Happy Tuesday, friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and Monday. Today, I wanted to share with you what I intend to work on this week, and to talk to you about overcoming boundaries. I don’t know about you, but when I’m working under a tight deadline, or have a few too many projects going at once, I have a tendency to make it worse by procrastinating, cleaning, or writing other pieces with a looser (or no) deadline.
This week, the larger theme of my work is establishing myself, and also writing some things off my chest (some people talk to their barber; I write!). What this technically looks like: Writing several pieces about motherhood and mental wellness (each with a different focus), further studying the art of copywriting, pitching and writing a few pieces on current hot topics in entertainment, and submitting poems / collections to various contests and reading periods.
Now, this is a lot, honestly, so how am I going to make it happen? What am I going to do to ensure that I don’t put something off, miss a deadline, or clean my entire house instead of write a piece, or go on an embarrassingly-long Facebook-or-Netflix-binge?
To be honest, my day has taken sort of a slow start. Well, in all honesty, my week has gotten off to a slow start (I mean, I used to do Motivational posts on Monday, not Tuesday!). But, actualy, I like the idea of this Tuesday check-in. Even if Monday ends up being a throw-away day, or a “blah” day, you can still take charge of the rest of your week by re-focusing and fully committing on Tuesday!
All tangents aside, my week has gotten off to a slow start. One of the charms of having a three-month-old in the house (I’m so sad I can’t call my son a newborn anymore! the time is moving too quickly!) is teething. I was talking to my husband last night about how I felt like I had a routine down with my toddler and newborn, but now that my newborn is three months old and cutting multiple teeth early, I feel like I’m less put-together than when he was first born. Which, I know isn’t true, but I’m certainly scrambling to make heads or tails of my schedule again!
Instead of continuing to give the power over to exhaustion and indirection, though, I’m taking some steps this week to make sure all of these tasks happen (and don’t worry, this blog post was on my list of things to write!).
Keep these ideas in mind for you, too. You can approach them in a different order than I’ve written below, and I’m sure you can adapt the finer details to how you work best, as well as what you’re working on.
Keep Your Schedule to Paper; Leave the Rest to Chance Your Computer Screen
I don’t know about you, but it’s so easy for me to become distracted when I’m working with a screen. Even while writing on my blog right now, I’m tempted to wander over to Facebook or check my email. I know there are all kinds of media-blocking apps and time management trackers—some of which I plan to try out and review in the coming months—but I honestly find it easier to begin by handwriting / brainstorming / webbing / listing my ideas, prior to tying and re-entering the world of the interwebs.
This also applies to my schedule. I carry with me a lovely Passion Planner, where I outline everything: work, homeschool, family, life—one week at a time. Again, this keeps me away from a screen and temptation, and is easy enough to edit when things change. Without the use of an electronic planner, I’m faced with one less reason to use and mindlessly peruse my phone.
Review Your Schedule and Decide When You’re Willing to Work
No matter what type of work you’re doing, you have to set clear boundaries. When are you willing to work? What type of work will you do? What compensation do you want or need? Knowing the answers to these questions will provide you a more productive work situation, and I believe the schedule is the most important. Look at all the time frames you’d be willing to work, and compare them to when you actually work.
Change Up Your Routine
Performing the above comparative work (when you work vs. when you’d be willing to work) may open your eyes to how you could vary your schedule. Physical Trainers highly recommend varied schedules and combinations when working out, for your body to perform optimally, and your work schedule is no different. By moving your writing time from the morning to midday, or spreadsheet creation from the evening to breakfast time, you may find an awareness and better mindset in the new time that you had lost to too much regularity or even prior poor scheduling decisions.
Know What Kind of Energy Fuels You Best
Finally, know what’s fueling you, and decide whether or not it’s best. Artists and writers are always talking about coffee and tea, and I am no exception. But when I am honest with myself, I know that copious amounts of water, and writing after a yoga session or walk in the morning, and writing again in the afternoon-evening after a high-intensity workout or dance routine, is my body and mind’s true love language for success, good writing, and productivity.
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