Writerbug regrets that it is impossible, under any circumstances, for her to...

I recently learned of a writing/poetry blog I really like, Book of Kells. Kelli has a post about productivity that I found especially relevent to me and to many of my friends, who are trying to accomplish much--and succeeding, though sometimes at the price of their happiness and sanity.

The post talks about a writer called Edmund Wilson, a very influential book critic in the 1920s. Here's how he dealt with being asked to do too many things: One, he didn't worry about trying to please everyone, which of course is impossible and only distracts you from the things that are important to YOU. And two, he used the following form letters to decline requests:

Edmund Wilson regrets that it is impossible for him without compensation to:

read manuscripts
contribute to books or periodicals
do editorial work
judge literary contests
deliver lectures
address meetings
make after-dinner speeches
broadcast;

Under any circumstances to:

contribute to or take part in symposiums
take part in chain-poems or other collective compositions
contribute manuscripts for sales
donate copies of his books to libraries
autograph books for strangers
supply personal information about himself
supply photographs of himself
allow his name to be used on letter-heads
receive unknown persons who have no apparent business with him.


Pretty awesome, no? What would your list look like, if you had the balls to hand it out?

My list of things I won't do would include:
Stop to hear your schpeel/sign your petition when I am exiting the grocery store

Plan office parties/buy going away presents even if it means that no one else is going to think to do it

Say yes to social engagements that I am not 100% excited about going to. (This already feels impossible, even in my imaginary life. I will ammend to say: "Say yes to social engagements that I am not 100% excited about unless the guilt regarding saying no feels too great." God I'm weak.)

Feel the need to keep friendships going when they don't seem to be nourishing either party

*********
If I could implement these things, I bet my life would feel much more balanced, especially in terms of getting to spend time with the people who really do nourish my soul. At the moment I seem to have many many more friends who I see every few months, than friends I get to see on a regular basis, as often and as much as I would like to.

That said, my priority at the moment is my writing, so some of that is my own doing. (Well, actually, my priority at this very moment is getting over this awful, awful cold, which has pretty much floored me.)

Looking forward to seeing your list!

Fall time

I've been thinking about time a lot this past week. The change of season prompted some of this. In the summer, time seems both very limited and in abundance. The days are so long, giving me the feeling of, why rush? There will be light for hours still. On the other hand, though, there are so many things I want to pack into each warm-weather day, knowing as I do that they are in short supply. So in that way, time feels very short.

Of course, when time is short, I feel rushed and overwhelmed, feelings I just don't deal with well. And one of the thing that often suffers from my lack of time is my writing. I was careful not to let this happen too much this summer, but I definitely didn't get as much work done on my novel as I hoped.

And so, as we enter fall, I'm left with the feeling of, will I ever get this novel done?? Part of the solution is to learn some patience. Another part is to use the shorter, cooler days of fall to hibernate a bit more, saying no to some social activities to make more time for my writing.

Themes
As these things go, once I started thinking about my time problem, I started noticing lots of other mentions to other people's time issues. Here's a paragraph from an article on Salon.com that I particularly liked:
"You may not feel ready to do something that is necessary. You do not control the timetable. This is evident when people die, are born, get married, move away, are fired, hired, change their minds: You are not ready for what the changes in the world around you require you to do. Nonetheless, you deal.
You don't have a lot of time. You don't get a lot of chances. People get ready, there's a train a-coming. Don't need no ticket, you just get on board."

I also realized that I've posted a number of times on time issues, so clearly this is a theme in my life.

Lastly, I came across this lovely quote regarding how to use time. I love it in that it applies to so much, not just farming and crops.
"It will not always be summer. Build barns."
~Hesiod

Happy fall!

An evening of writing

My husband starts classes this week. It means he'll be out of the house two nights a week. And I am psyched. Not because I don't love spending time with him--I do, probably a bit too much. Having him home raises the question: do you want to write this evening or snuggle on the couch and talk or watch TV? That makes it hard to get my butt in the chair.

But now he'll be out of the house, and I have to go straight home after work to walk Chloe-dog. So that means I'll be home alone with every intention to cook myself dinner, and then write for a good solid hour. Then I might reward myself with some television and knitting.

I'll let you know how it goes!