Shock the Clock: Wisdom About Time Management by Writer Jeanette Levellie

Are you a procrastinating procrastinator? Or just a busy bee?

You are not alone.

Well-loved writer and prolific speaker, Jeanette Levellie, is a recovering perfectionist and accomplished multi-tasker. This is why, in her third book, Shock the Clock: Time Management for Writers and Other Creatives, Jeanette presents a unique approach to time management based on personality types.

If you have kids, friends, and/or pets, work a day job, or got an A+ in Procrastination 101, you will benefit from the tools Jeanette has learned and used to write and publish hundreds of columns, stories, articles, and three books—in her spare time.

Unlike other time management programs, this unique approach helps you focus on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses to make the best use of your limited writing or other creative time.

Here, a few thoughts from Jeanette:

What inspired you to write Shock the Clock: Time Management for Writers and Other Creatives? I noticed that all the time management books I’d read were based on the writer’s personality type—mostly Choleric, or Type A—which doesn’t work if you are an introvert or ditzy, like many writers. I decided to write a book that addressed how you can manage your time, based on various personalities.

How would you describe this book to someone in a 30-second blurb? If you got an A+ in procrastination, can’t find your car keys, and might need a lifetime pass to Clutterbugs Anonymous, you can benefit from this lighthearted approach to managing your time and getting more writing done.

How did you research or plan your book? I planned the book based on classes I’ve taught at writers conferences on time management, which were well-attended and from which I received a lot of positive feedback. I also threw in some funny articles on clutter control, a list of 40 tips and secrets I’ve discovered (the hard way) for saving time, and a bunch of fun cartoons drawn by my artist son.

What do you hope readers will take away from your book? I hope writers and other creatives—from artists to musicians to movie producers to Play-doh sculptors—will be encouraged by God and my words so that they can learn to manage time, even if born disorganized and discombobulated like me.

Sound like a winner? I thought so. You can pre-order your copy of Shock the Clock over at Amazon. And RSVP to Jeanette’s launch party — games and prized included — over on Facebook!

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About Jeanette Levellie: A spunky pastor’s wife of thirty-plus years, Jeanette Levellie authors a weekly humor/inspirational column, God is Greater, a popular feature in her local newspaper since 2001. She has published stories in Guideposts anthologies, stories in Love is a Verb Devotional with Gary Chapman, articles in Christian and secular magazines, greeting card verses, and poems for calendars. She is also a prolific speaker for both Christian and secular groups, and loves to make people laugh while sharing her love for God and life.

Jeanette is the mother of two grown children, three grandchildren, and servant to four cats. She lives in Paris (not the French one), IL, with her husband, Kevin. Her hobbies include dining out, talking baby talk to her cats, avoiding housework, reading, and watching old classic movies. 

Learn more about Jeanette, and her other books and projects, at www.jeanettelevellie.com.

Make Much of Time

In the book I’m currently reading, the main character’s 57-year-old father says at one point, “I know I’m old…”

No, author, you’re displaying the folly of youth. People in their fifties don’t think they’re old. They think, what the hell happened? How is Steven Tyler almost 70? How could Back to the Future have come out 30 years ago? And if Madonna still looks that good in a leotard, then I couldn’t possibly be older than 29, right?

The older you get, the faster time moves, until finally you don’t feel it moving at all. You think you’ve got time for all the things you’ve planned for today, but then you blink and it’s next week.

I’m finding that I really need to be careful about time, because it gets away from me too easily otherwise. I have to schedule things (especially time to write), or I won’t get to it until it becomes an emergency. I hate schedules, but I don’t have a choice.

I didn’t used to be like this. From the time I was in college, I felt that days were too short, but I managed to get things done. Now, hours pass like minutes. All too often, I want those hours back.

Maybe it’s getting older, or maybe it’s the time sucking properties of the Internet. It’s probably a combination of the two. The older I get, the more I realize that I need to be cognizant of time. Because there’s not as much left as there used to be.

Do you find that time moves faster as you get older? What time management tricks work best for you? 

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You Can’t Have It All If You Try to Do It All

Priorities. We’ve all got them. That constant tension between what we must do and what we want to do.

On this celestial sphere we live on, we’re bound to just 24 hours in a day. This is a hard limit I’ve been fighting since college, without success.

Once again, I’ve taken on too much. Activities that seemed manageable have spiraled out of control, leaving me without enough time to write.

I need to write.

It can be difficult to admit that something you enjoy—something that’s satisfying and makes you feel like you’re contributing—is getting in the way of a higher priority goal.

When that happens, it’s time to step back and reassess.

If we want to reach our dreams, sometimes we have to do less instead of more. Less of things that distract us. Less of things that sap our energy.

Pushing ourselves by working more hours isn’t an effective solution. We need down time. Good exercise and good sleep make us more productive.

Writers cannot live by caffeine alone.

So here I am, re-evaluating my priorities and shedding activities that I wish I had time for but don’t.

And by doing that, with any luck, I’m getting a few steps closer to my dreams.

Do you try to do too much? How do you find balance? 

(Photo Copyright: olgacov / 123RF Stock Photo)