August 11, 2010

There are days you wake up feeling ache-y because, although you slept hard, you slept funny. There’s a kink in your back or neck. Something isn’t right.

Some evenings your spirit feels “not quite right” as well. Could it be that on those days you worked hard, but you “worked funny”?

Self-Deception

This idea of working “funny” came from Seth Godin’s blog a few days ago, and it really made me think. He said that there are days you work long and hard, convinced that you’ve accomplished something–but you haven’t.

We react, respond, put out fires, attend to others’ projects, answer emails, go to meetings, check off items on a list–yet we’re out of sorts and feel lousy and unproductive at the end of the day.

Which One is You?

I vacillate from one extreme to another, it seems. For example, yesterday, before doing any lessons or blogging or emails, I wrote more than three hours on a novel I had been neglecting for weeks. Then I felt productive and happy and satisfied.

The previous weeks, though, I worked funny. I attended to lengthy lists of chores and office jobs daily, but felt dissatisfied and unproductive. (Truthfully, “working funny” is harder on my spirit than sleeping badly.) Despite being exhausted by evening, I felt restless as well.

Self-Reflection Time

If you’re a writer, I suspect you can identify with the “working funny” dissatisfaction and restlessness described above. Or is it just me?

How does skipping your writing in favor of other busy work make you feel at the end of the day?

14 Comments »

1. 

   My “Things to Do List” is a tool. Whenever the tool controls me, I feel out-of-sorts. Frustration levels rise as I see the query letters not getting written or the markets not searched out. I have enough writing chores to keep me busy, but there is always something else that is screaming at me from other sources demanding to be done. And that’s not funny. Thanks so much for posting this. It’s helpful knowing I’m not alone…

   Comment by Crystal Blanchard — August 11, 2010 @ 11:52 am

2. 

   Crystal, that’s a good point! When the to-do list starts to rule me, I get growly too. And even if I do the marketing stuff before the writing, I feel frustrated. Somehow, though, if the writing get done first, the rest doesn’t bother me.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — August 11, 2010 @ 6:33 pm

3. 

   Any kind of work that lives primarily in my head–writing, reading, research, surfing the web, balancing the checkbook–leaves me restless and unsatisfied. I finally realized I have to do something physical that produces visual progress (such as vacuum the den, put away laundry, wipe down the kitchen counters)to break out of my restlessness and feel productive.

   Comment by Heather — August 11, 2010 @ 7:01 pm

4. 

   Heather, that’s a new one to me! If I am thinking only, it makes me restless too. But typing or writing makes me feel productive. We’re all so different, aren’t we?

   Comment by Kristi Holl — August 11, 2010 @ 7:02 pm

5. 

   Boy Howdy! I even feel guilty when I write these days. Shouldn’t I be spending that precious time reading books in my genre? Studying plot and structure? Never mind the counters and little bottoms that need wiping!

   Comment by Heather Kephart — August 11, 2010 @ 7:03 pm

6. 

   Heather, it IS hard when there are more demands on your time than there are hours in the day! With little ones, you’re at such a busy time of life. I used to prioritize my days according to guilt. (It doesn’t work, by the way, but I’m still tempted to do that!) Fight the guilt!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — August 11, 2010 @ 9:37 pm

7. 

   And the worst part it’s those “funny” days pile, once I don’t write in a day then it’s suddenly three or five days in a row…

   I think it’s about needing to get lost at least once a day. The surprises a story hold (and wont reveal to me unless I actually sit down and write it) are the best food for my soul.

   The days I don’t get any writing done but I am able to turn off the computer and paint, and get lost in the painting, I am in peace, but the days I do only logical things, chores and mapped stuff and publishers stuff, I get terrible moods that, as Crystal said, are NOT funny.

   Comment by Laia — August 12, 2010 @ 8:28 am

8. 

   Laia, I’m like you. On the days I do the creative work–even if I don’t produce a lot–it takes care of the restless “I didn’t do anything important today” feeling.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — August 12, 2010 @ 12:40 pm

9. 

   Oh, yes! I can identify with your “working funny” feelings completely. I’m glad to know that I am not alone. I’ve had a growly week.

   Today I was able to hide away in a library study room for two blissful hours. Other encouragement came from reading an interview with Kent Brown from HIGHLIGHTS in the ICL e-News (7.29.10).

   Comment by Deanna — August 12, 2010 @ 3:47 pm

10. 

    Deanna, that’s a great combination of things to do to overcome the “growlies.” Reading something inspirational for writers gets me in the mood to work too. It helps “prime the pump.”

    Comment by Kristi Holl — August 13, 2010 @ 7:42 pm

11. 

    Yep, I’m a working funny type of person. It’s nice to know I’m not alone, but I’ve got to get to where I’m more productive with my day and my writing. Thanks for another great post!

    Comment by Susanne Drazic — August 14, 2010 @ 8:09 am

12. 

    Susanne, you’re welcome! Most of us need to be more productive–including me!

    Comment by Kristi Holl — August 14, 2010 @ 9:44 am

13. 

    Hi Kristi,

    I love this post. And it is so true. I write about this topic a lot on my own writing blog because I find that it is one of the hardest things that I have to do as a writer–to focus on the task at hand and to get my writing done without feeling that I have to do all the other ancillary things. Organization is one of the hardest things for writers to learn. And, I think, I will never completely master it.

    Have a good weeekend!
    Irene

    Comment by Irene — August 14, 2010 @ 11:50 am

14. 

    Irene, you’re right–it’s one of the hardest things to overcome. And it seems to be a constant, ongoing project! But then, life keeps changing, so we have to keep adjusting to new things. Hope you’re having a good weekend too.

    Comment by Kristi Holl — August 14, 2010 @ 7:48 pm

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