Do I really have attention deficit disorder? There was a time–when I was general manager of Havasu Palms—that I seriously considered the possibility. As manager of Havasu Palms there was a restaurant to run, a mobile home park with rents and utilities to collect, a marina and store to oversee.

I recall numerous instances where I would be sitting in my office working on something, and then suddenly I would remember something else that needed to be done. Not even realizing what I was doing, I would shift gears and start a new project, leaving the one I was working on unfinished. Several hours would go by, and I would realize I had half a dozen half finished projects strewn across my desk.

After employing a few organizational skills garnered from a self-help book, and putting great effort on focusing my attention, I curbed my erratic hip hopping from one task to another.

But here I am, some 20 years later, and I find myself in a similar situation. A self publisher—like a manager of a resort—wears many hats. I am writer, publicist, marketer, project coordinator, type setter and more.

As the to-do list piles up, I find myself hip hopping around in much the same way I did at Havasu Palms. In the midst of my current work in progress I might be reminded of a tweet I need to send, a blog post I must write, site to submit one of my books to, a newsletter to send, or get distracted by my writer’s group on Facebook. Each day I tell myself I will get organized, yet I rarely feel more accomplished the following day.

Perhaps what I really need is an assistant. But then I also need the time to hire and train one. It would be easier to simply clone myself. That might work, providing the cloned me can stay  focused.