Tune In To Your Rhythms

By Alina Chase

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We all have daily, weekly and seasonal rhythms. Working with them is one of the most painless ways to increase productivity. Write when we write best, and relieve ourselves of guilt-inducing deadlines when we know our creative energy wanes.

This sounds simple. So why is it so hard to do?

We underestimate the ripple effect. Doing more of one thing requires doing less of not one other thing, but more likely several other things. And shifting our writing schedules may impact so many autopilot activities that we’re surprised it takes so much effort—and fail to do it.

For many of us who naturally write best in the morning, why is it so hard to squeeze in an hour of writing before work instead of struggling to crank out coherent prose at night? Because getting up an hour earlier means getting to sleep an hour earlier. And that means nixing an hour of evening activities. It may mean skipping evening surfing but also may take eating earlier and replacing a beloved evening Espresso with chamomile tea. Sticking with the plan is even trickier when it affects others—what if a mate insists on watching TV in bed long past our newly declared bedtime?

So maybe Saturday morning writing marathons will work? Maybe, if we can get up before ten—which could mean implementing energy-enhancing weeknight changes to avoid being wiped out by the weekend. (Including that getting-to-bed-early thing.) Add to that doing laundry on Wednesday, mowing grass on Thursday and doing whatever else it takes before Saturday to free up extra hours to write. How simple is this?

And while allergies, holidays and tax deadlines are predictable seasonal disruptions, it takes even more forethought and discipline to plan for and around these downtimes.The key to making small changes is to recognize that there is no such thing as one small change. But continuing to work out of sync with our natural rhythms and easily anticipated downtimes can turn what we love doing into just plain work. While tuning into our rhythms, changing what we can when we can, will help create the flow we crave. Isn’t this why we write? The effort is worthwhile!
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(Photo Credits: Spring pic found on Tumblr and Winter pic found at TopDreamer.com)

More (Productive) Writing Time: Partitioning

 By Alina Chase

 

Partitioning both your time and thoughts will help you enjoy more productive writing time—and may help you find more of it.

The benefits of partitioning time, focusing on one and only one task at a time, may be more obvious when you think about non-writing activities. Like texting while driving. Like shampooing a cat while trying to convince your boss over the phone that you’re hard at work on that proposal. Like wandering inside to take a cool shower while homemade kabobs burst into flames on the grill—objective not accomplished, and now who’s going to clean up the mess?

So when you finally set aside an hour to write, why are you also checking email, responding to texts and keeping an eye on whatever’s on TV? A few minutes here and there eat away at both your writing time and creative focus. So eliminate disruptions and mental clutter! Decide what you want to do now, and give whatever that is all of your attention.

If you’re not going to do something now, don’t think about it now. When you leave work, forget about work. And when you finally find time to write, just write.

And as I switch gears from writing to not burning tonight’s dinner, I’ll leave you to ponder this quote from a very funny book:

Like the good Reverend King

I too “have a dream,”

but when I wake up

I forget it and

remember I’m running late for work”

                       Paul Beatty, The White Boy Shuffle

Break From the Herd

“I once complained to my father that I didn’t seem to be able to do things the same way other people did. Dad’s advice? “Margo, don’t be a sheep. People hate sheep. They eat sheep.”

Margo Kaufman

From The Portable Do It

John-Roger and Peter McWilliams

TIME-SAVING TACTICS

Break From the Herd

By Alina Chase

Do you ever shop at 5 a.m.? Hardly anybody does.

Simply by doing what most people do not, when they do not, you can reclaim enough wasted time to write at least a few more pages per week.

Schedule the first appointment of the day with doctors and dentists and you’re less likely to wait. Arrive at the mall as it opens. Instead of waiting in traffic just to wait in line at the bank at noon on Friday, do banking on Tuesday. Eat out at 5 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. You’ll get a table without waiting—and probably better service.

Begin running errands at 6 a.m. on Sunday and you’ll cruise through deserted streets, park near the door, zip through aisles, breeze through the checkout. Employees and customers are less stressed, actually smiling!

And you’ll be back home and writing before most folks have rolled out of bed…

December Resolutions (Alina Chase)

TIME & MOTIVATION

December Resolutions

By Alina Chase

December is the perfect time to rethink what we write and why we write and, perhaps, why we don’t write as often or as creatively as our inner critics think we should. Have we lost interest in or outgrown our initial plans and projects, or are we just not prioritizing our time and energy in a way that works best for us? 

  

During the holidays the average American overindulges (gains 5-7 pounds!), overspends (whoa, why did I buy that!), and too many find the season more stressful or depressing than festive. So let’s not wait to make guilt-ridden or stress-induced New Year’s resolutions we probably won’t keep (like adding exercising, dieting and budgeting to our writing to-do lists). Instead, let’s resolve to be brilliant, not average. Let’s use this time to create and test drive writing lifestyle resolutions we may actually keep.

 

Here are three previous resolutions I made and (mostly) stick with that I hope will jump-start creating your own resolutions:

 

Resolution #1: Find creative alternatives to attending, organizing or hosting events you dread. (Resolution 1A: Nix the guilt. If it drains your energy, it’s not the right way for you to spend your time! Find new, less stressful ways to satisfy what you feel are family, social or charitable obligations.)

 

Resolution #2: Vow to maintain or improve your fitness during the holidays. Unless you actually enjoy those sugar highs (and crashes) and turkey-and-stuffing-induced comas, how hard is it, really, to abstain from gluttony? (Going out for a jog is also a healthy excuse to escape family drama.)

 

Resolution #3: Commit to adding 2 hours per week, all at once or in little chunks, of energizing activity to your life. Reading, hiking, meeting a friend for burritos—whatever makes you happy! Fun time-outs return big payoffs in physical and mental energy. (But about those burritos, see Resolution #2—maybe skip the cheese dip?)

 

Have fun with this! Take some risks. And by all means share your December resolution triumphs (and what humor you can find in not-so-triumphant attempts at breaking uninspiring traditions) with all of us here at Writer Block. We’d love to hear from you!

 

Wishing you all a relaxed, refreshing and inspiring holiday season…