![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Various & Sundry are cleaning up their act
Jan. 4th, 2013 08:44 amI'm not fond of the "New Year's Resolutions" thing, but I'm trying to bring 2013 in with some new - or at least improved - habits.
1. Showering in the morning. This seems like such a little thing, but for the first thirty years of my life, I took a shower every morning. It was part of how I woke up - the application of hot water externally, to go with the internal, caffeinated intake. And then, slowly, as I freelanced, and sometimes didn't have to leave the house all day, the shower got shoved down on the list of priorities (especially when I was on a deadline). And there was nothing wrong with if I took my shower in the afternoon rather than the morning...
but I could feel that I wasn't always as sharp as I used to be, in the morning. Plus, hanging around in my sweats gave me a "whatever" mood, even when I was under deadline. And that wasn't good, when you consider that my prime writing hours are 8am-1pm.
Also, it limited me. If I knew I'd have to take my shower before I went out, then I had to factor that time in to my plans, which mean spur of the moment, wasn't. That was... irking me.
2. Read more. I read a lot - but I wasn't reading as many books as I wanted to - and it sure didn't seem like Mount TBR was getting any smaller! So I'm embracing Twitter's "Friday Read" with a passion and determination. And doing it publicly, to keep me honest.
This week's Friday Read is: Julie Czerneda's A TURN OF LIGHT (continuing) and Fred Vargas' AN UNCERTAIN PLACE. One fantasy, one mystery. Also: both by non-USAn authors, just as a datapoint.
3. File. Every damn week. This decision brought to you by the end-of-month filing I was doing last year and...no. Small bites = less of a stomachache. Or that's the plan, anyway.
4-5. TBD.
Anyone else out there taking advantage of the new year to Do Something Better?
1. Showering in the morning. This seems like such a little thing, but for the first thirty years of my life, I took a shower every morning. It was part of how I woke up - the application of hot water externally, to go with the internal, caffeinated intake. And then, slowly, as I freelanced, and sometimes didn't have to leave the house all day, the shower got shoved down on the list of priorities (especially when I was on a deadline). And there was nothing wrong with if I took my shower in the afternoon rather than the morning...
but I could feel that I wasn't always as sharp as I used to be, in the morning. Plus, hanging around in my sweats gave me a "whatever" mood, even when I was under deadline. And that wasn't good, when you consider that my prime writing hours are 8am-1pm.
Also, it limited me. If I knew I'd have to take my shower before I went out, then I had to factor that time in to my plans, which mean spur of the moment, wasn't. That was... irking me.
2. Read more. I read a lot - but I wasn't reading as many books as I wanted to - and it sure didn't seem like Mount TBR was getting any smaller! So I'm embracing Twitter's "Friday Read" with a passion and determination. And doing it publicly, to keep me honest.
This week's Friday Read is: Julie Czerneda's A TURN OF LIGHT (continuing) and Fred Vargas' AN UNCERTAIN PLACE. One fantasy, one mystery. Also: both by non-USAn authors, just as a datapoint.
3. File. Every damn week. This decision brought to you by the end-of-month filing I was doing last year and...no. Small bites = less of a stomachache. Or that's the plan, anyway.
4-5. TBD.
Anyone else out there taking advantage of the new year to Do Something Better?
