Music Makes it Easier

October 29, 2010 by

This is Friday, and for the foreseeable future, Friday posts are about lessons learned through my attempts to be healthier.

Anyone who knows me knows that music is a big deal to me. Even in my writing, when I’m trying to get inside a character’s head, I will create a play list of their favorite music. It helps me to understand who they are and how they will react to given situations.  But this week I was reminded how music can effect how we endure a work out.

The gym where I’ve been working out is relatively new and each piece of  cardio equipment has its own TV. So for the first few weeks I used the bike time to catch up on the news, but that did little to push me through an extra few minutes when the muscles started screaming uncle.

Than I remembered how, on previous attempts, music helped me set a pace and while saying “just do three more minutes” seemed impossible, working through one more song isn’t so bad.  A mental trick? Yes, but whatever works, right?

So, last week and this week I experimented with different play lists and albums to try and find the one that worked the best. I’ve also been reading Late, Late at Night (The Rick Springfield Biography) and while reading the section where he discussed the Shock Denial Anger Acceptance album, I remembered how much I liked the driving beat of that album and used it three days last week. Those were the days I was able to endure the longest.

Over the weekend I want to try to create some play lists with a variety of songs that would give me 45 minuets of a driving beat with one or two songs to warm up/cool down to on either side.

Any suggestions?

Filed Under: Life, Road to Fitness, Writing Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Wasted (Time and Space)

October 25, 2010 by

You only have to scroll back through recent (often spotty) posts to know that my life’s gone a bit crazy on me lately.

With added responsibilities with the family and new obligations to my health which require several hours of my time a week, I find myself missing my self-imposed writing goals and deadlines for my work. I wanted to draft another manuscript by the end of the year, and to complete this I’m going to have to make some huge word count gains in the coming weeks.

Not meeting my goals usually makes me feel like I wasn’t managing my time well.  “Look at all that time you spent sleeping at night! You slouch,” That internal voice scolds. Isn’t it easy to get caught up in those sort of cycles? Feeling guilty about not completing a task on time can suck away the desire to continue moving forward, which, in turn, leads to more less-than-productive days.

So my plan for this week is to try and keep myself from falling down that rabbit hole.

A few tidbits I’m trying to remind myself of and follow this week to feel less like I’m wasting time and more like I’m being productive:

  • Keeping a notebook in my purse — Never underestimate the value of five minutes. Whether I’m waiting for the kid to come out of the classroom or sitting at a traffic light, noting great ideas for my W-I-P or even making a grocery list helps to save larger blocks of time for later.
  • Logging my progress — When a big list doesn’t get done, it’s easy to take on some sort of blame. Logging what you actually accomplish can give you a realistic look at progress.
  • Avoiding dietary pitfalls — When I’m under stress the first thing I reach for is comfort food: Chocolate, cookies, a pasta meal. All of these will later sap my energy and make me too tired in the evenings to do anything. Taking the extra ten minutes to make a nice salad for lunch will make up for itself with no carb-coma later.
  • Permission to be less-than-perfect — This one may feel like a cop out, but it’s not. (I swear!) I’m talking about giving myself permission to fail, but instead permission to not feel guilty and take the unfinished portion of my to-do list and figure it out how to get that done in the next 24-48 hours depending on the priority of the task. Less stress, more production later.

Wish me luck!

Do any of you have ideas for using your time effectively?

Filed Under: Life, Writing Life Tagged With: , ,

Pushing Through the Pain

October 22, 2010 by

As mentioned last week, Fridays are going to be devoted to short pieces about my fitness journey and how it ties to the writing dream.

Anyone who begins a new fitness routine or picks an old sport back up is familiar with the phrase “pushing through the pain.” When you begin to use muscles that have had time to lay dormant, they resist. Everything aches and it just brings you down. “Push through the pain,” we’re told, “and it will get better.”

And for those that do it does.

But doesn’t that adage apply to so much more than our physical being?

Yes, my first two weeks with this new fitness plan meant my body hurt. And not my arm is sore or my legs are stiff. My body–all of it–hurt. But I also had another couple of mishaps that bruised my ego (and more).

