Short breaks are good for you

I don't know whether other freelance writers have similar habits, but often if I don't have something to force me to get up occasionally (such as laundry or letting the dogs in and out), I will sit at the computer for hours.  I saw an article the other day that says that's not a good idea, though.  Even taking short breaks from the computer and the desk chair can have an impact on your weight and your risk for heart disease.

I thought this was especially good information for my fellow freelance writers.  We certainly aren't the only group of workers who are susceptible to the problems of sitting sedentary all day long, but I think it's easier to do when you work from home.  You are more comfortable in your surroundings, and there are no water cooler or coworkers to distract you, so it's more likely that you'll sit still all day long without any incentive to get up and move around.

I also think, though it sounds counter intuitive, that failing to get up from time to time actually makes you less productive.  At least, it seems to with me.  When I sit in the same place for extended periods of time, I seem to be more easily distracted by Facebook, email, and what-have-you.  I think getting up and moving around occasionally probably prevents me from getting too sleepy, and that's why I work better when I do.

What about you?  Do you find that taking short breaks is good for your productivity, or bad?  Do you already get up a lot throughout your work time, or is this something you need to work on (whether for you productivity, or just for your health, as the article recommends)?

Struggling through it

I've definitely had a rough time coming back from holiday mode.  The last time I posted, I was struggling with my first week back.  Although I didn't accomplish everything I'd wanted to by the end of the week, I did get some of it done.  Last week went similarly — difficult to get going on Monday and Tuesday, and by the time I started feeling somewhat productive, the weekend was upon me!

This week, I actually planned a somewhat slow start.  I worked on Monday, even though many people I knew had the holiday off.  (Luckily, Michael had to work, otherwise I would have gotten virtually nothing done.  It's hard to work when he is home.)  I even completed what I had to do.  I had a powerful motivator: A book I'd been waiting for since November was coming out on ebook at midnight, and I wanted to take Tuesday off to allow me to read it.  I was even planning on staying up all night reading, but unfortunately I got tired and went to bed around 2am.

My "reading day" didn't go exactly as I'd hoped, but I'd planned one day off and one only.  So even though I'm still not finished with the book, here I am, back at work!  Even though it's Wednesday, since I didn't work yesterday it feels a bit like a Monday, so I'll make a few goals for the rest of the week.

1) To finish a project that has been hanging over my head for a while now;
2) To make post-holiday contact with a few regular clients and see about lining up some new work; and
3) To get back on track with my blogs.

Modest goals for only having three days left in the week, but important ones.  Since I lost virtually all of December to illness and holidays, I am feeling the pinch now from a lack of marketing, so drumming up some new work is high on my list of priorities!

This week's goals

I used to make New Year's resolutions every year, and post them on my blog, but in the last couple years I've been feeling a little disillusioned with that practice.  Usually I don't meet them — heck, I don't even remember them past about February (if that).

January has gotten a slow start for me this year, though.  I was sick for half of December, and the other half was filled with holiday preparations and celebrations, so on the whole it was a rather unproductive month.  And after a month of not being very productive, trying to put myself in a more productive frame of mind isn't going very well.

As a result, I've decided that even if I'm not going to make New Year's resolutions this year, I ought to at least make some goals for this week — what's left of it, that is.  Here they are:

1. To finish a couple of articles that were stalled when I got sick,
2. To reestablish contact with a few clients whom I haven't talked to since before I got sick, and
3. To finish a couple of (short) new assignments one of my biggest clients just assigned me.

Partly because I didn't work much in December, and partly because new work is always slow for me just after the holidays, I have more time on my hands than I would like right now.  My horse, naturally, already found a way to give me something to do, but I should still have time to meet these three goals.

Another goal I have in mind is to get back to work on my novel, which I haven't touched since mid-November, when it became clear that I was going to have to choose between NaNoWriMo and paying work.  Since I'm already halfway through this week, though, I'll save that particular goal for later.

If you've made New Year's resolutions on your blog, feel free to post a link in the comments.  Or, if you don't do New Year's resolutions, what short-term goals have you made recently?

Today is the day

...that I am going to start working on my novel again.  I may not be able to catch up, but I'm going to at least hold myself accountable to trying!

I've been wading through a lot of work the last few days.  I had a few things I'd intended to do over the weekend, but I got caught up reading, and got a little behind.  I'm finally about caught up, though, so I plan to sit down with my novel this evening.

