Day 394: Need to do my “frogs” first

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I had a lot of difficulty doing my Japanese study yesterday after writing—I seriously almost didn’t do it because I was so tired.

So today, I just decided to do it this morning before I started work. I’ve had a good streak going with my Japanese, and I’m a bit scared to break that and revert back to not doing it. I spent a bit longer than I wanted to in studying, but I also didn’t spend as much time yesterday so I made up for the time.

I actually feel really good that it’s done. I progressed a lot with my studies and was able to get everything done. Yesterday, when I did my Japanese after my writing, I was so tired that I only put in the bare minimum. Today, I did a little extra and I feel very satisfied with what I did today.

In contrast to the “meh” feeling I’ve had the past few days of doing my writing first, it seems to make a big difference to me (at least today) to do my Japanese before my writing rather than afterward. I wanted to experiment for several days more, but considering I was able to do my Japanese so  thoroughly, even though my IBS is acting up, I think it might not be worth it to continue this experiment. I feel a lot better when I get my Japanese done first, before my writing. Maybe it’s just the way my brain is wired.

I’m also still having IBS issues, so I’m not sure how much work I’ll get done today, but I feel like I’m in a better headspace in starting my work. Hopefully I won’t be as distracted as I was yesterday. Even though I still have IBS issues, they ARE getting better, slowly. I’m starting to figure out what I can and can’t eat, including things I had been able to eat before but now I’m too sensitive to. I hope to get the IBS completely under control eventually, so my health won’t impact my work quite so much.

***

I wasn’t very focused today, either, although I also wasn’t trying very hard. I worked for about 90 minutes until lunch, but I wasn’t feeling very well at lunch or afterward. I thought up a blog post and spent some time working on that rather than getting back to work after lunch.

***

I got more work done, although my upper back was bothering me again and it was a bit distracting.

My concentration wasn’t as easily distracted today as it was yesterday, but I was still not quite as focused as I would have liked. I spent a long time blocking the second scene when I probably should have been able to do it in half the time.

Since it was my upper back distracting me today, I probably need to set a timer to remind myself to get up and stretch every hour. For the past few weeks I’ve been sitting for 1.5-2 hours at a stretch, but it could be that it’s catching up to me now. I need to do everything I can to try to keep myself from being distracted by different things.

Outlining: time spent: 0

Blocking: time spent: 4 hours, 10 minutes

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: I definitely need to do my Japanese study before I start work—I don’t want to break my streak or fall out of habit, and it’s definitely not very productive when I’m so tired when I do my flashcards.

My second takeaway for today: Set a timer to remind yourself to get up and stretch every hour!

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