Sunday, February 19, 2012

Balancing the Checklist

Good morning! I'm working hard this week to find that important balance between work and play. I really wanted to escape into a book, but I had too many things to do.

It seems that after a few days of healthy goal-busting, I fall into the unhealthy dark side where I do too much, and then try to take on more. I suppose the positive side is that I recognize it before it gets out of hand, but the negative side is that I should already know this. *shakes head*

I don't know why it's so hard to do, but I need to schedule in some fun time.

And exercise fell off the schedule entirely.

And sleep? Forget about it.

I need to get back on track with the healthy goals I set early on.

I am a list addict, and I get little pings of excitement each time I check off an item. My office is littered with lists. Grocery lists, housework lists, books to be read list, books I read list, books I want to read lists, things I want to research list, my WIP list, personal goals lists, writer lists, and well...honestly there are many more lists. I probably write about 1k a week in lists. But that doesn't really count toward my goals. :)

My goals for the week were:
1)Edit 8 pages per day - DONE and went way over that amount :)
2)Write for minimum of 30 minutes per day - DONE and totalled 12k
3)Write 2 new blog articles - DONE but they need tweaking
4)Stop by fellow author blogs - DONE - 3 per day
5)Work on book review for The Falling Machine - DONE - needs editing
6)Exercise 20 minutes minimum each day - BOO - not a lick of exercise
7)Read Dead Iron - BOO - and I wanted to so much :/
8)Get plenty of sleep - BOO again - too much going on in my head

So - I accomplished all the writerly things, but didn't manage to add in fun or healthy activities. I'll need to work harder next week. Actually, I need to manage both my checklist and my checkbook better this week. I have books I want to buy! :) Which means I need to find time to read. Oh the vicious cycle!

And I want to leave you with this super cool steampunk model car powered by a 19th century air engine, because it's seriously cool and looks like fun. To read the full article on it, click Here

Hope you had a great week!

~Marie

4 comments:

  1. That car is uber awesomeness! And, by the way, so is your word count, wow, great job. I can sympathize on the "too much" explosion, it takes practice and yes, we all push to far at times, but, if you keep pushing you'll find a balance. One thing I do is mix up the writing with the non-writing. Edit x pages - then walk for a few minutes or read one chapter. Works pretty well once you get into the habit of doing it.

    Have a great week, Marie :)

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  2. always find time to have fun. I'm a big advocate of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron and one of the tools she suggests is the Artist's Date: doing something fun, by yourself, just to fuel the creativity. reward yourself with an Artist's Date. Have fun!!! Good Luck. Happy Writing.

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  3. I am such a list person too. I sometimes write things on my lists at work that I have already done so I can tick them off!

    I think Gene's idea of treating yourself after accomplishing things is a great idea. An artist's date? Sounds great!

    Oh and 12k? AMAZING!!! Keep up the good work!

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  4. Oh gosh, I live for lists, and I totally know what you mean about the cycle of productivity. I've been trying to really work at balancing things out a bit more this round, and it's sort of working, but not entirely. It's such an uphill battle, methinks.

    That car is absolutely BRILLIANT, as is your word count for the week. Wonderful job!

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