Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 2 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos Also by B VanYoos: The Onyalum Series Onyalum Retribution Trial of Gesh Red Star Conspiracy Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 3 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos WHY CA’T I GET AYTHIG DOE? A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Dreams B VanYoos Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 4 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos WHY CA’T I GET AYTHIG DOE? A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Dreams Second Edition Copyright © 2008 by NB VanYoos All rights reserved. The Adobe PDF version of this eBook is, and shall always be, free of charge to the reading public. This free version is for informational and entertainment purposes only and may not be separated into pieces apart from the whole. For more information about the author or to download the latest version of this eBook: author@nbvanyoos.com www.nbvanyoos.com Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 5 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos Thanks to the U.S. Army and everyone I worked with in the high-tech fields for helping me learn to prioritize and manage time. Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 6 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos Table of Contents PART I: MAKING DREAMS REALITY 7 F OREWORD 7 I F I O NLY H AD T IME 9 W HAT S HOULD I D O F IRST ? 12 I C AN ’ T R EMEMBER E VERYTHING ! 17 G REAT , I’ M D ONE . N OW W HAT ? 22 T HE P ROCESS 24 W HY D O I H AVE TO D EPEND ON O THERS ? 26 PART II: MAKING REALITY DREAMS 30 F OREWORD 30 T HE P ROOF IS IN THE P UDDING ! 31 T O S ELF -P UBLISH OR N OT T O S ELF -P UBLISH , T HAT IS THE Q UESTION ? 36 E B OOKS AND K INDLE ™, IS THIS STUFF FOR REAL ? 40 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 43 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 7 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos Part I: Making Dreams Reality Foreword It would be easy for anyone reading this book to ask why they would need another informational book about time management. Truth is you don’t. But that is not what this book is about. Although it contains basic processes for time and task management, this book is about pursuing and completing your dreams. As an author, stock trader, parent, and teacher, I understand the demands placed upon people in our modern-age society. Unfortunately, these demands tend to ensure we never pursue our dreams. We are all looking for the twenty-five hour day to squeeze in those extra things you may call a hobby, another career, or simply pleasure. You see, this book is about dreams. I believe few of us woke up one day and said “I dream about being a teacher,” or computer programmer, or soldier, or whatever. We may enjoy our careers, but deep down, many of us wish to pursue other dreams that we were often told were impractical or unrealistic. Maybe they are, but you will never know if you never pursue them. Now, I am not advocating quitting your job, moving to Paris, and becoming the next Van Gogh. However, you can keep your current position and still try to be the next Van Gogh. If it is your passion, then you must pursue it or you will have a heavy heart filled with the sad question “What would have happened if I had …?” If this doesn’t describe you, then stop right here, put the book down and move on to something else. But if you have always felt you have something more to offer the world than your current job or existence provides, then this book is for you. I do not profess I have all the answers, but I have some, and they may prove useful for you. I have spent my life working towards my dream of being an author, and I have had some limited success in that field. Oh, for sure, I would love to be the next Frank Herbert or Arthur C. Clarke, but I have learned to set my expectations lower and let my work speak for itself. My background knowledge comes from careers in the military, the high-tech industry, and educational field. All of these required rigorous process and time management to complete the mission, the project, or the lesson plan on time with the highest quality. In the Army, I learned to focus to get one thing accomplished. In the high-tech industry, I learned how to multi-task, prioritize, and manage tasks so the overall project was “Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” – Cecil B. DeMille Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 8 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos completed on time and on budget. In the educational field, I learned how to manage multiple classes, create lessons plans ahead of time, or on-the-fly, while maintaining the quality essential to ensuring no children are left behind. This book encapsulates this essential knowledge in a direct effort to help you pursue and achieve your dreams. It is an easy, quick read with real-world tools you can put to use right away. In no time, you won’t be asking why you can’t get anything done, you’ll be asking “Why didn’t I do this earlier?” As always, the first step is yours. Do you want to pursue your dreams? Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 9 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos If I Only Had Time Does the title of this chapter sound familiar? It does to me! I have said it and hear others say it all the time. Time is one of the easiest things to run out of. In fact, it is a life guarantee you will eventually run out of time, unless of course you have found the fountain of youth. Fantasies aside, this quote sums it up nicely. As soon as we are born, the allotted time we have been given pours through the proverbial hour-glass, and all too soon, it will run out. Okay, perhaps this is a bit melodramatic, but you get the point. We have very little time in our lives to accomplish the things we want. Some people want money and fame and spend their lives pursuing those goals to the exemption of everything else. Others may want to achieve more modest goals: have a family, own a home, and support those with a stable job. If they have time, they’ll travel, have fun, pursue a hobby, and maybe save something for retirement. These people usually achieve those primary goals and are relatively happy with how they spent their time. For others, there is something missing, something that nags at you while driving down the road, standing in the shower, or watching a movie. These are the people with a hidden passion—a passion to express themselves, unleash their creativity, or change their lives in fun and imaginative ways. These are the people who this book is written for. The problem, of course, is they don’t pursue their passion because they never have the time. Well, here is the first secret I will impart: YOU WILL EVER HAVE THE TIME! Between your job, taking care of a house, car, and family, you will never have the time to pursue your passions. Sorry, but that is a cold, hard fact. All right, before you get frustrated and throw your computer against the wall, let me explain this secret. The reason you will never have the time is because all of those other things, that we call life, will fill every waking hour, and some of our sleeping ones. My wife bemoans how often she dreams about doing tax returns in her sleep. Yikes! Okay, now you’re thinking “Duh, tell me something I don’t know!” You are right, this is common sense. Here is a typical week’s worth of tasks for a typical parent:  Grocery shopping  Laundry  Mow lawn  Clean house  Cook meals (or take out) “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.” – Benjamin Franklin Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 10 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos  Get gas in car  Quality time with children (sports, movies, etc.)  Feed pets Now, add to this a forty to sixty hours a week job, and it is no wonder you will never have time to pursue your passion. At this point, you are probably wondering “What must I give up to pursue my passion?” Or maybe “How can I better manage my time to fit in my passion?” Well, you are on the right track, but really, we are just going to add a new task to your list instead of deleting any of those you already have. I know it sounds stupid, but bear with me while I explain. The basic problem, as stated earlier, is that all these demands will fill whatever time you have. Okay, then how about you add a new demand to the list? If all those listed must be accomplished each week, then why not add your passion to the list and ensure it, too, is completed each week? If everything on the list will fill all your time, then simply add your passion to the list. Then it, too, will fill your time. Simple, right? Well not exactly, but it isn’t as hard as you might imagine. Let’s look at this in terms of other life events. Let’s say you have family coming in next week from out of town. You wouldn’t blow them off because you have all that other stuff to do, would you? Of course not, they are scheduled to arrive, so you make sure you are ready to receive them. Another example? You have a dentist’s appointment next week for your teeth cleaning. If everything takes all your time, when are going to go to the dentist? When you have an appointment you’ll go. That’s my point! We constantly make room in our busy schedules for things that we consider important like, family or health. So that leads to the ultimate question: is pursuing your passion important? I’m not asking what your children, parents, or spouse might say, I am asking you, is pursuing your dreams important? Well, like all good self-help books, eventually the self must get involved. That means you must answer my question, because if your answer is yes, then you can schedule an appointment every week to pursue your dreams. You will make the time, not wait for it! Because as we have already stated, you will never have the time! All right, let’s get down to some nuts and bolts and see how this works. Since I wrote the book, I’ll use myself as an example. When I finally decided to pursue my passion to be an author, I was in the middle of graduate school getting my teaching certificate. I was working full-time as a student teacher at a local school and going to graduate classes at night. Oh yeah, and I had a spouse, house, pets, cars, etc. I decided I wanted to write, and that this was something very important in my life. As important as all those other things I had to do. So I scheduled two hours each Saturday morning to write. Between eight and ten AM, I was scheduled to be in my office writing. Anything else that needed to be done that week would have to be done some other time, because I was out writing. I informed the spouse and cleared the calendar during that time slot. I am very fortunate to have a very understanding wife who would never impede the pursuit of my dreams, as long as I am still taking care of those other things. Things worked quite well if I kept my appointment each Saturday morning. Eighteen months after I started this new schedule, I [...]