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It’s been a while

Aug10

Haven’t posted here in a while. I’ve been away (lovely weekend in Portsmouth), been sick, and just been busy.

Consequently I’m behind in my reviewing, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been doing other writing related activities. I’ve joined Critters Writers’ Workshop and I’ve done one critique and uploaded no stories. I’ve been working on my novel. I have a technique of writing random scenes and then trying to fit them together like a giant jigsaw puzzle where you have to work out what the piece should be and then create it. Yesterday I spent several hours updating my scenes spreadsheet and trying to put all the pieces in order. The novel has grown by a significant number of scenes since I last did this. Still, I feel like I’m more in control now and that always helps me get over the procrastination thing.

I have now got a Twitter account and just as soon as I think of anything to say that might be remotely interesting, I’ll add the link to this blog. Using social media is a big thing at work. I use LinkedIn professionally and part of the motivation for getting a twitter account is to have a play so that I can see how to use it on behalf of my employer. But it’s all led me down a rather disturbing path where I might sign up to Facebook. I said I never would, but I didn’t anticipate my need for virtual connectedness.

Getting Behind

Apr21

I’m trying to defeat procrastination. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by my to-do list but yet wary of going back to the bad old days of perfectionism. I used to be someone who had a clean and tidy house, who did all the chores and all my work and kept up with my correspondence. I also used to be tired, stressed and possessed of the crazy belief that if I didn’t keep up appearances everyone would hate me.

These days my self-esteem is healthier and I prioritise writing and relaxing over cleaning. Yet I still have a problem with procrastination but whereas before I would avoid writing with chores, now I do it with jigsaws and DVDs. And I have a list of chores that need doing.

The plan is simple – one day at a time, a little bit of everything a day. So, a little time spent job-hunting and dealing with the benefits system, a little time spent writing, a little time spent on housework (regular and springcleaning), and a little time for me. Wish me luck.

Yesterday was a good day – I worked on my novel a little and wrote posts for this blog; ran some benefits related errands; picked up my dead PC; did a comparison shop between Tesco and Asda (Tesco won); did laundry, cleaned the bathroom and defrosted the freezer section of my fridge. I also managed to find time to eat properly (home cooked food not junk), chat to some friends, and spend the evening watching DVDs and doing a jigsaw. Let’s hope today is as satisfying.