Tuesday, February 18, 2014

14 Ways to Keep from Overwhelming Your Reader (Ba-Ha)


This week I let the chores go. 

There. I said it. I sat on the couch and held my swollen-eyed two-year-old (in-between watching her dress the dog in my clothes).

Currently I have six dire situations calling to me, not the least of which is, dog hair so thick it could be mistaken for a mink coat.

I. Am. Overwhelmed.

Know the feeling?

That’s how your reader feels when you give her too much information in one sitting. For instance, if you’re writing a magazine article about 14 Ways to Love Your Husband.

Um... 14? Could you give me two? Or three?

And maybe you could narrow it down even more? Like, three ways to have a sexy marriage?

Just sayin’. ‘Cause right now, if I could have two or three ways to make this house feel like it’s not on the verge of being condemned... I’d be all over that.


Suggestions, please?

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Bekah Hamrick Martin is a national speaker and the author of The Bare Naked Truth: Dating, Waiting & God’s Purity Plan (Zondervan, 2013). Most of all, she’s Ethan’s wife and Zoey’s mom.

9 comments:

  1. Pretend you're a child and hide everything under the bed or sofa until you can get to it (-: Then chip away at the task a little at a time, call it a writing break.
    We had a snow here in my part of Michigan, so I forced myself to do some cleaning I've been putting off. Then my reward was writing time to myself. I left the house to make sure I wouldn't be distracted.

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  2. Hire someone one time to come in and clean. Fund raise, if you need to, to pay for it. It'd be worth it. Leave your house to Merry Maids or somewhere professional for a few hours and come back and you're done. Then resolve to keep it caught up so you don't have to pay for it again. Seriously, if you can find a few hundred bucks or less for that - WORTH IT. I'd even chip in for you!!!!

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    1. Betsy, You're brilliant!! And a sweetheart :)

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  3. Wait, I'm confused. There isn't supposed to be mink-coat-thick-dog-hair all over my house.

    I'm just going to ponder that for a little while...

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    1. Sarrrrrrah. You need to move next door. Immediately. (All my neighbors judge me.)

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  4. The thing I've found most helpful for cleaning when it gets overwhelming is to do it in sets... we have 6 people living in a two bedroom, one bath house... it's get messy really fast. =P So we do 'sets'. This morning, I'm going to wash dishes. Then, after lunch, I'll pick up just the toys in the Living room (nothing else, if it's too overwhelming). Then, before dinner, I'll just do a quick pickup of other items in the LR, or clear off the table. If you just do one or two things, it really does help. Another thing, put on some music!! You gotta get a little pumped up if you're going to have fun doing anything. We love listening to super upbeat (soundtrack for Pirates of the Carribean is great -I've never seen the movie). Or else Jock Jams instrumental. You can't help but want to dance when you listen, so it definitely gets you moving. =)
    If you have kiddos, have them help out, too. Its great learning skills for them and it definitely puts less stress on you.

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    1. Brilliant! I love sets. I said that to someone once but they misunderstood. No, but really, I love that! Thank you!

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  5. I've read that setting a timer for 15 minutes and doing as much as you possibly can (as if it were a race) is the surest way to get a lot done in a short amount of time. :)

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