Monday, November 8, 2010

Now Is Not The Time To Panic

Have you ever noticed that many times in our lives we don’t bother to do some things until the doing is forced upon us.

I’m talking in our daily lives here. Example: You know that the house needs a thorough cleaning, right down to major vacuuming with wand on the drapes and everything. You know that the bathroom is probably growing science projects, and you don’t even want to think about the refrigerator.

When do you really get these things done the way they need to be done? Answer: When you find out that company is coming on short notice and guilt washes over your mind like a London fog, enveloping every other sensation of which you might be capable. Your response to this stressor is to tackle that cleaning like a crazed Merry Maid looking for a hundred dollar tip.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

How about when you put off getting the oil changed in your car? After all, you only drive it around town. You haven’t put on 3000 miles since the last trip onto the rack. Driving around town for six months couldn’t possibly have done anything bad to the car, now could it? Did the dealer tell you about the 3000 mile or three month rule. Yup! Better take ‘er in for that oil chance, tune up, etc.

What about your knowing that you’re going to have to get presents figured out for the family for Christmas, and you’ve decided to make all of them this year. I heard that! I’ve done the hand-made gifts on many occasions. They take lots of time and thought. It’s now November. Why did you wait so long to think about the situation? I can ask that question with a straight face because I’ve decided to make hand-made chapbooks for loved ones this year. I do understand that they will probably get them a wee bit late, but it’s a price I’ll have to pay for craftsmanship.

See what I mean? We know things need done, and we just look at the calendar and tell ourselves that there’s plenty of usable time. Now’s not the time to panic.

Question: When is the time to panic?

All of this brings me to NaNoWriMo. It’s now day 8 of that prestigious month. Words are flying onto hard drives, paper, and websites everywhere. Have you done your NaNo today?

I’ve worked on just about everything but NaNo today. I organized informational brochures for research later on a much different project. Done my duty by the PAD Poetry Chapbook Challenge. I’m covered on the PiBoIdMo Challenge for the month, and then there’s my three NaNo WIPs.

The first is 3/5 finished. I have two more sestinas to write to complete it. I’m not scheduled to begin the second WIP until sometime on the tenth. And I’ll worry about the children’s story book around the twentieth. Sounds so organized when I say that, doesn’t it?

It’s an illusion. I have to do heavy research for those two sestina’s. (Maybe I can get to that after Castle tonight.)

I’ve only thought about the 50-75 poems for the second WIP. It’s not like that should be too hard, do you think? I mean, really, after all, I only need to do a minimum of 5 poems a day for ten days under the theme of “The Forest Primeval.” I have all the photos for inspiration. Oh, yeah, I have to go through those and pull all of the ones I’m going to use for that inspiration. Still, how hard could that be?

As for the storybook; well, I have the photos for that one, too. It should fairly leap onto the page once I have the first word of that adventure down in black and white. I can always count on something coming to me. I’m lucky enough to be one of those people who never gets writer’s block.

Yeah, I’m in good shape for the rest of this month. I have a plan and I’m not afraid to use it. We’re going out for Thanksgiving dinner this year, so I won’t even have that distraction to clutter that third week of the month. How good is that?

So, don’t panic anyone. There’s plenty of time to get everything finished. It’s only November 8. You have 22 more days to get everything done before the official beginning of the Christmas season comes tinkling its merry way into your hearts and shopping mania.

For those Jewish friends of mine, your season starts a bit earlier. Perhaps you should begin your panic a bit earlier as well. For the rest whose holiday season flows slightly differently from Christmas, please adjust your panic accordingly.

Until later at the need for another boost of confidence, sign me out as

Claudsy
 
 
 
 
 

6 comments:

  1. On the cleaning front: I find visitations to be a "positive house cleaning enforcer" empowering me with the determination of a Jack Russel down a rabbit hole, the strength of The Hulk and the speed of a NASCAR; achieving results in record breaking time whilst providing cardiovascular benefits. *cough*

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  2. I always find it interesting to see how fast the job can get done with this incentive. It's amazing when you think about how long it would take on a normal cleaning day just to do the bathroom.

    My question ever remains, however, "Should I invite people over more often just to create that incentive?"

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  3. It's true... in my speed I tend to get a bit creative with my techniques - they wouldn't appear in any Home Making magazines, that's for sure.

    Yes, good question. I suppose once a week would be ideal, if you liked having people over that often (I don't) and wanted to be all proper and that. Once a month invites, with general pick-up and kitchen-ware/counter maintenance might be the way to go if you prefer virtual friends on a more regular basis. This gives time to let the dust and pet-hair build up some for a truly rewarding experience.

    How often do you have people over?

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  4. To be honest, we don't have people over that often either. A couple of friends now and then. Time's too short with too many obligations on the daily schedule to allow form real entertaining. We just don't have time.

    When we do, though, we have a great time. We've not delved into social life since the move, but concentrated on work.

    Now might be the time to expand this horizon, too.

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  5. When it comes to writing I have the attitude that I have to do it now! I don't procrastinate at all. But everything else in my life? Well that's a different story. I guess it's obvious where my priorities lie!

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  6. Kelly,

    I know you're a powerhouse in the writing arena. How you do it really is a mystery. I'm glad for you, though. Use that energy now, while you have it. Later on down the line you'll learn to conserve.

    Not that I'm such a great example of conservation, necessarily, unless we're talking about real exercise. I've got to correct that, too, one of these days.

    Claudsy

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