... WRITE EVERYTHI G DOW PERSEVERE © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos 25 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? Do it because you want to, not because of what it might do for you Be your own worst critic, then others won’t seem so bad Remember, if you never try, you’ll never know! © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos 26 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? Why Do I Have to Depend on Others? “The difference between 'involvement'... you’ll have completed your first goal Then what? Read on © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos 22 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? Great, I’m Done Now What? “Victory belongs to the most persevering.” – Napoleon Bonaparte In the preceding chapters, I have given you a process, which, when followed, will ensure you get things done Thus, I have solved the problem inherent in the title of this book However, I also... 2007-2008, NB VanYoos 16 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? Six screenplays One non-fiction book One children’s book That is a lot to accomplish in one lifetime, and I am sure that I will have even more as my life goes on But the important thing is this: I have published two novels, this nonfiction book, and completed one short story all within three years How do I get it all done? I prioritize Look, the... might bring more people to my writing I try to get real reviewers to review my work so © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos 23 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? that people will take it seriously before deciding to invest in it Until you are established in the trade, you are an unknown quantity Accept it and have the patience to become known Either way, you must get it out there or no one will ever realize... people can say about their lives © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos 24 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? The Process “ ever discourage anyone…who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.” – Plato Okay, you slogged through this book, and I shared with you my pearls of wisdom and defined a basic process you can follow to get things done Here, I have summarized that process so that you can follow it... you have to do, what you are doing, and what you have done Simple, yet powerful! Great, once you have defined your fields, you can create those column headers in your spreadsheet Your spreadsheet table header would look something like the following: Book Area Task Status Target © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos Comments 19 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? Now, being diligent to the new process you have... Right, let’s get started We have established that my friend has seven (7) months to get illustrations created and published The publisher has given him one (1) month from the time they receive it to the time it is available to sell That now gives him and his illustrator only six (6) months to have the book ready to hand off © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos 27 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? So, Step... defining a product they wish to create and market Since you are now doing the same thing, it makes sense to approach it the same way © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos 14 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? Now you ‘artist’ types don’t get too ruffled by this comment You need to understand that all products, art, writing, woodwork, etc, are just products that we all hope to market to someone who will appreciate... following: Table 3: Task List Spreadsheet with Deadlines Book Three Three Area Writing Publishing Task First draft Find publisher Status ot Started ot Started Target 6/1/08 7/1/08 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos Comments 20 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? Book Three Three Three Three Three Three Three Three Three Area Editing Editing Editing Editing Editing Editing Publishing Publishing Editing Task First... ascending, and then the second sort field to Target ascending Now anytime I want to sort, I don’t need to highlight or change anything, I just select one cell and do Data | Sort again It remembers your previous sort © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos 21 Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? Okay, with this sorting, my completed tasks are listed first, my current working tasks are next, and finally those I haven’t . asking why you can’t get anything done, you’ll be asking Why didn’t I do this earlier?” As always, the first step is yours. Do you want to pursue your dreams? Why Can’t I Get Anything. Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 3 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos WHY CA’T I GET AYTHIG DOE? A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Dreams B VanYoos Why Can’t. Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? 7 © Copyright 2007-2008, NB VanYoos Part I: Making Dreams Reality Foreword It would be easy for anyone reading this book to ask why they would