I have decided that I am going to try to stick to a rather rigid schedule so that my days don't seem quite as aimless as they have been. And I have decided to share this schedule with all of you so that maybe I would actually stick to it. They say that, for example, when you are trying to lose weight and exercise properly that you should tell everyone you know so they keep bugging you about it. I guess it is somewhat the same idea here.
So.
Beginning tomorrow I will get up at 9am and exercise. Then I will have breakfast. Then I will write in this blog and check email and do whatever correspondence is necessary. Then lunch. Then a walk. Then write novel. Then dinner. And hopefully then I will be able to keep my evenings free.
Of course this won't always be perfect. I tend to have singing lessons on Monday afternoons. And I have other chores that will need to be done too. But if I can keep my mornings pretty standard my hope is that I will feel more like a human being and less like a wandering amoeba of wanderingness.
So there you go. I'll let you know in tomorrow's blog if I managed to at least get up at at least a reasonable hour!
Wish me luck!
6 comments:
I'm with you about the announcing-to-the-world bit. I told hundreds of people via my column and blog that I was quitting smoking.
And I understand that schedules, at least in theory, are a Very Good Thing. I've just never been all that good about putting the theory into practice.
Good luck to you. I'm sure you'll keep us posted. :)
Good luck to you as well. (I found your blog via the Absolute Write forums, btw.)
During my first year in college, I developed the habit of making out my schedule for the next day before going to bed at night. I had everything down by the half-hour: 6:00, wakeup, shower; 6:30, Morning News, breakfast. 7:00, read. 8:00-12:00, class. 12:00-12:30, lunch. Etc. Etc. Even reading for fun had its half- or whole-hour increments. Weekends were a little more flexible, but I still maintained a schedule.
My point is that, being the freethinking hippie that I am, I was self-aware enough to know that if I didn't create a rigid enough sked that would mark nearly every moment of my day for me, my first year in college could turn out to be a disaster. I found that I was able to get a ton of studying done and still get 7 hrs of sleep a night; work part-time; read for fun; and hang out with friends, all w/o stressing out.
I'm having to do the same thing now in order to get my writing done. You might consider marking out your sked with time blocks for each activity so that you don't find yourself blogging for too long or spending too much time on lunch or whatever (something I still find myself doing...).
By the way, this is JUST a suggestion, one based on my personal experience. It may not even apply to you at all. Feel free to ignore at will! It's great to find a fellow writer in much the same situation (i.e., first novel, time issues, blah blah). Looking forward to reading more in the future.
Cheers,
MRA
Wow! Thanks both for the good wishes! m.a.l you have officially won the longest comment yet contest I didn't know I was running until just now. I feel like I've hit the big time!
You are right to suggest blocking out time slightly more rigidly. I'll see how it goes tomorrow and let ya'll know. The trickest thing is just getting up when I said I was. Which is so not early by anyone's standards. Seriously thanks for the good luck wishes, I'll totally need it.
Heh. Good luck.
I make promises in my blog all the time I end up screwing up on. Like shaving and visiting Frank's blog. My problem is I'm just not organized enough.
AK-
I think this is what happens after your book sells. I finished the first round of edits and I have been aimless as well. My new stuff is sitting and my other stuff is not appealing to me. Blogging is addictive but it meets my needs now!
Ok exercise...coffee...blog...write...blog...wri...blog...wr...
blog... mwa ha ha!!!!
Wow! So do I get a prize for winning? ;-)
You got me to thinking about my own sked. I always wake up at 5:45 each morning, but only b/c I have to take hubby to work (we have one car). Ostensibly that means I can be at my desk by 8:00 (after working out and eating breakfast), but that almost never happens. I'm lucky if I can be writing at 9:00. Anyway, I love reading your blog and am totally inspired as a writer. Do keep us posted on how your schedule is going; if you can keep it up, maybe that'll be enough encouragement for me to do the same!!!
Cheers,
MRA
Post a Comment