As I said on Wednesday, we can adopt the “Life hurts, get a helmet” philosophy, but a more accurate philosophy is to push through the pain. And I’m not just talking about developing that thick, calloused writer skin that’s supposed to act like Teflon when rejections are hurled at you. I’m talking about getting up in the morning to find the car battery dead, or that your kid is sick and will be staying home from school (altering ALL your plans for the day.)

I’ve mentioned before I’m not good at handle monkey wrenches thrown into my life, but after the last couple weeks in the gym, I’m trying to take the lesson learned there and apply it to the rest of my life.

I’m holding my head up high and pushing through the pain.

Filed Under: Life, Uncategorized, Writing Life Tagged With: ,

Momentum, Easier to Stop Than You Might Think

October 20, 2010 by

A while back I, on the advice of a friend, I subscribed to this motivational quote-a-day email thing.  As is often the case, some days they pull little to no reaction from me: an “oh, that’s a nice thought” before I hit the delete button and move on with my day.  Other days–like today for instance–they hit home in a way that is almost eerie.

I guess to make the most sense, I have to back up day.  :::Insert wavy line via Wayne’s World as we go into the flashback::

Even before I’d finished my first cup of coffee I’d received two separate emails that reminded me just how hard this business is and how it’s meant for those with thick skins. But even those of us who’ve developed big, thick body calluses it’s easy to have the wind taken out of our sails.

It’s not often I’m left feeling totally defeated, but I am human and it does happen. Some self-talk and a pick me up from close friends had me brushed off and ready to fight again by days end. And then in this mornings email…

[::more wavy lines::]

“If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reminding me that (to coin another phrase) Life’s hard! Get a helmet!

So, I don’t know if there’s a moral to the story, but maybe it can serve as a reminder that no matter how hard the climb or long the race, you can get there one step at a time.

I’ll end this post full of encouraging words and wisdom from others with this video:

Filed Under: Life, Writing Life Tagged With: , ,

A New Journey

October 15, 2010 by

Last week I made one of those life altering decisions (or what could be a life altering decision). And I wasn’t too far into the process before I realized I wanted to share some of this new endeavor here.

First, I joined a health club, but that isn’t the life-altering part. I’ve done this before, went for a few weeks and then stopped because I wasn’t seeing changes fast enough. So the part that I think will make it different this time is I also hired a personal trainer. My motivation for doing this was a little out of the ordinary as well. I’m not going to deny that weight loss and getting in shape weren’t part of it, of course they were. But the biggest motivation came from pain — and trying to manage the arthritis in my S/I joint.

Don’t worry – I’m not about to make this about what I eat every day or how my trainer tortured me this week. There are plenty of fitness and diet blogs out there written by people much more qualified than I am to pontificate on the subject. What I thought would be interesting to share is how/if the changes do help my pain management like I hope, how they effect my energy levels, etc. I’d also like to share myths (held by me) as they are shattered and how I balance the time out of the chair, when as writers we’re constantly told the best thing we can do for our career is get our buts IN the chair (and ignore our widening backside).

So, for as long as I feel like I have something to say on the subject, I’m devoting Fridays to this topic. And will break the ice with a few interesting facts/busted myths I encountered this week.

  • Arby’s Marketfresh sandwiches are not a healthy choice. — Just yesterday I was out running errands etc much longer than planned when hunger hit good and hard.  Thinking “turkey, whole grain bread, should be a good choice” I turned into an Arby’s a picked up just the sandwich and a drink.  Imagine my surprise when I looked up the nutrition data and found out it was 710 calories with 28 grams of fat. (A Wendy’s single has over 300 less calories — and 7 less grams of fat.)
  • Cell hydration – I do know the importance of drinking water and not getting dehydrated, but at one of my initial meetings was the first time I knew they could measure the hydration of your cells…and that by that measure I was dehydrated. (Also didn’t know a body will not burn fat if you’re dehydrated.)
  • It ain’t that bad – Also had a test that told the doctor, trainer and I my body fat/muscle ratios.  Don’t get me wrong. It’s not good, but it’s not as bad as I thought it was. (Isn’t that always the case?)
  • Owe! There’re muscles there?! — ‘nuf said.
Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , ,

From Time to Time

October 11, 2010 by

Time management–it’s one of the toughest things we face in this rush-rush world. When your trying to take a passion and turn it into a career, prioritizing becomes the order of the day.

