Writing Goals: July 13-19
*Write 15,000 words for current SYZ chapter, to meet 20,000 words by Friday afternoon
Reached 19757, which considering how much I cut along the way would have been WAY over 20k.
*Write three Morning Pages each day
This has actually been great - feels much more complete than I expected, now that I'm allowing myself the time to write three full pages. Irony is, now they take less time, and I write faster!
*Write and illustrate an Artist's Prayer from 'The Artist's Way'
This was such a powerful exercise - but I did manage it.
*Continue posting daily at The Prosecco Life
Still managing this somehow.
*Put in time on the yoga mat daily
Every single day this week, baby! From 30-minute mini-flow to 60-minute classes to a sweaty 90-minute vinyasa podcast this morning.
Writing my chapter this week was rather weird. This was the chapter that I figured would be much shorter than all the others because I wouldn't have enough material. So I wrote, and wrote, and wrote some more. And then kept writing.
But WOW! was I wrong about not having enough to write about. After looking back at the other chapter drafts, this one is now the longest by a couple thousand words. Granted, this week I'll start the draft revising process so I can hand in a semi-polished draft, and words will be cut, but still. The problem is, however, that now I've realized just how much more needs to be written in the other chapters...But they're drafts, darn it! They are supposed to be revised and added to! Why do relatively-low word counts for the first two chapter drafts I wrote stress me out so much?
Rewards:
*Purchase the domain name for yogademia.comYes! Now I can begin moving TPL back over, and give Yogademia a makeover! If anything kept me going this week, this was the reward that did it.
*Get a monthly subscription to Yoga Today now that they've cut nearly all their free content.
I've been practicing with Yoga Today since they started a few years ago, posting a new free episode on iTunes every day, and I still love their classes. Their classes make me happier than any other virtual yoga, and I love the outdoor scenery.
SWIM interaction, comments, success and its rewards have all been so sweet! But I'm starting to run into the issue of creativity-boy balance.
First of all, let me say that my guy - known in blogland as Darcy for the simple fact that he's British and dreamy with the cutest accent, just like one Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy - has been 100% supportive of all this creativity-mongering. Even when I get up at 5 a.m. to write morning pages and he can't quite get back to sleep afterward, he still encourages and helps and inspires. When I freak out about my advisor and this #$*&^#($% pissertation, he's there to calm me. This guy wins all the prizes, I tell you.
So during the couple of hours we have together in the evening, I try to have my computer entirely OFF. This can be really difficult, because when we sit down together at night it's usually in front of television. Not only am I extremely picky about what I watch (TV or movies), I have an attention span of maximum two episodes. But if I sit next to him on the couch while he watches something more to his taste while I read blogs or the paper online, it can feel like we're not really paying anything the attention it deserves, particularly each other. If I leave the room so we can both focus on our activity of choice, that lack of attention to each other becomes even more pronounced. It makes me feel sometimes that I have to fit my life outside of him into the fifteen hours between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m., so I can spend the evening...watching television. This is not my ideal way to enjoy an evening with my favorite guy, but by the end of the day we are so freakin' pooped and ravenous that it's all we can do to crash together in front of television with our dinner at 9 p.m.
Have any of you been encountering this issue of balance with your partner/family/roommates/friends? Any suggestions on how to prioritize all this wonderful creative production without de-prioritizing your loved ones?
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Great the Yoga Today site. I have subscribed to the free stuff for now to see how I get on. I have been downloading Yogamazing in my i-tunes and I love it. Yoga Today seems to offer longer classes and, as you say, the scenary is amazing! Really uplifting!
ReplyDeleteAbout partner/creative production balance I am glad to see I am not the only one encountering some sort of problems. In my case, R (he's Irish and gorgeous, so creative himself and so supportive with all my creative endeavours). We have completely opposite work times. We only manage to see each other Sundays, when he is really tired (and sometimes I still have to work). We can also see each other Mondays and Tuesdays evening but, by then I'm sooooo tired that we end up crashing together in front of the TV. I'm not really into TV, unless there is a film or documentary or a programme that really interests me so I find exactly the same problem. I'm dying to switch my laptop on (which is looking at me from the coffee table). If I do that doesn't really feel like I'm spending any time with him. If I go to another room it feels even worse. If I stay and watch TV I become fidgety, frustrated and finally asleep. Because of his job he tends to go to bed very late. Because of mine (and my own routine) I tend to fall asleep early and get up early too (otherwise, bye bye morning pages and yoga). When I'm writing I can be isolated for hours and hours (otherwise I can't write). He's really supportive (since he writes aswell so he understands 'the artist's life') but I miss him very much and miss doing stuff, not just spending time tired in front of the TV. Something a friend of mine does, and I think it's a good idea, it's to set up a 'date' once a week. There is one evening that, no matter what, they go out and enjoy themselves outside the house (that's the key, otherwise the 'monster-TV' together with the monster 'tiredness' become a third party in the date). We make time for Artist's Dates; maybe we could use our creativity and committment and dedicate one evening to real quality time with our loved ones. I suppose it's not enough but it's a start. Sometimes I wonder how people with children manage...
Congratulations on your chapter!
I look forward to reading your blog this week that the ban is over! Yeah!
I am currently in a long distance relationship, which on one level really stinks because we are apart so often but, on another level, is good because it allows us each to have time to focus on our creative/personal/professional/academic endeavors. Next year when we (hopefully!) live closer to each other, or with each other, I worry that this will be much more of an issue for us.
ReplyDeleteWow you've been kicking ass!! I love hearing about it, too. :)
ReplyDeletep.s. I want my own Darcy!
first off, love your artist's prayer! that curly girl image is so powerful
ReplyDeleteand many congrats on achieving your word count goal for the week :)
now, as to partner balance, I think setting up a date night is a great idea. doesn't have to be the same night each week but just planning a special something for the two of you can be fun whether it's brunch out, a picnic, movie, etc. during the week night's, J & I have finally started sitting down to dinner together each night (this is easier during than summer than during the semester). It makes a huge difference to light some candles, open a bottle of wine and enjoy a meal on plates (even if it's takeout) away from the computer, tv, etc. Since he's now working on his phd & I'm doing my crazy writing thang, we usually go back to our corners after dinner & dessert (& maybe a little john stewart). So maybe if y'all take time for dinner w/o tv, then he can retreat to tv and you can do your yogademia thang afterward....