Multitasking

And I don't mean doing the laundry while you're checking email.

As a writer, I've always focused on one project at a time. Write something, finish it, move on to something else.

The further I get into my career as a writer, the more I realize that I need to multitask. Multiple projects need attention--at the same time. ::gasp::

Fiction that I'd like to get published before the next millennium and non fiction work-for-hire projects that have real deadlines--need to get equal billing. Couple those with real life, and volunteer positions with NESCBWI and Girl Scouts. Add the day job, and stir. There's a lot going on. No wonder my house looks like a mess. I think my child and husband might be in there somewhere, I saw them both a minute ago.

The real question is how. How can I change the way I've always done things and shift. Make lists? Set deadlines? Get up at 3 a.m.? (yeah, um, no.) It all needs to get done, and everything is important.

I don't have the answer--just asking the question. Do you multitask? And if you do, how do you do multitask?