Shaking Off the Cobwebs

Last night the dog and I took a stroll, and with every few yards of progress, I batted and spit my way through yet another crop of tightly spun cobwebs. (The pooch seemed unaffected.) A heatwave had emptied our neighborhood parks and sidewalks for a good week or more, leaving the spiders with free rein. (Note that over the weekend, I also discovered webs — and the teeny little spiders that crafted them (!) — in the drying rack next to the kitchen sink. My explanation, and I'm sticking to it: Very few windows in my built-for-the-Northwest house have screens.)

It's still quite warm for our climate, but the heat is much less oppressive now, and the promise of markedly cooler temps starting tomorrow has been dangled. I'm so giddy about the downward trend that I decided to work away from my home office today. Last week, the heat and constant sleepiness were distractions, problems to overcome, heavy burdens to bear/loudly whine about. Today, though, with things looking up I worried that a livable temperature might make me too tempted to either (a) catch up on neglected-due-to-heatstroke household things that I can easily do tonight or (b) answer the siren call of a pretty summer's day, resulting in the need to work on WORK tonight, when I have firm plans to not do any of the aforementioned "household things."

So, I went for a bracing wake-up walk and then whisked myself off for a Workday Wi-Fi Crawl. Free wi-fi implied. It was a terrific change of pace and perfect for the editing work featured as today's main to-do.

At 7:30, I headed to a nearby coffee shop for emails and such over a latte. Most other patrons were headed someplace else, so I scored a comfy chair next to a handy table. Cool! Midmorning I switched to my nearest library branch to do some work-related library-ing before settling down for several hours of quiet, focused editing.

Hungry by midafternoon, I tried a never-busy dive lunch joint I knew to offer wi-fi (to which I've always said, "Who would use that here?"). Worked out fine! Then, to finish out the crawl, I grabbed a cold tea and headed to a shady, wi-fi-equipped park close to home. I sat at a picnic table facing a lake and was surprisingly productive there, too. Nobody was swimming or even stirring until around 4:30 — and by then it was time for me to get home.

Tomorrow will be business as usual, as usual. I truly do prefer to work in my office at the big-girl's computer. (That doesn't sound quite right, but neither does "adult computer." I'm comparing my large, tricked-out desktop machine to my small, just-functional-enough laptop, okay?) But today sure was lovely. The change of scenery/pace cleared my web-filled brain and renewed my weary spirit — and I look forward to tomorrow's nothing-special workday with — yes, I think it's true — happy anticipation.

BIC Monday!

Today is just one of those days it's HARD to sit at the desk and write. I like what I do and how/where I get to do it. Most mornings, I feel settled and ready to go. But I had a ridiculously fitful, freaky-nightmare-fueled Sunday night, and the effects have carried over. I'm blaming my new pillow.

I have a Tuesday deadline, so I will persist and prevail. Happily, that manuscript is on track, though, even as I struggle to kick into gear this Monday morn.

Nothing to do but keep the butt in the chair and press on.

Juicy Advice

Tip of the day:

Resist the urge to lunch on grapefruit at your desk.

It might be a good idea to down some citrus as you try to pretend you didn't eat quite so many cheesy-dippy Super Bowl snacks. But don't do so at your desk hoping to save time as you cruise along toward Tuesday's — or any day's — writing deadline. It won't work.

Don't believe me? Just go ahead and see if you can actually type . . . or read . . . or even surf while stabbing and slurping your way through a plump, juicy Ruby Red. If you're like me, you may even lose a little precious writing time to the clean-up. Keyboards, monitors, and manuscript stacks don't dig the juice!

That's It. I Want My Own Barista.

I sat down at my desk really early today for some reason (why???), and my morning coffee gave me fits . . . and now it's gone. So I thought I'd throw out some useless chatter I'd normally direct at a lucky coworker. You know, if I had one.

I pour myself 2 or 3 nice mugs o' joe each a.m., but while I'm working I get distracted and the coffee gets cold. Yuck. And as time gets away from me, the coffee loses that fresh-brewed taste. Double-yuck. I am, admittedly, finicky about it.

My "solution" has been to TRY to remember to slam the java and make frequent early trips upstairs (I have a basement office) for refills, which I must also drink too quickly for my liking. My entire weekday coffee experience is lacking.

When our old coffeemaker died several months ago, I specifically bought one with a thermal carafe. The idea was that I'd just keep it on my desk on workdays. I thought the coffee would stay fresher (it does by a hair) and I'd naturally get to it faster from not needing to walk anywhere.

Well, this is the first time ever that I've remembered to haul the carafe to my office. (Old habits die hard.)

So far, not so good.

While pouring my first mug this morning, I dripped on my planner and a printed manuscript draft. Fine. It's just paper. With the second, I dripped on the desk and my keyboard (it's protected!) and then left a coffee ring on a library book (I wiped it clean in time!). Looks like I need special conditioning to pour, neatly, from a seated position.

