Tags
cleanin, cleaning, editing, flexible work hours, ng, roster, running a business from home, schedule, time management, writing
Reader, discipline is not my strongest attribute. You may remember me whining about how difficult it is to work from home. I know, blah, blah, blah!
But it is difficult to keep all the tea cups in the air without spilling tea all over myself. Or in my case it’s usually coffee.
I’m not good at time management, well at least I’m not naturally good at it. But I am learning. And I am improving.
The hardest thing for me to master is that I am actually working. Running a business from home is hard, and it’s for all the reasons that it’s good.
- I can be flexible, work hours that suit me. ~ mm, I should be editing, but I might just weed the garden/clean the fans/hang out the washing, first.
- If someone pops in, no worries, I can catch up later. ~ ah, no you can’t. Because you’ve already put everything off to clean <insert your own busy stuff>
- Emergencies pop up, I can catch up later. ~ahem, you are now three days behind in the bookkeeping and even further in the editing.
- And on and on it goes. – you get the picture.
I could waffle on about this for the rest of the day and drive you all to eating seventy four boxes of chocolates. In the interest of not foisting obesity on to you reader, I’ll shut up now.
So, back to the topic at hand. What to do about it?
Make a roster or schedule? I suppose it’s worth a try. I’ve done it before, but that’s usually when a truck breaks down and everything else, justifiably, goes out the window. Usually when I have some kind of emergency I really find it difficult to get back to what I was doing. I tend to go and find someone to talk to. Or make some very naughty comfort food, eat it and then feel worse and can’t do any more work.
Well I have a bit of a plan, and I’ll keep you posted about how it works out.
I’ve a whiteboard in my office and it’s divided up into days. The seven columns are divided into two rows. The top row is for Beavans Haulage tasks that must be accomplished. The bottom row has always been for personal. I am about to designate that row to writing tasks. I don’t usually have anything in it anyway. So I’ll be putting it to good use.
So far this morning, I’ve done my domestic goddess duties, washing done, dogs walked and chickens watered, cat fed and aphids sprayed.
Now to have a cup of coffee and read Nostalgia, with a little light editing (marking up the obvious grammar goofs).
Then I’m into the office to do the Beavan’s Haulage tasks.
But wait! Look, there’s the mailman! Oh my goodness, those blinds need cleaning! I’ll be right back . . .
So reader, domestic duties! Are they the distraction for you, that they are for me? Are you disciplined? If you are, how do you do it? If you’ve conquered the procrastination beastie, how??? Please share. I need all the help I can get.
paulabeavan 
Paula Beavan – you do make me laugh!
I wish I had the cure-all to procrastination – I could write the book on it – I’m sure it would sell better than my ‘real’ books (LOL).
Now those blinds look spotless to me, I must say. About the only domestic duty that really catches me is vacuuming, because if my floor is clean, I feel like my house is clean (or clean enough).
I had a terrible time from about May through July where I had no sense of urgency about writing, and everything I wrote felt like complete and utter you know what. But what has helped me most was ditching a story that wasn’t working and starting something new. Since then I’ve been able to do one or two hours most nights, and sometimes the odd half-hour here or there in the day. If I miss a day though, I find it very hard to start again. So it makes me say continuity is the most important element to beating procrastination… I think you’re on a winner with your schedule idea!
Good luck!
Lily M
You know Lily, I feel like you’ve sent an epiphany my way with your gem of wisdom there. Continuity! You’re so right! In November and Nano, I can keep going and going because of the continuity! Who’d have thought? Thanks, you’ve made my day. And (PS) – Glad I made you laugh 🙂
Okay, girls, lets spin this cup around a bit. Being “distracted” isn’t really. It’s your brain working through a writing problem (or some other issue it needs to process). I recognized a long time ago that I could write through the speed bump and probably have to go back and tear it all out again because the words are junk — or I could give it a rest and go do something else until my brain puzzled out its problem.
There’s a difference between laziness, procrastination, and needing to let your writing sit, like a good sourdough starter.
So, when I can’t write for whatever reason, I cook. Lately it’s been baking bread and muffins. Not sure why, but something about pummeling bread dough about is therapeutic. And muffins are just fun to make. I don’t eat everything I bake, so my neighbours are benefitting from all this industrious baking.
Why am I baking? Because I’ve just started my second in the Inspector Blake series and I’m working out the plot, which at this point is feeling like it’s going in circles. It happens, especially when you get your first dead body in the first chapter and the Inspector has to question a bunch of people. I just dislike that process. I like the answers, just not the process of interrogation.
So my teacup is spinning in the air while I wait for answers. I think I got some last night. Let’s see if I have to go drink my tea on the ceiling or if it will come down to me nice and quiet-like.
Deb
So true Deb, sometimes we do need time to let things percolate. But sometimes I need to leave the cleaning and get to work.
So do I wear the steel-toed (velvet covered) boots or bring the chenille whip for tea?