Day 393: Putting off my “frogs” maybe not a good idea
I’m finally back after several miserable days, health-wise (either IBS issues or sinus headaches). I did do about 30 minutes of work on Saturday, but eventually gave up because I was too uncomfortable.
Since I couldn’t concentrate on work, I did some editing on the Japanese version of The Spinster’s Christmas. I still have a long ways to go, but it feels good when I get some progress on it. Once I’m done with the editing, I’ll probably still need to hire a Japanese proofreader to go over it one more time. Eventually this book will get done and I can re-release the corrected version.
Yesterday, I was going to work through the headache pain since it wasn’t too bad in the morning, but I admit I got distracted by reading some forum boards on the Japanese learning websites where I do my SRS flashcards and being directed to some free learning resources available. I suppose it was technically part of my Japanese learning time, but I sill spent several hours looking through some free content for my Japanese learning. I’m such a sucker for free ebooks!!! I guess the good part is that I got a lot of good books that will interest me.
My body still feels tired from the beating it took this weekend, and I still have a slight sinus headache, but I hope to be able to work today. I admit I’m not feeling very motivated because I’m so tired, but I hope to get at least 2-3 hours of work done. I STILL haven’t figured out the plot problem in book 4, which needs to be fixed before I can start writing the book, so I’ll try to figure it out today.
***
Wow I’m really easily distracted today. I haven’t been sidetracked for too long each time, but it seems like every half-hour my mind is wandering to some other topic.
I thought about why I was so distracted today. Part of it is that I have some non-writing work left unfinished that I intend to do after I finish work today. The thought/reminder to myself to do it has been nagging at me throughout the day.
I wonder if I should have just done it before work? But it would have taken a couple hours and I hate putting off starting work for that long. When that happens, I reach the afternoon and I’ve done no work yet that day, and it feel lousy.
Another reason I was easily distracted I think is because my back has been bothering me since yesterday, and I was trying different things to get comfortable, plus I did more stretching than normal, which broke up my writing time.
I feel kind of like Goldilocks where I need things to be “just right” to work, and a part of me thinks that’s ridiculous. It feels like I’m just making excuses for not being able to focus. I should be able to write even if I’m not feeling 100%, or if my desk setup isn’t perfect.
But then I have days like today where my focus is shot. And there are some things, like my back pain, which can’t be easily fixed. In this case, I know I’m not simply making excuses for my lack of focus. But what exactly can I do about it?
Well, I guess at this point, the best I can do is go to bed early and try to get enough rest so that I will hopefully feel better tomorrow.
Despite the fact I was so easily distracted today, I finally figured out the fix for that plot problem! Yay!
I started Snowflake step 8 on the book, but I was feeling very tired and my back was starting to bother me, so I decided to stop work early and go to bed early. I got about 4 hours of work done, so that’s not too bad considering I’m coming off of a few sick days. I’m hopeful I’ll have more energy tomorrow.
I’m still doing the experiment of putting off two important tasks to after my writing work so that I can have more mental energy when I write, so I didn’t do my exercise or my Japanese language study before work this morning. However since I’m so tired, it’s really hard for me to the Japanese now. If it’s going to prevent me from doing my difficult tasks (my “frogs”) then I might need to go back to doing them before my writing work, just to make sure they get done.
Outlining: time spent: 3 hours, 57 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: (Forgot to set Toggl timer)
My takeaway for today: Putting off my “frogs” in order to have more mental energy for my writing might be making it too difficult for me to do them because I’m so tired by the time I get to them. I might need to go back to doing them before work every morning in order to make sure they get done.
My second takeaway for today: Rather than ignoring it or whining about it, I need to target what I can do about my lack of focus—in this case, getting a good night’s sleep to try to work better tomorrow.
Since I couldn’t concentrate on work, I did some editing on the Japanese version of The Spinster’s Christmas. I still have a long ways to go, but it feels good when I get some progress on it. Once I’m done with the editing, I’ll probably still need to hire a Japanese proofreader to go over it one more time. Eventually this book will get done and I can re-release the corrected version.
Yesterday, I was going to work through the headache pain since it wasn’t too bad in the morning, but I admit I got distracted by reading some forum boards on the Japanese learning websites where I do my SRS flashcards and being directed to some free learning resources available. I suppose it was technically part of my Japanese learning time, but I sill spent several hours looking through some free content for my Japanese learning. I’m such a sucker for free ebooks!!! I guess the good part is that I got a lot of good books that will interest me.
My body still feels tired from the beating it took this weekend, and I still have a slight sinus headache, but I hope to be able to work today. I admit I’m not feeling very motivated because I’m so tired, but I hope to get at least 2-3 hours of work done. I STILL haven’t figured out the plot problem in book 4, which needs to be fixed before I can start writing the book, so I’ll try to figure it out today.
***
Wow I’m really easily distracted today. I haven’t been sidetracked for too long each time, but it seems like every half-hour my mind is wandering to some other topic.
I thought about why I was so distracted today. Part of it is that I have some non-writing work left unfinished that I intend to do after I finish work today. The thought/reminder to myself to do it has been nagging at me throughout the day.
I wonder if I should have just done it before work? But it would have taken a couple hours and I hate putting off starting work for that long. When that happens, I reach the afternoon and I’ve done no work yet that day, and it feel lousy.
Another reason I was easily distracted I think is because my back has been bothering me since yesterday, and I was trying different things to get comfortable, plus I did more stretching than normal, which broke up my writing time.
I feel kind of like Goldilocks where I need things to be “just right” to work, and a part of me thinks that’s ridiculous. It feels like I’m just making excuses for not being able to focus. I should be able to write even if I’m not feeling 100%, or if my desk setup isn’t perfect.
But then I have days like today where my focus is shot. And there are some things, like my back pain, which can’t be easily fixed. In this case, I know I’m not simply making excuses for my lack of focus. But what exactly can I do about it?
Well, I guess at this point, the best I can do is go to bed early and try to get enough rest so that I will hopefully feel better tomorrow.
Despite the fact I was so easily distracted today, I finally figured out the fix for that plot problem! Yay!
I started Snowflake step 8 on the book, but I was feeling very tired and my back was starting to bother me, so I decided to stop work early and go to bed early. I got about 4 hours of work done, so that’s not too bad considering I’m coming off of a few sick days. I’m hopeful I’ll have more energy tomorrow.
I’m still doing the experiment of putting off two important tasks to after my writing work so that I can have more mental energy when I write, so I didn’t do my exercise or my Japanese language study before work this morning. However since I’m so tired, it’s really hard for me to the Japanese now. If it’s going to prevent me from doing my difficult tasks (my “frogs”) then I might need to go back to doing them before my writing work, just to make sure they get done.
Outlining: time spent: 3 hours, 57 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: (Forgot to set Toggl timer)
My takeaway for today: Putting off my “frogs” in order to have more mental energy for my writing might be making it too difficult for me to do them because I’m so tired by the time I get to them. I might need to go back to doing them before work every morning in order to make sure they get done.
My second takeaway for today: Rather than ignoring it or whining about it, I need to target what I can do about my lack of focus—in this case, getting a good night’s sleep to try to work better tomorrow.
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