I got into Washington DC yesterday, and it was a good flight. No drama. No missed flight. No snoring seat-mate, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I did not sleep my way through the flight. I read one of the million books I packed to read while on my two months trip. Two days ago, I started reading
"The Anti 9 to 5 Guide: Practical CAREER Advice for WOMEN who Think Outside the CUBE" by
Michelle Goodman. I got way into it on my flight from Minneapolis into DC. Goodman is a freelance writer, and has been since 1992.
I am not ditching 9 to 5, at least not yet. I need it to pay the bills, but I have always dreamed of doing more creative work outside of working 9 to 5. :)
JostWrite is a step towards fulfilling that dream, and there are a few more ideas I am toying with. I bought this book alongside the author's second book
"My So-Called Freelance Life." I was going for the latter, but got curious about what she had to say in her first book. She is successful at freelancing, and I felt she would have a few advice for cute little me.
The book, thus far, is common sense, but she does have a few tips that are useful especially in the area of procrastination and getting started. Many of the career women, small business owners, entrepreneurs and WRITERS she interviewed confessed that they suffer from huge doses of no motivation and a desire to sit in front of the TV and watch reruns of "Criminal Minds." Not that I suffer from such a sad predicament, but I am freaking glad others suffer from it. :) It makes me feel better about how procrastination and a desire to watch Ellen DeGeneres show all day is NOT my problem. :)
Her practical advices for writers who procrastinate are things I started implementing a few weeks ago. After several trial and error, I realized I don't mind sitting at a computer at home all day, I actually enjoy it. It saves me the time I take to get to a coffee shoppe, set up, get connected to the internet, buy a muffin and latte, chat with the cute Barista, settle down, greet all the familiar people around me, and then FINALLY GET TO WORK. A bookstore is equally dangerous, I can spend hours browsing books before I finally find a spot to sit and work.
I concluded that I work better at home, at my desk, showered and dressed (even in a pj). I am also more motivated if I work on several projects during the day allocating about two hours to each. It keeps my mind happy. I reward myself for about 10 mins after the end of a project by browsing Facebook, reading a blog or two, surfing the internet, pinning a few images, doing the boogie dance or just daydreaming about my parents' cute neighbor. After my 10 minutes plus the few seconds minutes half-hour of overtime, I get on the next project. This is working just fine, and I intend to keep this system for as long as it works. It beats panting over one project all day with my tougue dangling like a German Sherperd dog. I love dogs btw and would like to get one. I actually like cats a lot more, but I am terribly allergic and I don't want a fur-less one...they are ugly (sorry if you own one.) Okay, I digress...
I'm glad I bought the book and I look forward to implementing more of her advices. An exercise she had readers complete in the first chapter gave me some insights, so if nothing else comes out of reading (which I doubt), I will be satisfied.
I am writing from Maryland today, and I plan to be home all day working hard on some projects. I went running late this morning, and got behind my computer later than usual. But, hey I am behind my computer and that is all that really matters.
If you work from home, if you are self employed, if you are an entrepreneur or are simply a lazy bum...what do you do to get and stay motivated?
Beloved, You are Loved Absolutely!