This is a picture of me writing on the new typewriter. I am typing so fast my hands are blurry. I like that.
The one above it is something I made when I should have been writing. Everyone needs more bags. Bags are useful things. But even at the time it smelled a bit like procrastination. My desk is almost clear of empty cans, mugs, crisp packets, felt tip pens missing their lids and all other things that normally collect there when I am in the middle of something.
I have found that I haven't had much time recently. I still have twenty four hours, same as everyone else, but those twenty four hours tend to be more and more full of stuff to do that isn't writing. I think it might be a bit of procrastination and I think it might be that I am quite busy, no excuses.
When I didn't work I didn't write during the day either. Writing has always been saved for the evenings. When I started working I thought it would be easy to carry on this way. But the things apart from mothering (like laundry and cooking and food shopping and cleaning the toilet) were also done during the day. And I had naps. Which meant the nights were generally longer. So it isn't working out as well as I had hoped.
Here are some of the other things that I do instead of writing:
a) Making bags and shawls and other not strictly Essentials Of Life.
b) Reading.
c) Having very long baths - often combined with (b)
d) other kinds of writing: emails, blogs, book reviews, journals, letters, lists, plans.
e) talking to my friends
f) watching films
g) 'pottering' (this generally means rearranging the things in my house then putting them back where they were)
h) ironing trousers for work
i) housework (although I have cut hoovering down to a minimum)
j) dozing
k) watering houseplants
I think I need to eliminate some of these things so that I can write some more. I was going to get a hair-cut today but I decided to spend the money on getting five loads of laundry washed and dried and folded at the launderette. I even asked the man to fold my clothes and the Small Fry's clothes in different baskets so they would be quick to put away when I got home. I think this is a good step forward.
Joie de vivre
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When I am prime minister, dear reader, every funeral will have dancing.
Thanks to her brilliant and brave daughters, friend Ann (always the life
and soul o...
2 hours ago
Hi Jenna,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog through a myriad of other links - and am v glad I did as already it is a providing a few chuckles.
I have my own A-K procrastination list which is very similar to yours if you remove any mention of housework and replace that with cake eating! :)
i moved furniture for three hours the other night and then put it all back
ReplyDeleteit felt like i didn't do anything that entire night
I just found you via Kerry - great post! One I can relate to all to well, unfortunately. Someone has just kindly pointed out to me that Procrastination is the Thief of Time, and I'm trying desperately to apply those wise words to my writing life. And I will..tomorrow maybe :o)
ReplyDeleteJen,
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog and sympathize greatly with your predicament of finding your 24 hours stuffed full already and not with writing. I have tried to pare my life down - resigned from several online writing groups etc.. - but am I writing? Nope. I am knitting, doing stuff in the garden, writing blog posts, redesigning my website, washing, talking to the cats, eating. Writing is all I really want to do, so why don't I do it? Ah well.
Bags (a huge variety of) = essential. Ditto - pottering and dozing but I draw the line at ironing:-)
ReplyDeleteLove My Boss is Amazing. I must have missed that before or is it new?
Kerry: there should have been more things on that list, now I come to think of it. I also spend a stupid amount of time looking at things I can't afford on ebay. If I stopped doing this, I could probably double my output.
ReplyDeleteStephen: I am too weak and feeble to move furniture. I rearrange light things, like pencils and socks and cacti. It is very time consuming.
Karen: I'm not sure about procrastination being a thief of time. I find that to write well, I need a period of boredom first. I am not sure why. I think being bored makes me daydream a lot. I just need to create some time in my life where I can be bored.
Tania: I resigned from a couple of forums, and unsubscribed to a load of blogs that I used to read but don't like so much anymore. I am not sure it is working though. I always think I might be missing something important that I really should be reading. I once read that John Updike was so dedicated to his work that he didn't have a TV or a radio (I don't have a TV either) and he had never heard of Madonna. I'm not sure I would like to live like that.
Lane: I've not found the perfect bag yet. It needs to have hundreds of compartments but remain small. And it needs to have bright and interesting patterns on it, but still match with everything. The search continues. I'm glad you liked My Boss is Amazing. It is fairly new. The My Boss... stories are turning into a series, I think.
i like your blog. i like your writing. i have just now started reading your blog. a couple of weeks ago i bookmarked it (can't remember how i found it) and i have just now gotten around to reading it.
ReplyDeletei just read 'my boss is amazing' and boss of me." i really liked them and i laughed out loud at this part of 'boss of me:'
"I know about gross misconduct.
It wasn't that gross. It was an accident. It was a mistake. I didn't think the not smoking thing applied everywhere. They were infringing my human rights, anyway. I can smoke if I like. They aren't the boss of me."
i also laughed at the rest. i am glad to hear that these might become a series and can't wait to read the next one.
Thank you Anthony. I'm really glad you liked my story and my blogs. I think it is exciting that people have my blog 'bookmarked'. It also gives me a bit of stage fright too.
ReplyDelete