They’ve been portrayed in forms as diverse as deformed and evil to aristocratic and romantic in books and movies. But make no mistake; they all suck the blood from their victims, literally draining the life right out of them. The sad part is that the victim is usually a willing participant, intrigued by the idea of living forever or getting caught up in the vampire’s charming nature.
As it relates to your book project, the vampires who are stalking you are the Time Vampires. They are seemingly innocent activities that drain the life out of your productivity and prevent you from finishing your first draft, working on your author platform, or marketing your published book.
How many times have you planned to work on your book but have gotten sucked into responding to emails or browsing your social media accounts? At other times, friends or family will ask if you have time for a quick question or phone call, and before you know it, an hour has gone by.
These vampires aren’t intentionally trying to sabotage your work, but the result is the same when you give in to them. Your book doesn’t get written, and none of the marketing activities you need to finish get done.
Here are four ways you can slay those time vampires – no wooden stake needed:
Schedule your book project time and stick to it
I advocate creating a calendar entry for the times you plan to work on your book project, whether that is writing, building a following, or marketing your book after it has been published.
Treat the time as a high priority item and don’t cancel unless the house is on fire. What that means is you won’t answer the phone, there’s a do not disturb sign on your door, and you’ve signed out of your social media accounts.
When someone asks to schedule an appointment during that time, politely tell them you have a conflict. If you don’t respect your time, neither will anyone else.
Manage your email
Email flows into my inbox all day and all night. If you like to keep an empty inbox, the temptation is to respond to each email as it comes in, but every time you get an email alert, it interrupts your thought process even if you don’t open the email right away.
When the subject line says ‘quick question,’ it probably is a time vampire. It’s easy to ask the question but probably not so easy to provide a complete answer.
To avoid these vampires, turn off email alerts during your scheduled book project appointment. They will be waiting for you when you’re done.
Wrestle Social Media to the Ground
I know what you’re thinking. You’ll take a quick peek on your social media account to check the newsfeed and the next thing you know; you’re endlessly scrolling or clicking on videos. It’s not your fault. The social media owners intentionally make the information they present visually appealing and addictive.
The only strategy I’ve found to work is not opening social media except at precisely planned downtimes. What if some of your book tasks include posting to social media? Use one of the many tools available to schedule your posts in advance. I use Promo Republic, but there are other tools such as Buffer, Hootsuite, Tailwind, etc.
Put your phone on do not disturb
Interruptions are the enemy of productivity and focus. Like emails, unexpected phone calls and texts cause a brain to interrupt even if you don’t respond. It takes a while for you to regain your train of thought and get back in the flow.
When you start your book project appointment with yourself, turn off notifications, and put your phone on do not disturb. I can identify important numbers with my iPhone, whose texts and calls will still come through even when notifications are turned off. That way, you don’t have to worry about missing an urgent call from a family member.
Finally, remember that slaying Time Vampires will take practice because they are so tempting but keep at it, and you’ll find you get much more done on your book activities.
