The Three D's

I can think of no reason in the world why I'd want to tell you about today. I am very boringly lying around, suffering from Post-Travel Syndrome. By that I mean the stress from all that fun in Spain and Italy got to me, or maybe it was the horrendous plane ride home, with more bizarre delays and problems than I've ever seen before. At any rate, some bug got past my lowered immune system, and I'm in pobvious need of an antibiotic. That's all that's fit to share.

So let's go to a Make-Believe Day. A sort of composite. I'm not really sure that you won't find my tales of woe over the latest bout with germs, but here goes.

I quit the day job about four years ago, and hoped to write full time. I remember telling myself I would not be one of those people who couldn't seem to write without the external structure of a job. Unfortunately, I have found it hard to buckle down when I don't have Disaster or Deadline looming over me. But I'm getting better at practicing personal Discipline. I think what I really need to do is dump all the responsibilities I've taken on in the belief that I have plenty of time. I don't. There are still only 24 hours in a day.

So I'm now concentrating on those three D's: Disaster, Deadline, Discipline. One of those three has to motivate me, and if I don't have either of the first two, I will if I don't apply the third one.

I still have that lifelong mindset that rising anytime before 7:00 a.m. is somehow obscene. Yet, maybe because I had to do it for so long, I usually do. But instead of dressing in work clothes, I don a muu muu, one of several I have bought in Hawaii. In the winter, sweats will be substituted. Coffee, feed the cats, breakfast and newspaper. The daily Sudoku, which I prefer to do online. Do various household chores that look like they've been suffering from neglect.

Then back upstairs to my laptop. I've been working on my own bed since I was a teenager. That's where I did my homework, and now that's where I work. That new office? Well sometimes. If Jeff is sleeping, or I'm being bothered too much, I go there. But old habits feel comfortable, I guess. Besides, it looks like one of the grandsons is coming back, so I guess the lace curtains and stuff will go back into storage again.

I have to check my email. News. See how my videos are doing. Email again. If I'm really on a roll or have a deadline, though, I'm much more focused. When I have cover art assignments, I do them, but if possible I start writing fairly early even though I'm not much of a morning writer.

I usually do the reading or editing tasks early. Right now, I'm finishing judging a contest and have to finish the galleys for APHRODITE'S BREW, which are due tomorrow. I'll be setting up a new blog called In Search of Heroes, and need to at least get it registered today so the new addy can go in the back of the book.

It's not likely I'll actually get to the creative side of writing today because of all these things that must be done today, but normally I would begin on new work in the afternoon and evening. My lunch is whenever, and usually consists of cheese with ham or maybe another protein food. I avoid the carbs, which can produce an afternoon crash just when I'm getting started. Sometime in the middle of the afternoon I'll usually get on the swing glider and do about 30 minutes. I'm testing a new style which is said to be a better calorie-burner and aerobic benefit, with periodic bursts of 30 to 60 seconds of the most vigorous exercise I can do. I think it's true. But I'm not consistent enough yet.

I'm likely to work into the evening and night, especially when I'm going strong. Fortunately for me, hubby and son do most of the evening cooking, so I can't really say I don't have time. I just have too many things I shouldn't have to do, and that's my own fault. I'm letting more and more of them go, but it still seems that more new stuff comes along to replace it.

In a way I feel proud of myself that I've said no so many times lately. Even for the political campaigns, about which I feel strongly, I've had to face the fact that I really need to be doing my job, and I'm not about to go door to door persuading my neighbors to vote for my candidate anyway.

So my challenge for the coming year is to keep my focus, and continue to pare down on extraneous stuff.

Trim, trim, trim. Write, write, write. D, D, D. If there's no Disaster or Deadline, then I'd better pull out the Discipline.




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