Writing in blocks makes a lot of sense to me. Most writers who write about being consistent fail to go down to the deepest level and address life. For example, we all have situations that pop up out of no where that have to be dealth with. I set myself up a schedule to write from 8 -12 am and more if I feel like it. But to be honest with myself I write during those hours Mon. thru Friday and take Sat and Sun off. I do this because it helps me structure my days better. While working public jobs, I always looked forward to having the weekends off.
Now my schedule has evolved with my waking up naturally around 5 am and I start reading, listening to pod casts, making to-do lists, checking emails etc. I count this time as extra and focus on writing and doing my prep work.
I look forward to stop writing, working on the computer etc. and do some manual labor. I try to avoid overwhelm and do what I can in the allotted time and save myself for family or other arts and crafts.
That is the ideal routine I used dream about when working full-time. I am not far from it myself. I wake up around 6 AM, write my diary, make a sketch and then head for the gym for an hour. Come home, have breakfast, write for a couple of hours and then have shower, do some house work and make lunch. On the outset, it seems like a perfect routine, but there are major flaws with it.
Let's dissect it a bit. The the morning diary and sketch is perfect. I only have half an hour and I know in that half an hour I know I have to write a page a day and make a sketch. They mostly get done. Only on days when I don't wake up at six I miss doing those. Then they sit heavy on my chest and might off-put my whole day.
But the two hours I spend writing after breakfast as not productive. Because there is ample time and lots of distraction such as emails, reading, research - nothing much gets done. You can say there is a lot of input but not enough output. But input is important as well.
For the output, I have discovered that the lego-block technique works the best. I find 15 minutes intervals during the day and do one block of writing. In fact this is what I am doing right now. We have come back from day's excursion, there is about half an hour to dinner and I decided I can respond to your comment and maybe write a block for my newsletter. These lego-blocks has been my most productive tool.
Hi Neera,
Writing in blocks makes a lot of sense to me. Most writers who write about being consistent fail to go down to the deepest level and address life. For example, we all have situations that pop up out of no where that have to be dealth with. I set myself up a schedule to write from 8 -12 am and more if I feel like it. But to be honest with myself I write during those hours Mon. thru Friday and take Sat and Sun off. I do this because it helps me structure my days better. While working public jobs, I always looked forward to having the weekends off.
Now my schedule has evolved with my waking up naturally around 5 am and I start reading, listening to pod casts, making to-do lists, checking emails etc. I count this time as extra and focus on writing and doing my prep work.
I look forward to stop writing, working on the computer etc. and do some manual labor. I try to avoid overwhelm and do what I can in the allotted time and save myself for family or other arts and crafts.
That is the ideal routine I used dream about when working full-time. I am not far from it myself. I wake up around 6 AM, write my diary, make a sketch and then head for the gym for an hour. Come home, have breakfast, write for a couple of hours and then have shower, do some house work and make lunch. On the outset, it seems like a perfect routine, but there are major flaws with it.
Let's dissect it a bit. The the morning diary and sketch is perfect. I only have half an hour and I know in that half an hour I know I have to write a page a day and make a sketch. They mostly get done. Only on days when I don't wake up at six I miss doing those. Then they sit heavy on my chest and might off-put my whole day.
But the two hours I spend writing after breakfast as not productive. Because there is ample time and lots of distraction such as emails, reading, research - nothing much gets done. You can say there is a lot of input but not enough output. But input is important as well.
For the output, I have discovered that the lego-block technique works the best. I find 15 minutes intervals during the day and do one block of writing. In fact this is what I am doing right now. We have come back from day's excursion, there is about half an hour to dinner and I decided I can respond to your comment and maybe write a block for my newsletter. These lego-blocks has been my most productive tool.
Now I am off to writing the newsletter.
Good for you Neera...you've found what works for you. I that is the secret for everyone, don't you?
Writing in blocks is better than being blocked, right? Pomodoro blocks, indeed.
I am glad you agree. I like the name Pomodoro blocks. I am having so much fun with them.