As usual by my second cup, I forgot about the coffee long enough for it to cool way down. So I had to slam it at lukewarm to avoid a wasteful pour-out (and trip to the kitchen). When I wanted a third mug — I kid you not — I got out of my chair and started to walk toward the stairs. So it also looks like I'm more like my dog and my husband (hi honey!) than I realized. Meaning, apparently, I cannot deal with even a small break in routine.

Tomorrow I'll revert to my old unsatisfying coffee routine. Sigh.

Get back to work, people! Yak break over!

Ever Try to Write While the Ceiling's Caving In?

I have carpet people here today (tomorrow, too, darn it all). They're installing new carpeting in every room on the main floor. I remember a very loud process when we replaced the basement carpet a couple years ago. But this process is SCREAMING LOUD!!!!

I honestly can't imagine the origins of some of the booms I've heard. I know they're moving furniture, pulling up the old carpets, placing screws in the floorboards to fix the creaky creaks, and laying down the new pad/carpet. I expected to hear some ripping and banging, much of it disruptive. But seriously, why is the noise level SO high?

Fingers crossed that all the furniture is still intact. I assume I'll hear screams (and silence when the work stops) if any people get hurt. I also assume that I don't really need to worry that the ceiling is going to fall on my head — or worse, on my pretty iMac.

Oh wait, I think they're stopping for lunch. Ahhhhhh! When they start up again, I think I'll see about taking my traumatized dog and the laptop to the park for a spell. It's a cool enough day that the pup will be fine tagging along on a few errands, too.

Might as well bolt — we're not getting much done around here.

When Office Assistants Bark

Just a bit of fun at the end of a very Monday-ish Monday in the home office. I kept my loyal assistant Asta waiting many hours past her regular walk time today. She found the experience excruciating. But after a couple hours of issuing melodramatic doggie sighs, human-grade harrumphs, and dagger-like stares in my specific direction, she settled down and transformed herself into a sweet little trouper. (Good thing, too, because her Time to Walk campaigns are distracting.)

When I finally gave the go-ahead, Asta was 15 kinds of excited. It's fun to see my typically bark-less pup let it out! I shot this amateurish clip last week under eerily similar circumstances.

Smoke in the Office, No Fire in the House!

Thank goodness!

As I ate lunch and wrote a quick post for a personal blog, I started smelling mac 'n' cheese. Interesting, since nobody else was home. But I didn't pay too much attention. Then I heard an unfamiliar whirring coming from the washing machine. (It's in the basement, about 10 feet from my office.) I did stop and listen for a sec but, again, I quickly got over my curiosity and back to my break. Hey, typing up personal news while eating a ham sandwich takes concentration (not to mention dexterity).

Next thing I knew, smoke was wafting into my office and I was flying around the house to find/shut down the source (washing machine motor), check everywhere for evidence of fire, and make sure my pup was safe. For that last one I ran to every possible hiding spot inside, fearing I'd find her shaking in a corner, but instead I found her outside in the farthest corner of the backyard just waiting for someone to say, "Come on in!" My husband said we should call CNN with this exclusive: GENIUS FAMILY DOG SMELLS SMOKE, SAVES HERSELF. She's no Lassie, that one. But I'm glad — it's good that her instinct was to get out.

Next I opened all the windows, transferred my current work files to a jump drive, shut down my iMac, and unplugged the office power strip. Oh, and I may have tidied up the basement in case any firefighters showed up. I've been airing out the basement and working on my laptop in the living room all afternoon. Not an ideal office, but it's cold and smelly in mine now.

Didn't get a whole big bunch of writing done, but what else is Saturday for?

My Writing Resolutions: 2008

In no particular order:

1. Use the word often less often in my nonfiction writing.
2. Redo my author site.
3. Say no to writing projects I don't want to do.
4. Write at least one children's piece without a contract in place.
5. Identify publishers that might like to see my back-burnered novels. See if they wanna see 'em.
   
6. Apply for one writer's grant.
7. Cut back on some of the industry-related volunteer work I do.
   
8. Get intimate with all of my writerly software.
9. Flex my weekday schedule enough to enable me to sit in on the local Tuesday morning writers' group once in a while.
10. Address the bookshelf situation in my office.

Office-Job Envy

I've said it before, and I'll say it again (and again). I love freelancing. Taking my business full-time 5 years ago is one of the best decisions I've ever made. It's rare for me to think wistful thoughts about being back in an office. But today is one of those days where I'm struggling with extreme Office-Job Envy. Why? For the simple reason that I know I would have taken this week OFF. As in, no working period. No guilt about down time or family time or personal time. Instead, though, I am struggling to stay productive and focused on my several remaining 2007 deadlines.

Publishers love to collect as many projects from freelancers by the tail-end of the year as they can. It's nothing new, just tradition. Now, I know the same thing goes on in-house: writers are scrambling to pass copy to editors; editors are scrambling to move manuscripts into designers' hands; and on and on and on. Worker-bees/departments/companies in publishing and every industry want the decks cleared for a fresh start on January 1.

