By Eric on 2006-05-16
Part 5 of this publishing series…
5. Multitasking Economizer. If you’re publishing, you have to be able to do this and be this (#5). I often hear, “I don’t know how you do all this.” I have no idea either, since I’m just doing it.
This is my dad cleaning a pool. He’s pretty good at economizing since he worked in construction. That’s a big deal in that line of work.
I’ve played some tennis when I was a little kid all the way through high school. I’ve played poorly, but somedays I played greatly. There was a day when I beat two players, both who went on to play NCAA division one tennis. They were really great. I was in the “zone”. Sometimes, doing GR stuff is sort of like that. There’s so much to do, and so little time, that if you’re not on top of things, the day can crumble quickly. Each block of a few minutes count, and from when I get up at let’s say 8am all the way though 6 or maybe 8 pm, I’m completely booked solid and doing things. I *don’t even take a meal in that time, and I don’t even notice! Luckily, it’s not like this everyday. But I still forget to eat.*
I keep adding more stuff to do. Maybe it’s about multi-tasking. Maybe it’s having great help. Maybe it’s just about getting better at doing what I’m doing and economizing my time. This is something you can’t just pick up and start doing. You’re either wired for it, or you’re not. And if you’re not, then publishing will be that much harder.
On the other hand, there’s days that just don’t amount to anything. Those are the worst. What’s the point of even working on those days? That’s just part of the job, and I couldn’t do it any other way.
Here’s an example, if I watch a TV show, I’ve got a laptop on my lap and what might I be doing? Designing a t-shirt for GR, ordering products for the stores in the three cities, working on art show related anything, writing an article (notice how far down this is?), and so on. Maybe it’s because TV isn’t that great, but this is why I have a 12″ Powerbook (I’ve also had two 12″ ibooks) and not a 15 or 17″ one. How would I take it anywhere to do other things besides what people think I’m doing? The only problem is the show gets sacrificed a little, since I’m missing the tiny details and so on, but that’s less important, and I don’t sacrifice the work on my laptop.
Only recently have I started using the Address book and ical on a mac. With these, I’m able to mainting my appointments better, and have people’s info literally at my finger tips. This helps a lot.
*Side story: I once had an intern who was about 12 or 13. It was a special day for him, where he helps me do whatever I need. We worked the whole day and I remember him eating a candy bar, then another. I realize that by 4pm, I didn’t eat, and I was making him do the same thing. I realized it too late, and I apologized, and he told me, “don’t worry, I won’t tell my mom.” It’s fine for me, but for others, no, it doesn’t really work.