I did the math, and with just over 17,000 words, I would have to write 2,358 words every day in order finish on time.  I think for now I will set my daily goal at 2,000, and try to get a couple of 5,000-word days in.  I did one 8,000-word day my first year (or was it 10,000 words?), and talk about burnout — but I think I could handle a couple of 5,000-word days.  Maybe, if I can get ahead on my client work, I can actually devote an entire day or two to my novel!

I've said before that my main goal is really to finish my novel this time around, so that I can finally revise it and start on the next one, but it would be really nice to have a 2010 NaNoWriMo winner badge to go with the completion of my own private goals.  I haven't "won" NaNoWriMo since the first year I did it, in 2006, and it would be awfully nice to change my "losing" trend.

Published NaNoWriMo novels you might have heard of

Things are not all fine in NaNoWriMo land.  I added to my word count later Friday night, after blogging about my few bad days, getting to 17,109 words.  And there I have stalled.  The problem was the weekend — we were busy, and I read with most of my spare time, not to mention I've had lots of paying writing to attend to.  Hopefully I can start working daily on my novel again, starting tomorrow.

In the meantime, here is a link to a wonderful little list of published NaNoWriMo authors.  How many of these writers or authors have you heard of?  Here is my (short) list of the ones I recognize:

* Amelia Atwater-Rhodes - I read her first novel in my YA lit class in college.  I could tell she was very young when she wrote it, though, so I wonder if her writing has matured any.  Her published NaNo novel was Persistence of Memory.

* Sara Gruen - Her NaNo novels, Flying Changes and Water for Elephants, are both really popular.  I've had a friend at the barn recommending both to me (as well as a third one, Riding Lessons) for almost a year now.  I'll definitely have to read them now that I know they are NaNo novels!

There are a few others on the list that seem vaguely familiar, but I don't know where I recognize them from.  What names or books on the list do you recognize?  Any surprises?

A few bad days

I've fallen a little behind on my novel the last few days.  It has nothing to do with my novel — no writer's block or anything — and everything to do with my time (or lack thereof).

On Wednesday, I had a very full day, very little of which involved working.  I spent an hour in the morning driving back and forth to the barn and taking Panama's blanket off.  Then I had lunch with my mom and sister, and spent the rest of the afternoon with my mom.  By the time evening rolled around, I hadn't gotten any of my regular work done, let alone my novel!  And while that is one of the things I love about freelancing — being able to change my schedule around when needed — it did mean that I had to spend my evening working on client projects rather than my own.

Yesterday was supposed to be my catch-up day, but it didn't turn out that way, for reasons I don't quite understand.  It was the perfect day for it — it was supposed to snow (it didn't, or at least not very much), so I planned to stay inside all day and work.  Ha!  It took me all day to get done what should have taken a few short hours.  I just don't know what happened!

I did get a little done on my novel last night — but, I'm afraid, only a little.  As in, 700 words, putting me at a grand total of 15,785 for the month — just over 4,000 words shy of where I should be at the end of tonight.

Unfortunately, I don't see today turning out much better.  I was at the barn for most of the day, and while I did take my laptop and get a little work done while I was there, I didn't get done nearly as much as I should have.  Therefore I still have some work to do this evening... which means, once again, not much time for working on my novel!

I hate falling behind, because there comes a point when you just know you are too far behind to catch up, and I am afraid I will reach that point within another day or two if I am not careful.  How is everyone else doing?  Are you meeting your goals — even if those goals aren't 1,667 words a day?

Reading, writing, and arithmetic

I've spent my days lately reading, writing, and adding to my word count.  I'm barely on track for NaNoWriMo with 15,056 words so far, but that works for me.  I've decided to rewrite a few scenes as I've been going along, filling in some of the parts I skipped over previously, so I may just be able to squeak out 50,000 words this year.

I also have been reading — a lot!  I got hooked on another series of books, this time the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning.  The last time I was this addicted to a series of books, so much that it interfered with writing, riding my horse, and everything else in my life, was when I read the Sookie Stackhouse books over the summer.  I finished all ten in just over a week!

This time the series was shorter, with just four books out right now.  Unfortunately I will have to wait until January 18th for the fifth and final book.  It's too bad I can't make myself slow down so I can enjoy them for a little longer — I read the second, third, and fourth books in about two days!  The timing wasn't good, either — with NaNoWriMo on top of all my normal activities, getting hooked on a new series meant I didn't get much done.  Oh well — at least there were only four books this time!

What has everyone else been up to so far this month?