Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious
I've been working on transcribing the first draft of my book (handwritten) into a Word document. It was pretty slow going-- my job has been extremely demanding lately-- and I was getting discouraged at the lack of progress.
And then one day, it hit me. I had been getting up at 5:30 to catch the early bus into work and I started questioning why I was putting so much energy into something that I know is not what I want to do longterm. I decided to "flip" my day-- still get up at 5:30, but instead of catching the early bus, using that very first hour of the day to work on my own projects. In a sense, I would be doing what financial advisers always recommend-- paying myself first, only in time instead of money!!
I've been doing this for nearly a month, three to four times a week. I'm amazed at what an effect it has on my general mood-- the days I sleep in I find myself vaguely grumpy, the days I get up early I feel centered and satisfied with the progress I'm making. And I've made astounding progress on my novel. I have rearranged my day so that my evenings are devoted to preparing for the next day and relaxing and I don't have the guilt of feeling I should be doing something when I'm tired from all the rigors of the day.
I hope you find this suggestion helpful.
And then one day, it hit me. I had been getting up at 5:30 to catch the early bus into work and I started questioning why I was putting so much energy into something that I know is not what I want to do longterm. I decided to "flip" my day-- still get up at 5:30, but instead of catching the early bus, using that very first hour of the day to work on my own projects. In a sense, I would be doing what financial advisers always recommend-- paying myself first, only in time instead of money!!
I've been doing this for nearly a month, three to four times a week. I'm amazed at what an effect it has on my general mood-- the days I sleep in I find myself vaguely grumpy, the days I get up early I feel centered and satisfied with the progress I'm making. And I've made astounding progress on my novel. I have rearranged my day so that my evenings are devoted to preparing for the next day and relaxing and I don't have the guilt of feeling I should be doing something when I'm tired from all the rigors of the day.
I hope you find this suggestion helpful.
