Scoreboard

The cats are thoroughly waxed. I’ve no idea why I thought they needed it, but it was obviously the most important thing in the world to get done, and I’ve spent 50 minutes doing it.

30 thoughts on “Scoreboard”

    1. Cat waxing: What one does instead of writing. This starts with tidying the desk in front of you, then moves to taking some dishes to the kitchen. Clean the kitchen. Return to the desk, vacuum the floor around it. Vacuum the chair seat. Vacuum the keyboard. Cast wildly about, trying to find something else to do, and think, “When was the last time I waxed & polished the cats?”

      Cat-waxing.

        1. heh. No, just self-discipline. It could be that early morning writing is beginning to fight with early morning grogginess to too large a degree. I’m toying with evening and lunchtime writing, but we’ll see how it goes before I give up mornings.

            1. Write
            2. Be able to pay all my bills
            3. Have some moderate amount of free time
            4. Live in a moderately clean, ordered space.

            Bridgette & Othello & Cinderella aren’t on this list because, if I have this list, I will have the time & activities that I want with them.

          1. :blinks: Oh. Sorry. I tend to stay big-picture, and fit all my smaller activities into that. That’s why I am sometimes paralysed by “what if–“.

            Uhm.

            1. Time to exercise that doesn’t take away from my [cringe] duties.
            2. Time to write that doesn’t take away from my [cringe] duties or sleep.
            3. Time to play that doesn’t take away from my [cringe] duties or sleep or exercise or writing.
            4. New shoes
          2. okay.

            now… what would be a fairly big accomplishment in writing… like how many words to your agent? (yeah I know ‘completed’ is a fairly big accomplishment but go smaller for the sake of your sanity)

          3. 1,000 words a day would be lovely. 2,000 would be better, and are achievable.

            At peak speed, I seem able to compose 1,000 in an hour. At normal speeds, 500, depending only on concentration. So I’m wishing for 2-4 hours daily.

          4. Or did you mean, what are the landmarks? The book will be about 80,000 words….

            20,000
            40,000
            60,000
            80,000

            I’m not sure I’m answering the questions you are asking.

          5. okay, gotcha.

            When you get to 20,000 words buy a new pair of shoes.
            When you get to 40,000 words take some time to play.
            When you get to 60,000 words … hmmm choose something other than writing. 😛
            and when you complete the book set aside daily time to exercise that can not and will not be interrupted by anything. call it personal time. 🙂

          6. Time is sort of an issue, for me. From 7am until 7:30pm I am, either by getting ready, commuting, or working, at work. 12 1/2 hours is a big chunk from the day, and there’s still housework, house building, nurturing Othello, nurturing Bridgette, decompression time so I don’t go insane, cuddling so I don’t go insane….

            Uh. Nurturing me.

            I am not opposed to setting goals and rewards. I think setting rewards that will take time will, ultimately, result in a punishment for me as I try to fit it all in without ditching things I feel duty-bound not to ditch.

            Duty. :snarls: Any time I start saying that word too much I start to suspect I’ve gone stupid again. I’ll have to watch me closely.

          7. There is always something that can be put off until tomorrow so that something more can be done for today. we juggle schedules around daily despite how busy we are. At our busiest thing end up getting put off for a day or even longer.

            This would be something for you to help you keep your sanity AND help you keep your goals. something which will in turn give you more time and hopefully more money in the long run.

          8. I understand that in theory. Viscerally, I have more difficulty. I don’t expect to get better overnight, just to improve.

            In practice, I have some issues with deciding to blow off exercising for six months. I have some issues with living in a house with bare studs another year. I have some issues with living in the middle of a garbage heap surrounded by mud lots. I have some issues waiting another year to write steadily. I have really big issues not doing what I feel I need to for/with Othello and for/with Bridgette. Putting any of those things off tightens my springs to the over-wound point, and I get all stupid.

            …so I short the same things, over and over again. My joy-choices and my sleep. I know better, but those two are the things I can shaft with the least effect in the short run.

            Again, I know better. It’s a process I’m in the middle of, and will continue to improve.

          9. just don’t try and improve it by digging yourself in deeper. good habits are as difficult to break as bad ones… choose them and continue with them, you will find the time.

          10. three months ago I was amazed at how much time I found during the day hiding in the most illogical of locations. somehow time popped out of every corner and I actually had a full 16 hours of waking time to do stuff in…

            …granted I haven’t done the laundry yet… but I am getting there because it could get tossed aside for other busy thing that needed to be done. I even found a little time as a reward to play some “Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap” 🙂 Laundry can wait until tomorrow, I am sane and unstressed. 😀

      1. Somewhat similar to yak-shaving. You start by sitting down in front of your keyboard, when you realize your screen resolution hurts your eyes. So you look into the issue, and decide the best thing is to update your display drivers. Unfortunately, the English site for the manufacturer is down, so you end up on the Korean one, and from there proceed to Babelfish…
        …and suddenly you realize that you’re standing in the middle of your kitchen, shaving a yak.

        (Incidentally, I was so impressed by the wonderful language in your bad_sex post that I was compelled to add you. Please let me know if you’d rather I didn’t)

  1. I, too, have decided to add you after fangirling you from a distance in for so long. It was the cheese dip that finally tipped me over the edge.

    I’m your biggest fan! *said in her best creepy Kathy Bates style*

Comments are closed.