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Time and time again.
Aug. 1st, 2010 07:38 amHere's a note to myself: stop using terms like "afternoon" and "morning" until I've been on my nocturnal schedule for quite a bit longer. I say them and then I look back at the posts later and sometimes I go, "Why did I use that word?" The actual times of the day have been utterly disconnected from anything going on in my brain.
A reader on Formspring asked me if I was sure I wasn't going to overdo things with my increased productivity... well, actually, I think maybe it wasn't meant to be a question so much as a gentle warning, and under the circumstances (and my proven history of doing exactly that) I don't mind skirting the "questions that aren't questions" thing. It was a good, um, quearning. But I'm being extremely careful. I've pushed back my plans rather than pushing on when it's become apparent that I'm overreaching.
I've been making sure that I don't give up things like being sociable with real people, relaxing, reading, etc. in order to get things done. When that happens... when I stop taking bubble baths because I'm thinking "Oh, I've got so much to do", when I stop hanging out with people because I think I'll get more done, when I stop reading for pleasure because I know I've got my own readers waiting, two things happen. Right away my writing gets worse, and eventually, I crash and burn.
This is why I keep reminding myself to keep Monday and Tuesday relatively light, because that's when my housemate is around to hang out with. If I tried to keep those as full work days, I'd see or talk to her much more rarely and I'd also find myself distracted because the house is less quiet. Easier and better to go with the flow.
This is why I resurrected my D&D hobby at the exact same time I'm reviving more stories. That might seem counterintuitive, but it means I've got one night a week that's dedicated to something that makes my creative wheels spin in a purely pleasurable, low-stress fashion.
I'm trying to be smarter and slightly more organized about how I spend my time, and that includes having some set aside for myself and the people in my life and some clearly set aside for work. I think that's going to make a real difference.
A reader on Formspring asked me if I was sure I wasn't going to overdo things with my increased productivity... well, actually, I think maybe it wasn't meant to be a question so much as a gentle warning, and under the circumstances (and my proven history of doing exactly that) I don't mind skirting the "questions that aren't questions" thing. It was a good, um, quearning. But I'm being extremely careful. I've pushed back my plans rather than pushing on when it's become apparent that I'm overreaching.
I've been making sure that I don't give up things like being sociable with real people, relaxing, reading, etc. in order to get things done. When that happens... when I stop taking bubble baths because I'm thinking "Oh, I've got so much to do", when I stop hanging out with people because I think I'll get more done, when I stop reading for pleasure because I know I've got my own readers waiting, two things happen. Right away my writing gets worse, and eventually, I crash and burn.
This is why I keep reminding myself to keep Monday and Tuesday relatively light, because that's when my housemate is around to hang out with. If I tried to keep those as full work days, I'd see or talk to her much more rarely and I'd also find myself distracted because the house is less quiet. Easier and better to go with the flow.
This is why I resurrected my D&D hobby at the exact same time I'm reviving more stories. That might seem counterintuitive, but it means I've got one night a week that's dedicated to something that makes my creative wheels spin in a purely pleasurable, low-stress fashion.
I'm trying to be smarter and slightly more organized about how I spend my time, and that includes having some set aside for myself and the people in my life and some clearly set aside for work. I think that's going to make a real difference.