NaBloPoMo is kicking my butt
Posted on | November 13, 2007 |
I have nothing to write about today because anything I actually want to write about would take far longer than the 1.4 minutes I have left to post before bed. The time, where does it go? EVERY DAY is like this. I’ve been bucking against the idea of waking up earlier in the morning to write–but I just got my Pam deadline today, and I have to have a whole lot more written by Decmeber 2. So. Up early seems to be my only choice.
Seriously, I want to know: how do you manage your day? Especially those of you who write–how do you work that time in? How do you make it all happen? I’m feeling kind of crazed about it all right now. I keep wishing I could wake up one morning and have time be the way it was back in high school, or even better, like when I was nine.
Remember that? The way it took forever to get to Saturday? The way the weekend lasted forever? The way an afternoon could be all day. What happened to that? What’s with all the business? And holy crap, how is it possibly almost Thanksgiving?
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15 Responses to “NaBloPoMo is kicking my butt”
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November 14th, 2007 @ 8:24 am
I think you need to have a horse live inside your house for a while — say for a month. Get back to me when the month is up, and I’ll tell you what to do next.
November 14th, 2007 @ 11:28 am
The only solution I’ve found is to get up early. My mom did the same thing - for all the years I lived at home, she got up at 4am to write before the rest of us woke up (she also was always dead tired by 9pm and probably was sleep deprived for years). I find the getting up early is a lot easier when the sun gets up early, too. In the wintertime I just need a lot more sleep, so I write/paint less, and practice a bit more forgivness with myself for not being superwoman. Some days I’m more successful with the forgiveness part than others. When I start getting to the point of frenzy, when I just need some art time, I take a day off of work and other life responsibilities. A whole day can feel so luxurious.
November 14th, 2007 @ 12:19 pm
I’m also doing NaBloPoMo and some of my posts are mere sentences. But I hear you about time just disappearing. I referenced it in my own post here: http://meetinggrace.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/an-evening-post/.
As a poet, I have certainly neglected my writing of late and I don’t like the feeling. In lieu of that I’ve been reading and blogging in an effort to at least keep some connection to the word. But my days are full, too. I work full-time, my commute is about 20-30 minutes each way. I use my before-work time to clean up the house for the day (dishes, trash, sometimes laundry) along with getting my own self ready for the day. It’s hard to find the time during lunch to put pen to paper in any satisfying way. Then after work, it’s a stop at the grocery store and then I want to spend time with my guy and his daughter. If he’s working or if she’s with her mom, then there might be some time to write, but I’ll often choose to watch something on Bravo. What kills me is how she’ll complain about part of her homework that is to read for 30 minutes!
I’ve tried the getting up early part and it doesn’t work for me. My next attempt will be a 5-10 minute timed writing at a designated time during the day, just to start getting things down.
Whatever you do, however you manage, please keep writing. Your words are spectacular and I look forward every day to dropping by to read what you’re saying. That’s the best part of NaBloPoMo, something new to read every day!
November 14th, 2007 @ 2:07 pm
unfortunately,
i don’t have a solution….
only empathy.
November 14th, 2007 @ 2:34 pm
I’m still struggling to find the right balance. Ideally, I need many hours in a row in order to push through the requisite resistance and procrastination — tidying, making tea, paying bills, before I can finally settle in to the writing process. I find that trying to squeeze meaningful work out a few “stolen hours” (or minutes!) mostly ends up making me question my ability, commitment, and love of the art. For me, the juggling of daily life often runs counter to a successful writing practice, where I seek to cultivate stillness, attention, openness, and care.
I wish I had better answers, but for now I’m reconciled to carrying my notebook on the bus, reading over breakfast, and accepting a few nights falling asleep at my computer and facing exhausted mornings. It’s worth it. Because just holding the goal, cultivating attention, and subtlety, and curiosity, those things give us so much. They They give us ourselves, really.
November 14th, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Back before children, when I took classes at the University, and had no idea how tired a person could REALLY get, I knew a woman who went back to school after her third child started kindergarten. She used to get up everyday at 5am to get things done - laundry, studying, whatever it was. I thought she was nutty. I used to think (in my I-know-everything-because-I-am-22 voice), “There is no way I will ever get up that early to get laudry done. Humph. I mean, really!” Boy, am I eating my words. I am currently contemplating said situation, because, I mean, really! You are correct - there are not nearly enough hours to get everything done and I feel like the house is falling down around my ears. So, when you figure this out, please let us know. I went as far as going on Amazon to look for a book to teach me to manage a home better - no luck.
November 14th, 2007 @ 3:29 pm
Hi, just found you via Ali Edwards’ blog and added you to my list of favourites.
