Finite
There are times when my house looks like this.
For the record, that's toilet paper strewn by Demon Baby. The child is a walking disaster zone. He can take a clean room and trash it in under 30 seconds.
And there are times, after I have been working on deadline, and thus not as vigilant about keeping up with his chaos, that a room will truly look like I threw a frat party.
And what I tell myself, in order to keep my sanity, is mess is finite. If I keep picking up and cleaning, eventually order will be restored.
So it is with writing a book. If you have ever gotten to page 80 or 100 or 150 and thought, "I'm never going to finish," rest assured a book is a finite thing. Break it down.
Even if it took you one HOUR to write ONE page. In 365 days, give or take, you would have a novel.
So where do you find an extra hour? That's finite, too. Here's Orloff's Time Management for finding, guaranteed, two extra hours in a day.
--Allow yourself 10 minutes of every two hours to surf the 'net. No more. Hold yourself to it with a timer if you have to. GUARANTEE you that you will find nearly a hour from that alone.
--Television. Biggest time suck there is. When the world is waxing poetic about the next "big" thing, the next hot show you just HAVE to see and get involved with, I have one word for you. LOST. The seasons when it sucked and got off track. Sooner or later EVERY show jumps the shark, folks. If you HAVE to see a certain show, Tivo and watch it sans commercials. Eliminate two hours of programming's commercials? Guess what? You found at LEAST a half-hour.
--Don't answer your phone. Ever. Get the people in your life to use email, texts, and so on, and you won't waste time with filler conversation, half the time with people you really don't feel like talking to. Use the phone for MINDFUL conversation, i.e., calls you WANT to have. Guarantee you find an hour or two a week there. When my parents stay with me, they are amazed. That phone will ring a dozen times a day, none of which I ever so much as blink.
I've posted these before . . . but the bottom line is a book is finite. So is time. Any chore is finite, even when it feels (such as parenting a Demon Baby) Sisyphisian. Find an hour a day. Use it wisely. By this time next year, you'll have a book to shop.
Thoughts? Happy Monday, folks!
23 comments:
Aside from the internet usage, I more or less follow these. If I'm really struggling with concentration, I Just tell myself that everything will be there in another hour; I don't have to read/watch/play RIGHT THIS SECOND.
Melanie:
A friend of mine uses that logic to lose weight. She doesn't have to eat it all . . . these good foods will stull be there tomorrow, the next day . . . etc.
Internet is rapidly becoming my timesuck. And failing that, answering every email the second it comes in.
But I've found these little breaks, while dangerous, give me a lot of sanity while writing.
Starbucks:
I answer emails lightning fast, and in the same way, they are my little sanity breaks.
E
Oh--I love this attitude. I can't see the floor of my youngest kids' bedrooms right now--it has been a "dumping" day-- all the clothes, all the toys, everything out. I just went upstairs to retrieve a trail of (thankfully) unopened catfood cans. Like Hansel and Gretel.
It's finite.
I have been looking for extra time too, but for me, it's more like looking for a routine. And the writing generally gets relegated to night--after everyone's in bed, and I'm too tired. So, I'm trying to put together a different routine. But my kids won't be little forever--that's finite too. And the books will keep. So, if I don't get all the writing in today, I know someday I will...
And I love that bit about answering the phone--all those people who "need" my time now. I'm gonna let it ring!
Hi Heather!
Demon Baby will start kindergarten this fall. I am anticipating it with excitement--but it also feels bittersweet, so I am trying to savor the mess, if that's possible.
I am finding the very early morning is my time--Oldest Son has to get up at 5:00 a.m. to catch his commuter bus . . . so that buys me a couple of hours of silence before the rest of the house gets up.
Thanks, Erica. I NEEDED to hear that word "FINITE" today. I just exhaled.
Erica, I do that with food too.
Beth:
Yeah. It's not easy for me to remember sometimes either. Sometimes it just all feels HUGE. But even HUGE is finite.
E
I really need to adopt that 10-minute surfing rule.
The way I do it is: You don't have to write, but you can't do anything else. I'm not sure who said that first (may have been you in a past post) but those words are really helping me stay on track with Pearl.
I have to admit, Idol and Project Runway steal me away on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have no way to defend myself against Tim Gun's Jedi mind tricks.
Well, my ten minutes are up. Gotta go. (;
Oh wow, I give myself 10 minutes an hour. Hulu is a great place to watch, too. There are commercials, but there are only five, each 30 seconds long. People here are just appalled that I don't have a TV. Why in the world would I want to spend my life watching TV?
You already know I don't answer the phone. :-) My big time suck is walking to the bathroom. For example, I just walked to the bathroom, and got to talking to this guy, and I was curious about the desert behind our campground, and he showed me around. And then you run into other campground people and have to talk, and there goes two hours. It's crazy. They "worry" because I'll lock myself in my camper for a couple days, but it's the only way I can get anything done!
Mark:
It's brutal. LOL! I try to use it for breaks instead of any steady surfing.
E
JT:
LOOOOOOOOOOOVE Gunn. Make it work, baby.
But I will only watch shows like that in rerun, here or there, rather than invest a chunk of time in it. I watch my beloved Law and Order in reruns only.
Natasha:
I loathe chit-chat. Not sure I could do that, LOL!
E
I'm trying to figure out why you aren't already in my google reader, when I've read Freudian Slip THREE times!
*sigh* I love that book, and I'm looking forward to reading your blogs!
Hey I feel pretty good, I was doing most of the things on this list already! :P
Miss you lady, I always enjoy catching up here with my morning coffee, (even though it ain't morning right now.)
We gave up TV in January of last year - amazing what you don't miss. But my time vampire is definitely the internet. And the kitchen. It always seems to explode.
As for the internet, I'm going to try your suggestion of 10 minutes for every two hours. I really want 2010 to be my writing year- when good things happen. Just gotta do it!
There are days (most of them) when I have to get out of the house and get away from the lure of the internet, television and kitchen. The coffee shop I visit has a password for the Internet which I've told them I don't want so I can't log in. It stops me from checking email, Facebook, etc every time I hit a bump. Plus they let me stay there for hours and bring me glasses of ice water flavoured with cucumber or lemon! I find it also helps to have people around -- people I don't have to interact with but can if I want -- once in a while or I start feeling too isolated.
Crystal:
LOL! I am so glad you liked it and that you came by to say hello!
E
Hey Realm:
Missed you, too. [Lifts cup of java to toast you.]
Nadine:
I use a reward system, more accurately. I.e., can't surf for those ten minutes unless I finish x or y.
E
colleen:
My oldest daughter wants me to make my office at Starbucks and get out of the house. I told her on the days she is home to watch Demon Baby, I will do that with my netbook.
E
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