I finished a big project last night. Or, at least, almost finished it.
Finished the first layer of it, I guess.
I planned my entire year of Ninja Writers programs. Everything. Gave everything dates. Got it all into my calendar.
I hate launching. It gives me massive anxiety and just—ugh. I hate it. But if I want to keep Ninja Writers afloat, it has to be done. I have a team of seven people, including myself, and we all need to eat.
So. Launches.
But because I hate them, I forget about them. I get all excited about teaching and writing—things I love—and then I look up and realize, damn it. I missed something.
An annual editorial calendar has been amazing for me. Crazy good. I’ve gotten more writing done in the last three months than I did all of last year—without working any harder or any more hours.
So, maybe an annual calendar for Ninja Writers programs will work, too. Maybe I won’t hate launching so much if it doesn’t sneak up on me.
Here’s how I did it. I think you could use this method to plan any big thing—even your personal life—for the whole year.
Step One: Make a List
I started out by listing everything that Ninja Writers has going on. Every class. Every program. Every workshop. Every—everything.
All by itself, this was a good exercise. It showed me that it makes total sense for me to overwhelmed by launching. We have so much good stuff going on. But without a plan, it’s much harder than it needs to be to keep it all organized.
Step Two: Give Everything a Deadline
I gave everything a deadline. Basically, I just listed which month each thing needs to launch. At this point in the system, that was enough.
Step Three: Make a List of All the Tasks
Once I had all of my projects laid out, I started making task lists. There’s a ton of overlap here—most of the projects had the same list. So this was easier than it sounds.
I was left with a good idea, though, of things like which graphics I’d need and when I’d need them. Or when I’d need a new sales page or sales copy ready by. It seems silly to say this out loud, but that’s super helpful. And something I’ve never done before.
We usually just kind of scramble at the last minute. (That’s not easy to admit.)
Step Four: Give Your Deadline Deadlines
Next it was time to go back to those deadlines and give them actual dates.
And to fit in when all the other tasks would have to happen for those deadlines to be met. When are graphics due? When do sales pages need to be up? When do I need to have the sales copy ready? When should I reach out to possible partnerships?
I’m still working on this last little bit. Adrienne and I sat down last night and gave deadline’s deadlines to all of our February and March projects. I’m still working on the rest of the year.
But it’s very clear to me right now that the reason I’m not better at things like getting other people to help me spread the word about Ninja Writers is because I’m so very, very disorganized when it comes to launches.
I’m not thinking about them soon enough to reach out to anyone effectively.
If Ninja Writers are going to take over the world with their stories, I need to get better at this stuff! I’m working at it. And I think it’s coming together.