It's just that as an expendable freelancer, I often can't afford to schedule my breaks exactly when I want them. Yes, my days are my own to structure as I wish. But to make a living at this, I have to make myself available when it suits the clients. I have far less input — usually none — into any schedule (besides saying "No, can't do it" and waving good-bye; something I do on occasion) than office workers who can jockey for those last gulps of conference-room oxygen and better project schedules than their in-person colleagues. So, if I really want to work on a given project, my schedule must be more flexible than the client's and the nameless, faceless next writer-editor on the client's contact list.

Whine over. I'm happy for the work. Really, I am. I'm just sleepy from too many sweets in the house and a cold rain that's keeping me from a brisk "shake it off" walk. All the out-of-office autoresponders coming back to me aren't helping, either, but at least I don't have to fully engage with anyone this week. Big plus! The only thing left to do is completely erase from my mind that my husband is "vacationing" upstairs. And to start thinking ahead to my next dedicated block of vacation that I hope doesn't pan out due to loads of great work I coudn't bear to turn down.

Pruning Is Good

Surprise, this post is NOT about editing or the art of revision!

So, as the pup and I finished our lunchtime walk today, I got a sudden itch to do a bit of springtime pruning. Think: one scant part didn't want to get right back to the grind, one heaping part needed to think through some issues away from the computer and phone, and two solid parts it's just plain time to clean up the shrubs.

In 30 minutes I filled the yard-waste bin with deadwood from overgrown heather, spent blooms from a rhododendron, and whatever other debris I felt like grabbing with my garden-gloved hands (gotta protect the instruments!). It was great. Next thing I knew, I was back in my office and ready to plow through the rest of the day.

This type of chore always helps clear my head, and today it worked like a charm because I made a few decisions I'd been avoiding. Something about the rhythm of pruning and clearing — coupled with the satisfaction of seeing concrete progress — helps bring clarity to what's cookin' in the noggin:

Time to dump Client X? Yes. Should I send my nonfiction proposal to Publisher B, who encouraged me to contact them with ideas? No; the topic isn't quite right for their list. Is the professional volunteer work I do benefiting me, professionally? Nope, not all of it; it's definitely time to take serious stock and cut back.

These issues all affect my business and so all needed my attention. It can be difficult, though, to carve out time for decision making when I'm sitting at my desk. There my mind automatically turns to more obvious tasks like writing, editing, and communicating with clients. Billable things, mostly.

But, fact is, the business runs more smoothly when I consciously take the time to check in on my goals and readjust plans as needed. And it gets old saving all of that for evenings and weekends or next year. I can't logically (or logistically) take a meeting with myself. I can, however, opt to take a "working prune" in the middle of my workday.

I hesitate to call that a perk of the job; rather, I think it's just a reality of the home business environment. Strategies and practices that work here won't always work in an office setting, and (in the vernacular of the self-employed) vicey versey.

Pruning is good!

Listing

Today has been all about the lists. I outlined the day, identified tasks for the week, prioritized the month's projects by creating a realistic personal schedule, researched and listed likely publishers for the two side projects I'm working on — although, as an aside, is something really a "side project" if I can reasonably expect to get paid for it down the road? — asked my Children's Writing Workshop students to list goals for the remainder of the class, and filled out/passed on one of those "4 things about me" emails. (What, I can't take a 5-minute break to tell friends that I like cheeseburgers?)

Why all the listing? Well, it just seemed like the thing to do. I have several work-related live events this week (e.g., a meeting, a writers group, a speaking engagement, and a schmooze-fest), so today's activities have helped put me in the right frame of mind to step outside the house as a professional. Guess it's a calming thing for me.

Now, I'm not shy, nor do I suffer from any particularly debilitating social anxieties. I enjoy interacting with humans, and I happen to adore leaving the house. In fact, former live-action colleagues have wondered — aloud, and somewhat loudly — how my social self fares in the potentially isolating world of freelancing. The truth is that I do miss many aspects of working in an office environment, not the least of which is the increased opportunity for chit-chat (and lunchtime cheeseburgers).

But — more to the point of the truth — I have gotten used to working for myself, with myself, by myself, and despite myself. Took to it immediately, I must say. When I'm working, my first thought has always been about seeing the end result. If I have a job to do, I want to do it. Working alone gives me the unbelievable gift of whittling away at a task with few interruptions and getting to see things through to the bitter end on (mostly) my own terms. I get to live a working writer's dream. And I like it heaps and bunches.

However, for a work-from-homer, a 2-hour outing where you need to "be" your professional self can seem like a HUGE wrench in the workweek. That it feels that way is laughable, really. But there it is. So list I did today. And list again I will do in the future.

TGIF

I am ready for this weekend. It's almost 4:00 p.m., and I've decided to grab a couple of portable items from my stack of professional reading and hit the nearest coffee shop. When you work from home, sometimes that transition from workday to evening — or weekend — proves less than satisfying. It's so easy to keep writing/researching/emailing "for just a few more minutes" as you simultaneously start dinner or trade how-are-yous with your SO.

So, I'm blowing this Popsicle stand (aka my basement office). It will be nice to then come home and put a definite period on the end of the week.