagger. You can schedule "to do" items, including deadlines, and set up a program to remind you. Microsoft Outlook is probably the most common one, but there are many reminder software programs available if you don't have one. They vary in cost from free to $60, with many in the $20-25 range. Investigate them on the Internet. Often you can download one and try it for free before buying.

Making our computers work for us takes self-discipline. We have to make ourselves: keep information up-to-date, back up folders and files, and schedule deadlines. However, the structure of being organized and staying on task can free us to get back to our first love--writing!

(I'll confess this is a reprint of my one of my own articles. It's been in the SCBWI Bulletin and on the Rx for Writers portion of the Institute of Children's Literature site. But, I'm getting ready to move 1800 miles and knew it would be a quick way to get a post up.)