Monday, November 24, 2008

Tick, Tick, Tick....

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary" - Steve Jobs

I've been wasting so much time lately, I've now fallen back on the old standby - the egg timer. I set it for 15 min intervals to get up and do housework (which I hate.) I set it for 60 min intervals for writing. That way I put my butt in the chair and don't move until the times up. I seem to accomplish more and stay focused on what I need to get done.

I'd been doing well with my writing but I seem to have fallen off the daily writing wagon over the past month. I've been busy with the digital imaging class. My term assignment is due next week so that takes my attention away from my WIP. I'll be skipping the winter session at the community college and doing a couple of online classes instead. That will save me commuting time and the necessity of going out in bad weather.

I had a chat with myself over the weekend. And myself and I agreed that writing was a high priority in my life. I was letting other things interfere with it. So this week's goal is to get back into the daily page quota and get this revised MS out the door the beginning of Jan.

How do you manage your time so that you can fit writing in?

8 comments:

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Great quote, Anne. And your egg timer thing might be good for my non-existant housework.

As for daily writing, I can't seem to make it through a day without writing something. My friend who draws comics likewise sketched constantly, and my musician boyfriend couldn't keep his bass out of his hands for long. It's more like a compulsion, if you ask me!

Unknown said...

LOL Julia, I'm the worst housekeeper EVER.

Kelly Boyce said...

I get up early before anything else can interfere with my day. No one else is awake to bug me, I'm not plagued with thoughts of what went on that day because so far nothing's happened, and about all I can manage is to get a cup of java and park my butt in front of the computer and write. Plus, what else is there to do at that ungodly hour. Other than sleep of course, but once I'm up, I rarely go back to bed. I save that for afternoon naps...

Unknown said...

Kelly, my daughters get up before 7in the morning. I'd have to get up at 5. Yikes!

Unknown said...

My goal at the beginning of the year was to write every day. That didn't happen. I tend to write in spurts and then have long dry spells where I plot and rework things and generally don't make much forward progress.

I've tried the timer. Didn't work for me because no matter what technique you use you have to be motivated. Some (most) days-for me-it's so hard to get my butt in gear and do anything that requires energy (housework, cooking, writing).

I blame it on working full time and being a single mom, but deep down I know that it's all about discipline and desire.

Unknown said...

Cat, I'm a single mom as well. My girls are teenagers now and the oldest will be nineteen in a month. I'm just now getting to the point where my life isn't totally consumed by them. So, just keeping your writing dream alive sometimes is all you can do.

Annette Gallant said...

I do the timer thing too. For some reason, it really works for me.

If I'm working a lot or have too many other appointments etc.. on my schedule, I don't write. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. However, when I'm off for a stretch, I tend to be very productive. Not sure how those people who work and write do it. Wish I could force myself to be like that.

Annette Gallant said...

I loooove the new look! Very festive. :-)