This is the End.

…Or the beginning?

Last time I wrote about the need to continue learning. And I’ve been concentrating a lot on learning the last month especially. And one of the things that keeps coming up: You need to manage your time.

This isn’t some big secret. I manage my time every day. I set aside time to spend with kids. I make sure there’s enough room to get my “day job” tasks completed. And, yes, I set aside time to write.

If you don’t manage your time, your time will be managed for you. The apps on my phone eat away at it. Trying to keep up with various Youtube channels destroys my time. And not every “time sink” is useless. I want to spend time with friends!

But if you don’t prioritize your time use, you will never spend time on your priorities.

This wasn’t some huge revelation, but I’ve started applying it a little differently.

As my wife and I have started spending more time on the marketing portion of being an author, other things get the squeeze. We’re not just writing, editing, and publishing books. We’re active on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok. We’re looking into starting a subscription service on Ream. Maybe you’ve seen our ads on Amazon by now. Oh, and don’t forget our annual Kickstarter!

It’s… a lot.

So, what are we doing? Among other things, we’re taking a break from most social media posting in December. Yeah, that’s a big month for book sales, but we need to just take a breather and refocus a bit. Stuff will still get posted; just not as often.

When we get back to social media, we’ll be cross-posting a lot more than we currently do. On TikTok, I post a story a week. Well, that weekly story will be used all over. (Maybe even on Twitter? Or X? Whatever? Maybe.)

I’m also going to be writing here far less often. I’ll still be posting, of course, but the best bet on how to keep on top of what’s going on is to sign up for our newsletter.

At the very least, I’ll be stepping off the blog here until after Christmas.

Like I said, we need to refocus our efforts to go where they can do the most good. Right now, that’s not here.

I’d encourage you to learn from our example. Don’t get burned out trying to do everything. We can’t do everything. Instead, ask what you must do to reach your writing goal. Is it to write? Then set aside the time to write. Is it to make sales? Better set aside time for marketing. Take a look at the time you’ve got and be honest with yourself. What can you actually accomplish in that amount of time?

And then… act accordingly.

Thanks for being with on the journey! We’re not done writing and publishing, and as I said, I’ll still keep you informed! It just won’t be as often as it’s been!

(And I’ll say it again — best way to keep in touch? Sign up for the newsletter!)