It’s a funny thing when you work from home, alone, on your own projects.
How do you decide what to do everyday?
And how do you get yourself to do whatever it is you do decide?
And how do you prevent yourself from napping or eating a pint of Haagen-Daz Strawberry Ice Cream or watching old episodes of The Office all day long?
Seriously.
I’m curious to know your answers.
Here are some of mine.
They change, day to day.
And, full disclosure, I have been known to sneak in a nap now and again…
I need some shape, form and schedule to my life.
My daughters provide a lot of this.
My teaching gig provides the rest.
I say yes to various deadlined projects because once I’m on one deadline, I tend to get a lot of nebulous, undeadlined work done, too.
I play games with myself.
I must write, for example, straight through without looking up or checking email or answering the telephone until that load of laundry is done.
This ensures that I work and get the clothes clean.
Not folded, mind you. Just clean.
I drink a lot of La Croix, preferably grapefruit flavored, to avoid the Haagen-Daz.
I save my shower ’til I ‘m desperate for a change of pace.
Why not write all morning in my running clothes?
There are benefits to not having a dress code.
And then, when I’m really stuck or frustrated or nodding off, I take a shower break.
Fresh start.
I set a lot of coffee dates.
Mostly with other writers.
Usually late in the week, as a reward.
Who needs to watch The Office when the real live people in my life are so clever and entertaining?
I make people promises.
I email my agent or my editor or one of my critique buddies and I say, "I hope to have something to you by Thursday."
This method also known as shaming myself into it…
I compartmentalize my weeks and my days.
Formally. As in, written down, on my calendar.
A full day for critiquing student work.
A morning on school visit correspondence, and an afternoon for poetry.
New picture book drafting until I shower; revisions afterwards.
Middle grade WIP every morning ’til 11.
That sort of thing.
When I’m catching up on email, facebook, and really cute and inspiring YouTube videos, I grab lunch, take my laptop out on the deck, and acknowledge it all for the treat it is. Then I pack up, head back inside and get to work.
Sometimes I flat-out have to leave the house.
There are days when I’m too tired or too distractable or the house is too much of pit for me to focus.
They invented coffee houses for a reason.
Often I book school visits.
To add shape, form and schedule to my life, yes.
But also to remind myself exactly why I do what I do.
Because that, when it comes right down to it, is the only thing that really works, day after day after day.
Not La Croix.
Not a mid-day shower with lavender shower gel.
Not lunch on the deck watching videos.
But remembering who I write for (kids) and why (love and joy).
That pretty much lights a fire under me.
You?
Love this post! I do a lot of the same things. It varies from day to day, for sure. Deadlines always help me, but I also rely on self-bribery (If I write for another hour, I can have another cup of coffee/a snack/take an e-mail break, etc.).
I’m also a big fan of compartmentalizing my days. I only discovered this recently, but apparently I’m not a great multitasker and I’m also very unrealistic about how much I can get done in a day, so it’s better if I only focus on a couple of big things on any given day, with longer stretches of time devoted to them, instead of flitting around trying to do everything and then making myself aggravated. 🙂
Oh, god. That whole multitasking thing. I totally used to pride myself on it, but either I was NEVER that good at it OR I’m losing that capacity with each passing day. Lowering my expectations helps me do more!!! Who knew????
I have no clue. I just posted about this myself. I get so many distractions at home that I’m thinking of finding another place to go to write. Then again, is that realistic? Decisions, decisions.
Yes. It’s realistic. Grab the laptop. Shut the door on the breakfast dishes. And go. Yes….
I do a lot of the same things. One game of Spider Solitaire and then back to work. I can’t get that next cup of tea until whatever goal it is has been met.
I find I manage things much better if I set concrete goals for the next day before I turn out the lights and go to bed. That way, I have a map for the day when I get up, and I know what needs to be done. It doesn’t always work, but it usually does.
tanita says:
Shame works.
I don’t promise my agent anything, but once I say it or write it down, I can usually make a deadline work because I make a BIG DEAL out of it and tell everyone else. I hold it out in front of social obligations like a battering ram. “I can’t really talk now. I have a week deadline to finish four chapters, so…”
I used to try and punch a mental clock right at 8:30 a.m., but I’ve eased up on myself, after experimenting with working solidly from noon to five. Some days afternoons work better. I avoid The Office more easily now since we got rid of the TV. Both of us are getting a LOT of writing done (we MUST, since it’s D’s final year and he doesn’t want to be writing his dissertation forever), and we only whine about missing pop culture every once in awhile. (And we do have video nights, and use my nice big computer monitor for that.) When I nod off, it’s definitely time to do some laundry, though.
The lavender-scented body gel sounds really nice about now… You seem so organized, Liz! No wonder you’re so successful!
How and Why
I work til x-eyed then check out my wife’s blog. Gets me through. Nice post 🙂
I should have realized I wasn’t the only one who bribed myself with little treats like showers and chocolate. I use walks too, and chores like raking up leaves and digging up dandelions. 300 words for every two wheelbarrows of dead leaves.
But your last reason is a great one, and one I will be using a lot more from now on.