While I have no plans to divorce M., I can spend less time online and get up earlier. I remember a time just a few years ago when I didn't check my email compulsively or scan my FB newsfeed or refresh my Google Reader every 30 minutes. It's going to be a hard change to make, but I'm going to try to stay offline during the day. I'll check my email in the morning and at lunch, check in with my newsfeed, and read a few blog posts. Then I'm going to try to stay off of email, blogs, and Facebook until after 5pm. I'm also going to start getting up earlier. That also means going to bed earlier. In the fall, I'll have to get up early to teach an 8am class two days a week, so I might as well just get up early throughout the week, start writing earlier in the day most days and get my training runs and other work outs in later in the day. My marathon clinic will be meeting in the evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays and in the mornings on Saturdays.
If left to my natural tendencies, I prefer to write in the morning. It's when my brain is functioning best and words tend to flow more easily. I need to be maximizing my mornings and getting to work with that second cup of coffee.
When do you do your best work? What are your strategies to carve out that time for yourself with minimal distractions? What are your tips for afternoon/evening running? Do you have a snack beforehand? How long before?
I work best at night, I'm a night owl, and once I get into that groove, I can't stop. If I run in the afternoon, I eat lunch before hand but nothing heavy so that my stomach doesn't give me trouble.
ReplyDeleteI'll be really interested to hear how this works for you because I'm starting to feel more and more like I need to do that same thing and set some regular internet time as opposed to my current habit of constantly checking FB, blogs, email, etc. It's starting to feel a bit like a compulsion and I think it would free up an hour or two everyday for me that I could be making better use of. That said, I'm scared to lose my internet time!
ReplyDeletexoxo ~ Courtney
http://sartorialsidelines.blogspot.com
I get up early and go for a run with nothing in my stomach, get home, shower and get to work though I usually check email, FB, etc. before getting down to it which is a habit I think I should break. I like the idea of no internet during the day. I'm in! (or out, as the case may be)
ReplyDeleteI think we had similar summers in 2004! I was working 12 hour days, waking up at 5am, getting home at 7 or 8 at night, and had a pretty busy social calendar. Though then I was only 23 and running on a ton of adrenaline, so it never wore me out. Now? I couldn't do it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck unplugging during the day! And if I don't exercise right after waking up in the morning, I'll eat something small, like an english muffin with some peanut butter, wait and hour and head to the gym.
I feel the same way. I was so much more productive before fb and blogs. Boo!
ReplyDeleteMy best work is definitely in the am, also my best running too. However, I do run in the evenings also. Yes, I definitely have a snack before an evening run. My stomach is tough so my snack can be just before a run. If it's a hard effort run, I will eat the snack 2 hours before the run.
When I go back to school in the fall, I plan to really reign in my Internet-ing time. I'm terrible about scrolling through Facebook and Google Reader and Twitter instead of, you know, reading an actual book. The iPhone makes it really hard to unplug. This must change!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm also a productive morning person. All these years of working an 8-5 job has put a major damper on my creative energy. Luckily, it appears my grad classes will be in the afternoon/evening, which will be perfect for actually writing.
Unfortunately, I do not have any tips for afternoon/evening running. Since I know I run best AND write best in the morning, I end up doing my cross training (yoga, weights) in the afternoons and evenings and reserve mornings for those two things when possible.
I can't run on empty for anything longer than 2-3 miles. I kind of wish that I could, as it would make scheduling a little bit easier. I'm trying to replace my internet checking with more restorative activities - yoga, playing with Bailey for a few minutes, a quick walk around the block, making a cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteI will definitely report back. I just noticed how obsessive I was being the other day when I would scroll between notes and my email every 10 minutes. Not good.
ReplyDeleteYeah, being older does make it harder to put in 12 hour days of working and getting to the gym and being social. I can do one or two days like that a week now, but I can't do it Monday through Saturday the way I used to.
ReplyDeleteI have been resisting getting a smart phone just because I think it might aggravate the addiction. I'm hoping that I can get it in check by the time I'm due to upgrade my phone in a couple of months. M. has a smart phone now, and we've already had to make some rules about using phones at dinner time, etc.
ReplyDeleteI run best in the morning also, but the morning times for the marathon class I'll be taking wouldn't work with my teaching schedule once August rolls around.
I prefer to run after work, but lately that has not been working for me because I turned down so many social plans this spring, I am finally re-connecting with people which means my calendar is packed. Which means I now get up at 4:30 to run when I can't run after work. When I did run after work, I would usualy have a snack about an hour befor emy run. Usually something like nuts or some popcorn.
ReplyDeleteTime is just so precious these days, isn't it? I struggle to fit it all in. Now that I am getting up at 4:30 a couple of times a week, I am trying ot get to bed early those days becuase I really need at least 7 hours of sleep. But that means going to bed at 9. Which is really, really tough!
I run at night. I usually eat something small 2 hours before my run and then a full meal after. Or if its super late, I eat a moderate dinner and run after 3 hours.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes find myself wondering how on earth I have gotten to the point I have with all my internet nonsense. Wishing you the best of luck on your "Operation Get Back to Writing, Get off the Net" :)
ReplyDeleteI run in the mornings, and write best in the mornings, i am a morning person! i get up at 4:45
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