Mmm my day. Get up at about 6;30 (if I’m not too tired), get a bath (if I’m lucky) kiss hubby off to work, feed the baby, fix breakfast, do laundry, put baby off to sleep, play with toddler, creative time if I’m extremely lucky and a little deaf to demands from junior, fix lunch, feed baby, put toddler to sleep, play with baby, do dishes, more laundry and ironing, cleaning, watch Oprah, supper, bathtime for kids (honey helps- ok, he baths them) get them off to sleep. have tea together, and roundabout 9:30 do some blog reading. (Add in somewhere a few more baby feeds, hundreds of nappy changes for the both of them, negotiating through toddlers’ discovery of the limitations to his independence and free will, and late afternoon meltdowns) and then fall into bed at about 11:30 only soon to be woken by baby and toddler taking turns. After about 3 hours of sleep in total, it all starts again the next day, and the one thereafter…
Now that I’ve written it down, it doesn’t seem like that much, and probably not that unusual either. Pity you don’t get a varsity degree in managing this. And interesting that more of my varsity friends chose the stay at home Mom life, than my friends without tertiary educations.
Anyway, I take my hat off to anyone who still manages to keep a Blog , and write anything that makes any sense at all.
November 14th, 2007 @ 3:56 pm
I wish I had some words of wisdom but I do have something that I hope offers some comfort. You’re actually doing pretty damn good considering you have a child. I have a house and a full time job and a husband, like you, but no kid added to the mix. I never feel I have enough time to do all I want to do in the course of a day. I honestly don’t know how I would manage anything if I had a young life to nurture on top of everything else. That’s a huge responsibility! So, look, give yourself a break. I think you deserve more pats on the back than you seem willing to give yourself.
November 14th, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
I’ve been reading your blog for a while because I love your writing. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve tagged you for the seven weird and random things meme.
November 14th, 2007 @ 6:12 pm
Don’t tell, but I often write on my prep hours at school. It’s probably a little easier when teaching high schoolers, you can have them work on a small group project or leave them be while taking a test, show a film, and I can grade during that time… and on my prep, when all is quiet in the classroom, I can write. In fact, every day, as soon as the third hour bell rings, I gather up my Diet Coke, settle into my computer, and write a morning poem, which goes off to my poem-a-day partner. Sometimes I spend after school working on that too… right now I’m doing the apply-for-MFA programs thing, so much of my time has gone into statement of purpose, manuscripts, sorting out who needs a GRE and which school needs double the official transcripts. It’s a nightmare, but if I find a way to juggle my time wisely, I can still be a good teacher AND feed that need to write. I also was accepted into a competitive local program, which insists I give them two hours every Thursday. It’s not much, but it’s scheduled, so the husband has to be home to deal with the dogs (not quite the same as a child, but there you are–it’s my night).
November 14th, 2007 @ 8:09 pm
I find the weekdays so full that I rarely have time to do any art, which is the thing I wish I had more time to do! I start each day at 5:00 so I can do some cardio before work. My work day at school starts at 7:20 and it’s a full speed balancing act until I leave around 3:00. I then either go to the gym or go home to walk the dog, do all those household chores that constantly beckon, make dinner, take care of the odds and ends, get ready for the next day, have a bit of quiet time with the man, and then it’s off to bed by 9:00 or so…. and I’m fried! Like Molly, I do my grading at school as much as possible, because I can’t concentrate on student papers when I’m at home, and I am pretty much opposed to spending my free time working for no pay… a decision I made after 20 years of teaching so I don’t burn out completely:> So, it’s the weekends for art, and it goes slowly! As for blogging… hah! This is the most I’ve written in weeks. I do want to tell you, though, how much I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts and seeing your photographs… I can imagine with all you do between your work outside and at home, these posts take a big chunk of your time. So thank you for sharing these wonderful bits of your life!
November 15th, 2007 @ 10:59 am
I don’t write but I take pictures and I have a hard time finding time for that. I can’t really get up early because I need the light for the photos. I’ve been trying to get time on weekends to just get out and take some shots. Now that the sun sets so early, the evenings after work aren’t good for photos either. It kind of sucks. I’ve been trying to get photo passes to some concerts so that I can use those shows as a chance to take pictures, learn some new techniques, etc. There’s not easy answer. With a husband, three kids and a full time job, it’s hard to find space for yourself!
November 15th, 2007 @ 3:51 pm
This seems to be a popular topic right now, not surprising; November has always represented a kind of frantic slump for me. I’ve posted my own time-related frustrations on my blog (http://cappuccinosophy.blogspot.com/2007/11/time-is-not-on-my-side.html), so I won’t list them here. Just know that I do empathize with you. Oh, and if you figure out the secret to creative productivity in the midst of a too-busy life, please share!
November 15th, 2007 @ 4:18 pm
Time is what all of us need, apparently.
November 15th, 2007 @ 6:36 pm
I have to credit learning to manage my life with the help of the FlyLady. My mother didn’t have good organizational skills, but I was desperate to do better. My parents had a laissez faire attitude towards time, and she, and other books on organization have helped me tremendously to establish routines and boundaries. However, from a reader’s prospective, you seem to have it going on: a happy marriage and child, a full-time job, an amazing home, the physical stamina for running, and art talent I can only dream of. I wish I could help you see yourself the way I have come to as a bystander. You are one cool chick!