One part of finding momentum and working to dedicate a bit of energy to some projects that I’ve been neglecting for a while. I’ve written a bit about finding the rhythm of my current routine, I’ve not written about what I’m actually doing. I hope this isn’t too boring for words.
Since the end of July, I’ve chosen to undertake a 2 hour each-way commute. Thankfully it’s all by rail, so the thought is that while I might not have a lot of time at home, I have more than enough time to get work done, of any sort, on the train. In practice my ability to actually get work done on the train is awful. In the past few weeks I’ve gotten a bunch better at this, and have actually managed to write fiction, get back on the blogging bandwagon, and stay on top of emails, and even reading a bit.
Here’s how a typical days works. I have a 20 minute train ride, a three to five minute walk, a 20 minute train ride, 10-15 minutes of waiting, and then 40 minutes of a train ride. Reversed in the evening. The first/last trains are sometimes standing room only. I try and spend the second and third train in the morning on the computer writing blog posts and fiction. If I can write first thing in the morning I can take it, but I always think about what writing needs to be done. On the way home I wrap up loose ends, read email, and at least a couple of days a week I get some knitting try to read and knit.
And it works. Most of the time, or at least enough of the time, for me to be able to notice that I’m actually doing things. I think as much anything, I’ve been able to get a much clearer idea of what I can expect to accomplish in any given time span, which makes it much easier and more productive to make a todo list. I think the main purpose of keeping a todo list is to focus working times so that I never find myself thinking “I have a few free moments, what should I work on today,” because the list tells me these things. If I know how much time I have, about, I know how to best spread out tasks for optimal working without ever needing to waste time wondering what I ought to be working on. It seems to work.
In the end, the novel keeps getting longer and closer to the end. I’m starting to think that I may be a bit too ahead of myself on the blog. My sweater-in-progress gets longer, and the progressing bar on my kindle progresses. That’s worth something.