I’m an obsessive list maker: task lists, grocery lists, album/book inventory lists…so developing a proirity list is not only easy but fun. The real problem comes when I try to stick to that list.

Part of my compulsive behavior means when life’s surprises pop up and throw a monkey wrench into the day. I don’t handle it too well. So, what’s the answer? Here are some time management tips that help keep me on track.

  • Don’t over schedule - Be reasonable with your time. Goals that pus you are great, but always falling short leaves you frustrated.
  • Build in buffers — If you expect something to take twenty minutes, plan for twenty-five or thirty. Don’t make the buffers huge, but enough to allow for errors and unexpected issues.
  • Prioritize – When possible schedule your most important items early in the day. That way, the big (and most important) items get crossed off the to-do list.
  • Be Flexible – Try to take life (and it’s little surprises) as they come.
  • Pat Yourself on the Back – Recognize your accomplishments. Even if you fall short some days, look at what you did finish!  Every little bit counts in the grand scheme of things.

What are some of your time management tips?

Filed Under: Life, Writing Life Tagged With: ,

Choices, A Character Study

October 6, 2010 by

Monday’s post, which touched on a tough decision that has been rattling my cage lately, brought forth quite a bit of discussion. (Thanks for that!) And got me thinking about the choices our characters are faced with and the roads we have them take.

They tough, of course. It wouldn’t be a journey if everything was simple and fun. And sometimes the road the hero or heroine goes skipping down, leads  to a dark place.

When we, as writers, create situations where characters have to make choices, they are tough by design. It’s common knowledge that they shouldn’t be thinking I’ll take the road on the left because it’s newly paved. No their choices should be between which option sucks less. The road on the right goes through a jungle where I might be attacked by lions and tigers and bears, but if I take the road on the left, there are numerous sink holes, tar pits and quicksand patches…not to mention the boogie man. And no matter which road they take, you better fulfill your promise and have Mr. Hero or Miss Heroine meet up with at least half of the obstacles you foretold.

In other words, they need to mimic real life.

Sure, we are all faced with choices, where the correct answer is clear and simple. But the majority of them — the one’s that will make an imprint on our minds and stay with us for a long time — are the tough ones. The decisions that kept you up nights and nearly gave you a stomach ulcer. The ones you second guessed yourself on for weeks after the fact. These are the real choices, and the kinds of decisions that will just as strong of an impact on your reader.

Remember this next time you’re working on your outline (if your a plotter) or working your way through a scene (for us pantsters) the tougher the decision and the harder the choices, the higher the tension.

In other words, keep it real.

Filed Under: Life, Writing Life Tagged With: , , ,

Change, A Closing Door

October 4, 2010 by

It’s been said that you have to close one door in order to open another, but walking away from what is known can be hard. True, fear can be a powerful motivator, but sometimes that motivation happens in a negative way.

I’ve heard of people–other writers–who hesitate, hang on to their work instead of submitting, all because they are comfortable in the status quo and the unknown is just that.

So, the real issue is learning to overcome that fear and have enough faith in oneself to embrace what tomorrow might hold.

I’m at just such a turning point. I feel if I want to make the next forward movement in my writing career I need to let go of some of the things that monopolize my time. I’ve had this notion for a long time, but for some reason–fear maybe–have been able to make that last step.

I need to close a door, so another can open.

How do you handle/face change?

Filed Under: Life, Writing Life Tagged With: ,

A Little Friday Pick-Me-Up

October 1, 2010 by

Writing might be cathartic and creative, but the business of punishing is methodical, and let’s face it, hard. It’s easy to get discouraged, and sometimes we just need to take a little break and feed the soul. Whether it be with music, a good movie, or a book, feeding the spirit is just as important as all the hard work.

For your Friday, here’s a motivational pick-me-up:

Filed Under: Life, Writing Life Tagged With: ,