Oh the procrastination/distraction gremlin has its own little breeding programme going on in my head 🤣 Unhelpful little critters! This post speaks volumes to me, thank you. I’m a night owl that’s swapping to an early bird for word foraging and it seems to be helping. 😀 Good luck with it Pete 😉
The idea of breaking down the task into smaller blocks is helpful for me. Sometimes spending an hour writing is just too much, but 20 minutes seems more manageable. I have several draft articles going and add to them as I can.
I'm glad to see someone other than me thinking about this. I'm in this same boat kinda. I typically spend 50 hours a week on my computer for my day job of Pipeline Survey Data Technician/ Web Developer. I still do write (and code) a good bit in my off time. I normally go for a walk each evening when I get off of work for about 45 minutes to just get away from my desk and get some fresh air (plus I love walking). Then at night I either sit on the couch or in a chair in my living room and type in notes on my phone, tablet, or my personal laptop (MacBook M2 Air). I think the key for me is to just get away from my desk. I have a dedicated work computer and setup for that job but my personal projects are mine so I use my devices. Plus, I know I'm going to spend 50 hours a week at my desk so spending as much time away from it is important for me to not get burned out. You would be surprised what you can write and create with just 30 minutes a night typing in Google Docs (that's what I use across all my devices). Come Saturday or Sunday morning when you have some energy, you can assemble all of that into some quality content. I know everyone's situation is unique and there is no one size fits all. Both of my daughters are grown and my wife is understanding so I don't have a lot of family commitments to meet. That said, I still manage to publish 2 (different) curated newsletters each week and 1 technical article on my Developer blog each week. Consistently putting together small focused time increments for writing throughout the week works well for me.
I found that carrying a little spiral notebook was helpful, pulling it out at lunch and jotting down observations or quotes from the day: like a secret life, so different from being at the computer. And as you’ve suggested, a long walk after work was essential most days for decompressing.
Oh the procrastination/distraction gremlin has its own little breeding programme going on in my head 🤣 Unhelpful little critters! This post speaks volumes to me, thank you. I’m a night owl that’s swapping to an early bird for word foraging and it seems to be helping. 😀 Good luck with it Pete 😉
Excellent tips, thank you Cali.
The idea of breaking down the task into smaller blocks is helpful for me. Sometimes spending an hour writing is just too much, but 20 minutes seems more manageable. I have several draft articles going and add to them as I can.
I'm glad to see someone other than me thinking about this. I'm in this same boat kinda. I typically spend 50 hours a week on my computer for my day job of Pipeline Survey Data Technician/ Web Developer. I still do write (and code) a good bit in my off time. I normally go for a walk each evening when I get off of work for about 45 minutes to just get away from my desk and get some fresh air (plus I love walking). Then at night I either sit on the couch or in a chair in my living room and type in notes on my phone, tablet, or my personal laptop (MacBook M2 Air). I think the key for me is to just get away from my desk. I have a dedicated work computer and setup for that job but my personal projects are mine so I use my devices. Plus, I know I'm going to spend 50 hours a week at my desk so spending as much time away from it is important for me to not get burned out. You would be surprised what you can write and create with just 30 minutes a night typing in Google Docs (that's what I use across all my devices). Come Saturday or Sunday morning when you have some energy, you can assemble all of that into some quality content. I know everyone's situation is unique and there is no one size fits all. Both of my daughters are grown and my wife is understanding so I don't have a lot of family commitments to meet. That said, I still manage to publish 2 (different) curated newsletters each week and 1 technical article on my Developer blog each week. Consistently putting together small focused time increments for writing throughout the week works well for me.
I found that carrying a little spiral notebook was helpful, pulling it out at lunch and jotting down observations or quotes from the day: like a secret life, so different from being at the computer. And as you’ve suggested, a long walk after work was essential most days for decompressing.
Such great tips - thank you for sharing!
I've written entire novels on my phone. Google Docs is far from perfect, but it is a super low barrier of entry, and you can write from anywhere.
I love that you've started an advice column as part of Gentle Creative (and I resonate with the advice itself, too)!