Found via WOYP: 50 Strategies for Making Yourself Work. Although this is meant mainly for writers, there’s some good general advice there, too.
Work avoidance is one of the major paradoxes of the writing profession. Generally, writers want to write (or want to have written), but all too often we find ourselves doing anything else but. We’ll mow lawns, do the dishes, polish silverware–anything to keep from facing the blank page. At the same time we know we eventually have to get to work, so we come up with all sorts of strategies for forcing ourselves to the keyboard.
I can personally vouch for many of them, including the “put the wristwatch in the drawer” one, as I tend to overwatch the clock when I’m facing a blank page. Not knowing the time helps me forget about the long moments of nothingness, and keeps me focussed. Of course, on a computer this isn’t so easy.
January 20th, 2005
Sorry for the dearth of posting as of late. Having a hard time thinking, especially in the off-hours when I normally write in this blog.
During a recent weekend excursion into St. John’s (our province’s captital) to deliver workshops, I appear to have picked up one of the worst colds I’ve ever had. You probably know the type: all you want to do is lie down, but when you do, the urge to choke, cough and sneeze jolts you back upright. Meanwhile, all your senses function as if you were immersed in aspic, and your brain is mired in thick pea soup. You want to cry out, “pity me, pity me!” but your throat is too swollen to do anything except constrict in pain at every involuntary and unexpected bark. Every joint creaks, every muscle is stiff, and your body is slow, bloated, heavy and barely responsive. Your focus is gone, your motivation kaput, your stress amplified, and your attention… what was I saying?
I seem to remember wanting to make a point, but it appears to have slipped my mind….
Yes, must keep a to-do list in front of my face. Must assume long-term memory doesn’t work. Must avoid letting my mind wander. Must have more medication….
January 20th, 2005