Mixing Up Routines . . .
It’s going to be strange this month – I’m not doing #writemotivation for the first time since I found out about it.
But sometimes life just throws you a curve – or fifty.
So I’m taking a step back, re-evaluating how I’ve been spending my time, and taking a little time off of things that I do need to be doing to finish other things that I’ve promised and have fallen behind (very far behind) on.
And I’m also taking the time to figure out what the heck my new routine needs to be since being laid-off.
Because when you don’t have a day job to go to, sometimes it’s hard to get motivated to do anything in a day.
But I’m working on that. Miraculously, I’ve found myself surrounded with friends reaching toward many of the same goals – specifically writing and getting published. There’s a small group of us, we fondly refer to ourselves as “the ferrets” (yes, there’s a story behind that, and yes, you’ll get it sometime in the near future), and we ended up on a perpetual chat session on Facebook last week. I expect that it’s going to maintain itself for a long time.
Last week was the most productive writing week I’ve had in MONTHS.
Of course, it probably helped that I had contest deadlines this past Friday, but still.
And I owe some thanks to several people as well, that read, re-read, made suggestions and comments, and helped keep me sane as I wrote lots of angst and sadness (I can’t help it! It’s just what comes out! Writing is therapeutic, right?). So, thank you to:
Michelle
Lissa
Jess
Serena
Eris
Justin (who said he could easily envision my story as a comic, and I was so very flattered!)
Shannon (do you have a blog, Shannon? I want to link if you do!)
Aw, man! I can’t believe you got laid off! Definitely take some time away to figure out what needs to be done. Don’t anything distract you from what’s important. Definitely keep them at bay. I have the motivation but the distractions are always there. Squirrel!!
Understandable that you’ll have to get into a new routine with such a change in life. I hope as you work on things, you’re able to visualize and harmonize your dreams into a working daily attempt at productivity.
Rebekah –
Yes, I do have a blog, http://www.theloveofwords.wordpress.com, but I’ve been on a break lately – working on a couple of different “life” projects, and the blog was moved down on the priority list. It’s mainly about the (sometimes) random books I’ve read and a little bit about writing. I’ve been thinking about starting a new blog that is a bit more real life, if that makes sense, but I’m still in the “thinking about it” stage.
I am so sorry to hear about you getting laid off! Best of luck as you figure out a new routine, and as always, on the writing.
I understand breaks, I just recently took about a month hiatus on here, with the exception of a couple of book reviews I had committed too. Let me know what you decide about your blog! 🙂
I know that feeling so, so well. With all the delays on the moving into the condo, the date kept getting pushed back like a month at a time. And it didn’t make sense to commute 1 1/2 hours each way for an indefinite period of time, or get something close by their house and quit it after a couple weeks. So I haven’t worked since near the end of January. I kept thinking, that’ll be great, take a month or two while we’re waiting and WRITE! Yeah. Getting into the writing habit when you have no other demands on your time is HARD. Doing a 4 day minimarathon with folks from Wednesday-Saturday this week, you’re more than welcome to join in!!
oooh, mini-marathon sounds fantastic, I just wouldn’t be joining in until Thursday, because my Wednesdays are completely booked each week >_<.
No worries. My Thursday this week is going to be driving to Princeton, packing up the rest of the room, and then driving back, so I’ll be able to THINK about my story, but not really write it while I’m doing that. Unless I dictate it to my phone or something. XD But after I get back, that’s a different story!
Rebekah, I’m so sorry to hear about your job loss. Have faith, always keep writing, and we’ll be here when you come back. 🙂
Thanks, I’m slowly working my way back into blogging, but I’m expecting that it will take me a month or so, lol.
Sometimes you need a break. We’re all still be here cheering you on, though, because we think you’re amazing. 🙂 Whenever I’m in a funk, I find that giving myself little rewards for progress helps. Usually food. Two pages down, time for a brownie! Two more pages, time for chips and salsa! Thank God for yoga and running, or I’d be so fat… 🙂 lol
LOL, giving myself food as incentives these days would decimate both my health and my budget! I’m just going to have to figure out another reward . . .
I completely understand this. Sometimes, you really need to evaluate where you are rather than bog yourself down with a whole bunch of things. Good for you for taking the time you need to sort stuff out. Good luck to you.
Thanks, Brenna! Glad you stopped by! 🙂
You are most welcome, and thank YOU for all the help that you gave me on my stories and synopsis.
*hugs* You’ll get back into a routine, don’t worry. And right now, I’m motivating myself by staring hungrily at the Sherlock season 2 DVDs…which I can watch once I actually accomplish some writing things. 😉
You’re welcome! Glad I could return the favor 🙂
Ah, Sherlock . . . now THAT is an incentive . . .
So glad I could help! And thank you for helping me rework ‘Eileena’ into it’s final (I think I’ve decreed this for sanity’s sake) form. The ferrets and your other friends will continue to stand by you, support you, and cheer you on through every part of your life that you need us. Think about it, you’ve pretty much got someone for any situation! =)
haha, I was beginning to wonder when you were going to get tired of revising Eileena. It’s wonderful, though, a work you can definitely be proud of :).
And it’s amazing – I do have someone for pretty much every situation I could face right now, and it’s a comfort. Although it’s also slightly terrifying to think that I may be calling in a lot of those favors in the near future . . .
Well, if you need to, you need to. Friends are there for the happy-go-lucky crazy days, and the weeks when you need to call in all favors too. Sometimes life just throws everything at you all at once. I hope you DON’T need to just because I don’t want you to have to go through that much stress, but if you do, well, we’re here.
If you want to set-up repeatable checklists and routines you can use this application:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, and a calendar.
Syncs with Evernote and Google Calendar, and also comes with mobile version, and Android and iPhone apps.