Review, Update & Tonight’s Writing

Last week I posted a blog about making some lifestyle changes, this was predominantly all about accommodating writing into my daily routine and to push back all the obstacles that prevented this (for such a long time too!).  The list is below, the comments next to each item describes the output –

WANTS (The things I’d love to do a lot more of)

Continue writing my book – Done! I had no expectations other than to write, no word count to achieve (I’m not ready for that yet), though I didn’t plan to be focusing on the scene I’m currently working on but I’m still happy to write it.

Gather a portfolio of work– Not achieved though this involves going into the attic and pulling down previous works and sifting through for small projects. It’s not critical but more of an ongoing item to tend to.

Learn more about WordPress – Not achieved the way I planned.  I had hoped to have taken an evening off from the story to focus on this platform but then it dawned on me that it’s only going to delay the writing at a time when there’s steam behind it, I’m just happy to churn these posts out and anything else magic that comes my way is an added bonus.

Go to the gym – I think I went twice last week but it’s not something I want to prioritise this week due to a bit of fatigue. If I’m too tired to write then I’m too tired to go out and exercise.

Give my cats more attention – Not achieved at all. They get cuddles every day but this will be another ongoing item.  Sorry Spud and Rodney!

Meditate, do some Yoga, empty my mind of any stresses – Achieved! The weird dreams have come back along with the heavy sleeping but I feel really mindful and when that doesn’t happen I’ve been meditating at night or have done some Yoga before a writing session.  

Read a book, listen to some music – Achieved both.  It’s a parenting book on “How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk”, definitely a book I’d recommend. I’ve even tried a few methods on my husband and it works wonders! Music wise I’ve just listened to “Kerrang Radio”.

Watch a film on Netflix with my husband (have a night off from all of the above) – Achieved.  We watched “Dr Who, An Adventure in Space and Time” and I really enjoyed it.  It was all about the idea of Dr Who coming together as an idea and how the BBC coped with it, it also followed it’s main star William Hartnell and his expectations of the role. If you’re a fan of Dr Who you have to watch this! It was certainly nice to switch off from the laptop for a couple of hours.

Overall some things weren’t achieved but the list is still just a baby, time for it to grow and mature into something greater.  Writing was the main thing I wanted and I got it.

The list below contained every obstacle preventing the above list from happening. Here’s how it panned out:

NEEDS (These tend to be the main priority

Ironing – I found a new little trick.  Get it done whilst my husband are bathing my children.  There’s a dead space in time between this and feeding my youngest and I never knew how to fill it, bearing in mind it’s only 15 minutes, I found the micro-ironing (I’m coining the term now) to be more effective way of ensuring it gets done and that also frees up time in the evening to write or go to the gym – WIN!

Odd jobs around the house I couldn’t achieve during the day – Achieved, simply by putting it the dead space like above. Another win

Shower – Stayed the same really, nothing epic to report on, might scrap this from the list.

Reply back to people in messaging services (something I dislike doing during the day if I know it’s going to be a long conversation, so I have to wait until my children are in bed before replying)  – 50/50 if I’m honest. I tried to wait until the end of the day but then it’d cut into the writing time.

Sorting out the plans for the next day or upcoming week e.g. make sure there’s plenty of food in the house for my children or make sure there’s cash in the house for play groups, and then acting accordingly – Not Achieved. This nearly backfired on me this morning getting ready for playgroup as I couldn’t find any money to go and was running late.  Luckily a sneaky few pounds found their way into my clutches!

What is interesting is that these results are also a positive outcome.  It does feel like the focus has shifted from the 2nd list to the 1st, there’s probably a way to go but generally I’m loving this idea and mentality. I might try and see what happens over the next 7 days and review again.

The word count tonight is roughly 200 words, I want the scene to continue but am trying to envision it playing out and the writing for it is a bit of a struggle, looking at different perspectives and reactions is harder than expected!

 

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