Day 388: Hard to focus
(I didn’t post this yesterday, so I’m posting it on Friday.)
Today is not starting off well. Although I slept well, I woke up with IBS issues, and after sitting down to work, I’m also feeling some upper back pain.
The back pain is likely from using my trackball on a laptop tray table that’s not the right height for my shoulder. Also, yesterday when I was trying to adjust my posture and sitting position, it became obvious that the laptop tray is also too narrow.
So I broke down and ordered a new one on Amazon, Laptop Bed Tray Desk, SAIJI Adjustable Laptop Stand for Bed, Foldable Laptop Table with Storage Drawer for Eating, Working, Writing, Gaming, Drawing (Gray, X-Large). Luckily the one I had put in my wishlist was 30% off.
Also, with the adjustable height, I’ll be able to switch sitting positions to different comfortable ones so I’m not stuck in the same position the whole time I’m working. I’m spending such long hours at my desk that it’s become obvious to me that I really need to switch to a different sitting position every so often.
Yesterday, I worked on book 4 in my Regency series but I’m still stuck on a plot point near the climax of the book that has an impact on book 5. The plot changed slightly after I fixed a logic error earlier in the book, and so this plot point has been hard to fix. I’m actually a little stressed about figuring it out, because I had hoped to fix it yesterday but it’s proving to be difficult.
Also, I’m rather impatient to get started writing on this book, but then again, I’m like that with all my books. I know that this kind of outlining makes the writing infinitely more easy, but after going over the plot, it makes me antsy to start writing it.
I’m going to continue working on the plot problem, but I’m not sure how much I’ll get done today since I have intermittent IBS issues.
As for my modified daily schedule (moving two of my daily “frogs” to after I do my writing), I did get my Japanese learning done yesterday after doing my writing work, although I did have a bit of resistance when I started since I was rather tired. (I skipped exercise since I have IBS issues right now.)
(Originally, I had four “frogs” to eat (habits hard for me to do consistently) right after I got up in the morning, and doing them in that “golden habit hour” enabled me to get them done every day. But I also know that I’m usually more mentally refreshed in the morning, and pushing off my writing to later in the day made me mentally a little tired when I finally sat down to work. So I adjusted my schedule in order to see if I’m more productive and have more energy if I do my writing right after I get up, which meant pushing two of my “frogs” to after my writing.)
In terms of mental clarity and creativity, I can’t really tell if working sooner after I get up enables me to be more creative or productive. It also might be impacted by my poor health right now, so I’ll just continue to try it.
However, one good thing is that so far, it hasn’t been too difficult to keep up the habit of my Japanese and exercise even when I don’t do them as soon as I get up, so hopefully I’ll keep up those habits even if I move them from the “golden habit hour” of the time right after I get up. I’ll see how I do today (although I’m still avoiding exercise since it makes my IBS flare up).
***
Even though my IBS quieted down, I’m having a hard time focusing. I would have thought that working right when I get up would enable me to focus better, but today it’s not happening.
I ended up cleaning up my desk, which actually makes me feel more mentally calm.
***
I just had a really hard time focusing today and only got 3.5 hours of work done before deciding to call it quits. And despite that time spent, I still haven’t figured out that plot problem!
I did get to my other “frog,” my Japanese flashcards, but it was a bit hard to get myself to do it after doing the writing work.
While it’s probably still too early to really say for sure, I don’t know if working earlier in the day really helps me focus better, and it’s making it more difficult to do my “frog” habits that are hard for me to do. I’ve only done it a few times, but I haven’t been able to notice greater mental clarity or energy when I do my work before my “frogs.” I’ll still try it for a few more days, but I’m starting to lean toward just doing my “frogs” first and my work afterward. I don’t want to lose my momentum in doing my “frogs” consistently, especially my Japanese flashcards, which really do need to be done everyday. (I’m starting to see improvement in my Japanese, also, so it’s making me want to continue to be consistent.)
Also, since my IBS is bothering me, it could be that I’m not noticing greater mental clarity simply because I’m not feeling well.
Outlining: time spent: 3 hours, 25 minutes
Blocking: time spent: 0
Editing: Time spent: 0
Writing: Time spent: 0
Writing: Total number of words: n/a
Writing: Overall writing speed: n/a
Time spent doing other writing-related business: 45 minutes
Today is not starting off well. Although I slept well, I woke up with IBS issues, and after sitting down to work, I’m also feeling some upper back pain.
