Just Ten Words....
That's what the pumped up bit of "fanmail" from NaNoWriMo says. Just write ten words a day as a starting point. Apparently just getting *something* written is the key to getting that regular flow of words to come forth. Of course, now that I've signed up for the silly project I haven't written a darned thing. Real Life keeps raising it's ugly head and getting in the way. Things like paying the bills, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, cooking meals, cleaning up after said meals. I haven't even done much knitting.
On the other hand, I do have a clean house, a pot of soup, no stockpile of clean clothes on the floor at the end of the bed and I remembered to take out the trash this morning.
Now that daylight savings time has ended, there is more light in the morning before work than after work. I may just start getting out of bed at 5am, instead of waking up and just laying there listening to the news. That would get me time to workout/meditate and write each day.... We'll see how well this plan fares when it meets reality again. (I have intended to get up early and workout for years and it rarely actually happens. The bed is just too comfy and warm compared to the world outside the blankets.)
Or Fifteen Minutes
On a related note, I have been occasionally reading the FlyLady e-mails. One of the things that FlyLady recommends is to tackle big jobs 15 minutes at a time, even using a timer to keep you on track. The idea is to keep from getting overwhelmed by trying to do too much all at once and then never finishing the task. (Remember the last time you tried to clean out the closets or the garage?) Even the biggest jobs can be finished one little step at a time. The key to getting progress made on lots of things simultaneously is to not waste time between projects. I have no trouble spending 15 minutes cleaning the bathrooms from stem to stern, but can easily waste 30 minutes or more goofing off while trying to figure out what to do next. I guess I need to plan out what needs to be accomplished in a given day/week and then figure out how to eliminate wasted time.
Wasted Time
Though there is something to be said for "wasted" time. For the time where you have scheduled absolutely nothing, but whatever happens to sound appealing at the time. Tonight for example. Typically Thursday is my "junk TV" night. I watch the actual prime time episode of CSI at 8pm and might watch re-runs prior to that. It's my night for hanging out and doing whatever. Last week CSI lost my interest about ten minutes into the show, so I did something else. I don't remember what it was, but I do remember feeling refreshed and restored at the end of the evening.
I guess I'm still working on my balance. I am much better about scheduling time for me than I used to be. I still tend to overbook myself though and try to do everything all at once instead of pacing myself. I have to remind myself of what Willy Burgdorfer once told me--"Be patient. There is time." I don't have to do everything all at once. Pick one or two things and focus on them, then get to the rest of the list. Rather than trying to work on all the things I want to accomplish in my life NOW. I suppose that means not continuing to add new things to the list every time I turn around. :-)
On the other hand, I do have a clean house, a pot of soup, no stockpile of clean clothes on the floor at the end of the bed and I remembered to take out the trash this morning.
Now that daylight savings time has ended, there is more light in the morning before work than after work. I may just start getting out of bed at 5am, instead of waking up and just laying there listening to the news. That would get me time to workout/meditate and write each day.... We'll see how well this plan fares when it meets reality again. (I have intended to get up early and workout for years and it rarely actually happens. The bed is just too comfy and warm compared to the world outside the blankets.)
Or Fifteen Minutes
On a related note, I have been occasionally reading the FlyLady e-mails. One of the things that FlyLady recommends is to tackle big jobs 15 minutes at a time, even using a timer to keep you on track. The idea is to keep from getting overwhelmed by trying to do too much all at once and then never finishing the task. (Remember the last time you tried to clean out the closets or the garage?) Even the biggest jobs can be finished one little step at a time. The key to getting progress made on lots of things simultaneously is to not waste time between projects. I have no trouble spending 15 minutes cleaning the bathrooms from stem to stern, but can easily waste 30 minutes or more goofing off while trying to figure out what to do next. I guess I need to plan out what needs to be accomplished in a given day/week and then figure out how to eliminate wasted time.
Wasted Time
Though there is something to be said for "wasted" time. For the time where you have scheduled absolutely nothing, but whatever happens to sound appealing at the time. Tonight for example. Typically Thursday is my "junk TV" night. I watch the actual prime time episode of CSI at 8pm and might watch re-runs prior to that. It's my night for hanging out and doing whatever. Last week CSI lost my interest about ten minutes into the show, so I did something else. I don't remember what it was, but I do remember feeling refreshed and restored at the end of the evening.
I guess I'm still working on my balance. I am much better about scheduling time for me than I used to be. I still tend to overbook myself though and try to do everything all at once instead of pacing myself. I have to remind myself of what Willy Burgdorfer once told me--"Be patient. There is time." I don't have to do everything all at once. Pick one or two things and focus on them, then get to the rest of the list. Rather than trying to work on all the things I want to accomplish in my life NOW. I suppose that means not continuing to add new things to the list every time I turn around. :-)
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