I wrote that with a Monty Python accent, not sure if it comes through.
I really am feeling better. I sent the packages that had to go out of town on Friday, cleaned the house and finished decorating the tree on Saturday then had tea with the USOC ladies on Sunday.
Today, I finished my Christmas shopping at lunch. Thanks, Barnes & Noble! And manager Dave, who recognized me and came to my aid. A hot non-fiction book only displayed at the back of the fiction section. Silly me for not looking there. Anyway, that's done. Huge sigh of relief at the register and much bantering with the gal at the checkout. Love B&N employees. One in particular, but almost all of them chat about what you're buying and such.
My for-no-reason-in-particular vacation day also worked wonders. I finally watched Pan's Labyrinth. What a beautiful and horrible movie. I understand now what everyone was talking about. My nephew had said that it was the most violent movie he'd ever seen. This is the guy who grew up on what he calls slash and hack films. I'm not sure I could have taken the brutality without the fairy tale element intertwined. Of course, most fairy tales are brutal. But when it's called fantasy, it seems easier to deal with.
Then last night I watched a fluffy little bit of fun called The Holiday. I knew exactly how it would turn out after the first five minutes, but it was still fun. Surprisingly, there was no real chemistry between Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. There was, however, a spark between Jack Black and Kate Winslet. Half the scenes they're in together, she looks like she's trying desperately not to laugh. As an aside, Alex O'Loughlin, who plays the sexy vampire on Moonlight, has a cameo in the beginning of the movie as Kissing Guy.
I also made some tasty but somewhat healthy cookies to bring in for snacks so I don't go for the chocolate and preservatives. Key word there is "tasty".
So just a general day of putting a drop or two back in the old well. Not quite a refilling [see Jenny's blog for an explanation if you're not familiar with Julia Cameron], but a start. Even with so little, I had a dream that may be a plot for another novel. I'll have to let it stew a while. And it's given me a taste for a fuller refill. There's an exhibit of Impressionist and Modern art at the Fine Art Center that I'm taking myself to see--possibly next weekend. There are a few movies out in the theater that I want to see. I have a wine date with a friend. I have Jenny's FJR to read, plus a couple other books I've been wanting to dip into. And I have a pattern and yarn for a new sweater.
So right now all I'm worrying about writing is Morning Pages. Another Julia Cameron thing. Writing three pages a day off the top of your head. A way to get out the gunk and get the juices flowing. I mentioned in my goal update for the week that I'm writing every day but cheating. Actually, what I'm doing is making up for days I don't write. So if I miss Saturday and Sunday--which happens a lot for some reason--then on Monday I may put a heading of 12/17/07 Monday for Saturday. I'll write the three pages. If I have three more in my, I'll head the next one 12/17/07 Monday for Sunday. And so on until I'm writing for whatever day it is. I did this one other time and, after getting four days behind for some reason and making myself catch up, I didn't skip any days for well over a month.
Amazing how just a few little things can turn a mood around.
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
From Tension to Stress
What is it about this time of year? I don't have nearly the amount of presents to buy or promises to keep as most of the people I know. Yet I am feeling really stressed out. I just came off a 4-day migraine that was probably equal parts stress, winter weather and not eating correctly (because of the stress thing). I'm watching the snow coming down, making the roads even more fun to drive on going home than they were coming to work--and they were BAD coming to work.
So what to do? Here's my plan of attack. Which may be an oxymoron when talking about getting rid of stress, but there you go.
1) Lists. Once I have everything I need to do in a list, it makes it seem more manageable.
2) Divvying up the tasks. I tend to try to overdo. [Okay, I hear all of you out there with your sarcastic, "Oh, yeah?"s.] Since I really don't want to get out on the roads today, I keep thinking, "Tomorrow at lunch I'll . . . " I've listed things that will take 4 hours to do on my one-hour lunch break. And none of them involve actually eating lunch. So 2 list items tops at lunch and one after work. There's still Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week. Plus some time next week, too.
3) Let a few things go. Always the hardest for me. But it does help to identify an item or two that I don't really need to get done right now and take them off the list until next year.