The back pain is likely from using my trackball on a laptop tray table that’s not the right height for my shoulder. Also, yesterday when I was trying to adjust my posture and sitting position, it became obvious that the laptop tray is also too narrow.
So I broke down and ordered a new one on Amazon, Laptop Bed Tray Desk, SAIJI Adjustable Laptop Stand for Bed, Foldable Laptop Table with Storage Drawer for Eating, Working, Writing, Gaming, Drawing (Gray, X-Large). Luckily the one I had put in my wishlist was 30% off.
Also, with the adjustable height, I’ll be able to switch sitting positions to different comfortable ones so I’m not stuck in the same position the whole time I’m working. I’m spending such long hours at my desk that it’s become obvious to me that I really need to switch to a different sitting position every so often.
Yesterday, I worked on book 4 in my Regency series but I’m still stuck on a plot point near the climax of the book that has an impact on book 5. The plot changed slightly after I fixed a logic error earlier in the book, and so this plot point has been hard to fix. I’m actually a little stressed about figuring it out, because I had hoped to fix it yesterday but it’s proving to be difficult.
Also, I’m rather impatient to get started writing on this book, but then again, I’m like that with all my books. I know that this kind of outlining makes the writing infinitely more easy, but after going over the plot, it makes me antsy to start writing it.
I’m going to continue working on the plot problem, but I’m not sure how much I’ll get done today since I have intermittent IBS issues.
As for my modified daily schedule (moving two of my daily “frogs” to after I do my writing), I did get my Japanese learning done yesterday after doing my writing work, although I did have a bit of resistance when I started since I was rather tired. (I skipped exercise since I have IBS issues right now.)
(Originally, I had four “frogs” to eat (habits hard for me to do consistently) right after I got up in the morning, and doing them in that “golden habit hour” enabled me to get them done every day. But I also know that I’m usually more mentally refreshed in the morning, and pushing off my writing to later in the day made me mentally a little tired when I finally sat down to work. So I adjusted my schedule in order to see if I’m more productive and have more energy if I do my writing right after I get up, which meant pushing two of my “frogs” to after my writing.)
In terms of mental clarity and creativity, I can’t really tell if working sooner after I get up enables me to be more creative or productive. It also might be impacted by my poor health right now, so I’ll just continue to try it.
However, one good thing is that so far, it hasn’t been too difficult to keep up the habit of my Japanese and exercise even when I don’t do them as soon as I get up, so hopefully I’ll keep up those habits even if I move them from the “golden habit hour” of the time right after I get up. I’ll see how I do today (although I’m still avoiding exercise since it makes my IBS flare up).
***
Even though my IBS quieted down, I’m having a hard time focusing. I would have thought that working right when I get up would enable me to focus better, but today it’s not happening.
I ended up cleaning up my desk, which actually makes me feel more mentally calm.
***
I just had a really hard time focusing today and only got 3.5 hours of work done before deciding to call it quits. And despite that time spent, I still haven’t figured out that plot problem!
I did get to my other “frog,” my Japanese flashcards, but it was a bit hard to get myself to do it after doing the writing work.
While it’s probably still too early to really say for sure, I don’t know if working earlier in the day really helps me focus better, and it’s making it more difficult to do my “frog” habits that are hard for me to do. I’ve only done it a few times, but I haven’t been able to notice greater mental clarity or energy when I do my work before my “frogs.” I’ll still try it for a few more days, but I’m starting to lean toward just doing my “frogs” first and my work afterward. I don’t want to lose my momentum in doing my “frogs” consistently, especially my Japanese flashcards, which really do need to be done everyday. (I’m starting to see improvement in my Japanese, also, so it’s making me want to continue to be consistent.)
Also, since my IBS is bothering me, it could be that I’m not noticing greater mental clarity simply because I’m not feeling well.
Outlining: time spent: 3 hours, 25 minutes
Blocking: time spent: 0
Editing: Time spent: 0
Writing: Time spent: 0
Writing: Total number of words: n/a
Writing: Overall writing speed: n/a
Time spent doing other writing-related business: 45 minutes
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