Left Brain vs. Right Brain and How I Keep Myself Sane

The "right brainers" are generally considered:              

• creative
• imaginative
• holistic thinkers (I don't know what that means, but whatever)
• intuitive

This is the top four traits of a person who is a right brain dominant thinker according to the UCMAS Math Mental Schools website after googling left brain vs. right brain. 

The "left brainers" are generally considered: 

• logical
• analytic
• sequential
• linear

Ask a person directions and that person's response will inform you if that person is a left or right brain dominant thinker according to UCMAS. The left brain thinker will provide precise directions, something like "go two blocks, turn west onto X street, travel for 3 miles and the destination will be on the left." Kind of like your GPS. 

A right brain dominant thinker will tell you to go for a bit, turn left at the gas station, then go for a bit more on the road with the hills on it, and turn right once you pass the oak tree.  

This is how I give directions. (Much to my uncle Dennis's annoyance. He's a left brain dominant thinker.) I'm vague without meaning to be because I have a video running in my head the entire time I'm telling you the directions so I'm "driving" the car in the my head as I'm explaining the directions. Make sense? I will often say, I can drive you there, but I can't tell you how to get there. 

Right brainers have a tendency to be messy and disorganized, too. Every weekend I get my house in order but by Wednesday, clothes are piled on the floor, the bed is unmade, toys are scattered everywhere. 

It drives me nuts! I cannot function. I write less when my desk is cluttered with sales fliers and coupons. I trip and stub my toes on toys and hiss unlady like words in my head. 

I'm slowly turning things around, however. I've stumbled upon an organization style that matches my right brain dominant thinking style, which is color coding and visual maps. 

Washi tape is my new friend. For example, I color code volunteer obligations for church vs. writing time in my Erin Condren Life Planner. I take it a step further to designate time for blog writing vs. manuscript writing. I'm also trying to map out blog post ideas a month in advance (though, to be honest and vulnerable here, that hasn't worked so well lately.) 

I've already proven to myself that I can write 1,000 words in about two hours of uninterrupted work, which is typically before the boys get up or after they go to bed. Most published authors write 2 books a year. 

I started my first manuscript sometime in 2005. Maybe even earlier. It's been so long now I can't honestly remember. Yeah, I did it in fits and starts and had two children since then but so what? Agents and publishers don't want to hear that. They want results. And 2 full length manuscripts a year is the minimum expectation. 

This book--The Right Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee--is at the top of my reading list. I've read plenty of books explaining how to write a  business plan but couldn't endure the boredom. The tedium. I'd rather have my eyebrows waxed. 

I have high hopes for this book helping me create a business plan for getting published. In the meantime, I'm color coding, sorting, recycling, and organizing my way through the house so I have room to write.