Time Management 4: 
How to time balance one's writing life with one's speaking life?

Within one month, I received two requests to speak at a 7:00 a.m. Friday breakfast with two-days' notice. The requester seemed surprised when I declined. After the second no, I encouraged the requester to book me through the New Mexico Humanities Council Speakers Bureau Public Programs - Speakers Bureau - Speakers Catalog - New Mexico Humanities Council (nmhumanities.org). The Bureau permits New Mexico non-profit organizations to engage its speakers at no cost to them. They simply have to contact the speaker, secure a gate, an approximation of costs, and then fill out the form. I like the Speakers Bureau because it requires 45-days lead time.

This enables me to balance the New Mexico engagements with in-person and zoom speaking engagements around the country. I have Zoomed in to Yale, University of Michigan, Iowa, and Houston, to name a few. When asked to appear in person, I balance the time to not only speak but to travel to and from the host location.

It occurred to me that the two-day requester probably had a cancellation and went looking for anyone who might be available to fill in the void. I finally told the person that would never be me. Friday morning is typically writing time for me. Before I meet with my critique group at 10:00 a.m., I make sure I have something available. This is a deadline and I try to keep the time before the meeting open so that I can write or re-write whatever I plan to present. To book an engagement for a Friday morning requires pre-planning so I have enough lead time to write what I plan to present.

All authors seek this balance. Even wildly successful New York Times Best-selling authors occasionally depart from their writing labs to speak. To do so, they make sure they are not missing deadlines first.

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