#12weekarticle

So the semester came and went, and I’m now already one week into summer teaching. What has been written since I last posted? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Belcher’s textbook stared at me every day I walked into my study, unopened and accusing. 

Am I disappointed? Yes, but I’m adamant on channeling my energies into doing something about it now. Not writing was a then problem. 

I just re-read my previous post about obstacles. A number of things have changed since then, and I’m finally caught up getting used to the current juggling routine. 

My partner started a full-time job! This is good news all round, not least because of the assured monthly paycheck that shows up in the middle of every calendar month. 

But that meant that we (very quickly) had to find a suitable daycare for the offspring to attend. We were fortunate that there were spaces available in a well-reputed daycare not far from where we live. 

Neither of us want to send the offspring off five days a week. I had already committed to the teaching schedule by the time we found out the family schedule had to change. So we selected the days I would be teaching to send the offspring off to daycare. And that meant that for two days of the work week, I was a full-time mumma. 

It has taken me the entire semester to understand just how much energy goes into full-time parenting (and only for two days a work week at that) while there are teaching, marking and submission deadlines, reading, writing and viewing pressures looming. 

Props, full-time parents. So much props. 

I now have a new deadline to work towards and only one 73-student class to teach over the summer. The obstacles have remained the same: 

Motivational obstacles

Expected interference: Medium

“I will write just as soon as ....”

Emotional obstacles

Expected interference: Low

“I’m not in the right mood to write.”

“I feel guilty about not writing.”

Distraction obstacles 

Expected interference: High

“I really am too busy to write!”

“Teaching preparation takes up all my writing time.”

“My child care responsibilities are preventing me from writing.”

“I have to read just one more book before I can write.”

“My responsibilities at my paying job are taking up all my time and energy for writing.”

Confidence obstacles

Expected interference: High

“I’m beginning to wonder if being a professor is really the career for me and I probably won’t get a job anyway, so what’s the point of writing?”

“I’m so far behind in writing for publication, what’s the point of trying now? I’m not smart enough to do this kind of writing.” 

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I wouldn’t have called them distractions before, but categorising my main obstacles this way has made them look less daunting and more manageable. So here are a few ideas to how to deal with these during the next 10 weeks. 

Solutions to Writing Obstacles

I will open my draft, Trello, and Pomodoro tracker the first thing every morning. 

No matter how the day goes, I will do ONE THING to the draft every day until the project is complete.

I will only be able to watch 1 hour of TV after completing 1hour of writing.

I will plan my next writing session at the end of the last one.

If stuck, I'll write a post on Tumblr to get the juices flowing. 

Type a quote from a reading and engage with it

Say what I want to do is this writing session

If all else fails, write down the thoughts of my inner critic until you get bored with this voice and say, "Naw, shit. Things aren't that bad." Then begin writing. 

Or deliberately write badly for 15minutes. 

Or READ for the project instead at the computer.

I will find a writing partner/group to share my writing with. 

See you in the next post!

“This site is perpetually under construction”

Since submitting my thesis, my writing road has barely been traversed. It’s constantly “under construction” - pylons, warning beacons, hurdles, detours, the works. Every single time I’ve tried to get going on a writing project in the past three years, I manage for a hopeful stretch before an interruption blocks any further progress.