Going on a (literary) diet

Most of you know that besides my very busy family life I'm a full time author. I publish about two books a year right now but what you might not know is that I'm also a book reviewer for two review sites, I write romantic short stories under a pen name, and I am also a contributor for Curvalisicious Magazine. Basically, my literary plate is very full.
Which has become a challenge.
Most of my frustration is because my kiddos are all out of school right now so I'm getting very little to no work done on my current projects. But part of the issue is simple over extension. As my friend Patric once told me, I have too many balls in the air.

I can't actually juggle, though that doesn't stop me from trying randomly...

So here I am, with two full length novels due by the end of the year, both of which are outlined and ready to begin work on, and ideas for two others that I should really be outlining before the inspiration evaporates, two more shorts that I need to whip out very soon, and the next article due to the magazine next month. Here's the breakdown:
1) Palmetto Moon Book 2 (untitled) Due Nov. 1
2) Ember (YA time travel project) Due. Dec. 1
3) Short Sighted (bridge in GOF series) due Oct. 1
4) New Magazine article due Sept. 15th
5) The Boyfriend Project (outline)
6) 2 new short stories due Oct. 1

  How can I possibly accomplish this amazing feat of literary accomplishment?

Self portrait.

I can't.
So, I've been on a diet. Filling my plate only with the absolute necessities, I've been cutting back on the extras, like the book reviews--which breaks my heart because I LOVE doing them. This means no more speaking engagements, book signings, or conferences for a long time. I need to streamline my schedule, making time for what must be done and sacrificing everything else.

My good friend and fellow author Patti Hill has taken the whole month and sequestered herself in a cabin in the woods to get her next book done. I think that's a stellar idea, though not practical for me. Part of the reason I'm so excited about the new office and the kids heading back to school in a few weeks is that I can finally lock myself in a room and just WORK for 8-10 hours a day until everything is done, which is what really has to happen.

It's like asking to be in a Stephen King novel, isn't it? I bet there's a clown in there too.

So as of September 1st, I'm going to be tightening the belt, so to speak, going offline for a whole month except to answer the occasional email, taking the phone off the hook (except for emergencies), and unplugging the TV.  Will it be a challenge? Yes. I freely admit I spend WAY too much time on my social networking sites and on Hulu, so giving them up will be hard but I suspect it will be well worth it.

Actual picture of Facebook creator...(also invented Starbucks)

 I'm going to try to get some blogging done now, I may even can a few and schedule them to post throughout the month, I'm going to stock up on Diet Mtn. Dew and Twizzlers, and I'm going to duck out for a while. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll have made enough progress that I'll feel comfortable slacking off a bit.

Doing the math, I'm shooting to do 2,700 words a day (minus Sundays). Keep in mind that most days when I get a large chunk of writing time I can do 3-5K words, so this goal is very doable for me, I hope. So if you don't see me around for a while, no worries. I'll be in my office (probably in my jammies) with a pencil in my hair typing away. Wish me luck!