4) Do something fun just for the hell of it. Again, a hard one when I'm already feeling overbooked. But stopping for a cup of gingerbread coffee and reading a chapter or two of a book or shooting the bull with a friend I haven't seen in a while can be just what I need to energize for all those other tasks.
5) Take care of my health. That means eating right and making time to exercise. The temptation is to grab Micky D's or some other high-fat, high-cal, high-bad food and eat it in the car. Not conducive to feeling at my best. Pack lunch.
See, I feel better already. So what do you do to relieve stress? Is writing, or not writing, involved?
So what to do? Here's my plan of attack. Which may be an oxymoron when talking about getting rid of stress, but there you go.
1) Lists. Once I have everything I need to do in a list, it makes it seem more manageable.
2) Divvying up the tasks. I tend to try to overdo. [Okay, I hear all of you out there with your sarcastic, "Oh, yeah?"s.] Since I really don't want to get out on the roads today, I keep thinking, "Tomorrow at lunch I'll . . . " I've listed things that will take 4 hours to do on my one-hour lunch break. And none of them involve actually eating lunch. So 2 list items tops at lunch and one after work. There's still Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week. Plus some time next week, too.
3) Let a few things go. Always the hardest for me. But it does help to identify an item or two that I don't really need to get done right now and take them off the list until next year.
4) Do something fun just for the hell of it. Again, a hard one when I'm already feeling overbooked. But stopping for a cup of gingerbread coffee and reading a chapter or two of a book or shooting the bull with a friend I haven't seen in a while can be just what I need to energize for all those other tasks.
5) Take care of my health. That means eating right and making time to exercise. The temptation is to grab Micky D's or some other high-fat, high-cal, high-bad food and eat it in the car. Not conducive to feeling at my best. Pack lunch.
See, I feel better already. So what do you do to relieve stress? Is writing, or not writing, involved?
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Want vs. Need
In my first marketing class back in college we learned that marketing is about taking wants and turning them into perceived needs. I believe the quote was "Because we know that no one really needs three pairs of red shoes" to which I responded "Of course you do--flats, mid-heels, and high heels." Apparently, marketing had been very successful with me.
Then in one of my accounting classes, we talked about money management. In order to create and stick to a budget, you have to identify what your real needs are. You may really want something, but that doesn't mean you need it. In this case, need trumps want.
A few years after I was out of school, I read an article about managing stress. It stated that there are certain words that contribute to our feelings of stress. These include should, ought and need. Need as in "I need to write two chapters today." Instead, it's less stressful to think, "I want to write two chapters today." Only slightly because two chapters after a full day of work....
Anyway, I've been thinking a bit about want vs. need when it comes to my writing. Because I do feel a need to write. And I don't think that's a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I think it's something that is true for each and every one of the Rogue Pirates (of Snickerdoodle). [Aside: I'm listening to an old radio play on i-Tunes and it's about pirates--arrrr] This is something we have to do. But when I write in my morning pages that I need to write x amount, I do feel a tightening across my shoulders. If I write that I want to accomplish x, the tightness doesn't show up.
So, do you need to write? Do you want to write? Is there a difference? Do you think it would matter if you set goals as things you want to accomplish as opposed to need?
Then in one of my accounting classes, we talked about money management. In order to create and stick to a budget, you have to identify what your real needs are. You may really want something, but that doesn't mean you need it. In this case, need trumps want.
A few years after I was out of school, I read an article about managing stress. It stated that there are certain words that contribute to our feelings of stress. These include should, ought and need. Need as in "I need to write two chapters today." Instead, it's less stressful to think, "I want to write two chapters today." Only slightly because two chapters after a full day of work....
Anyway, I've been thinking a bit about want vs. need when it comes to my writing. Because I do feel a need to write. And I don't think that's a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I think it's something that is true for each and every one of the Rogue Pirates (of Snickerdoodle). [Aside: I'm listening to an old radio play on i-Tunes and it's about pirates--arrrr] This is something we have to do. But when I write in my morning pages that I need to write x amount, I do feel a tightening across my shoulders. If I write that I want to accomplish x, the tightness doesn't show up.
So, do you need to write? Do you want to write? Is there a difference? Do you think it would matter if you set goals as things you want to accomplish as opposed to need?
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