Decisiveness

Coming soon . . .

I Believe The Preferred Term Is “Inspired By”

Today I’m running short on neither time nor things I could babble about, but I knew nothing I had to say today would be any more interesting than this:

6 Famous Characters You Didn’t Know Were Shameless Rip Offs  (It’s another Cracked article, so some definite “Not Safe For Work” content here.)

For the humor impaired, I should warn you the article shouldn’t be read as entirely serious, but as an interesting collection of  the inspirations (or at least partial/possible inspirations) behind several iconic characters, particularly the Lensmen reference.  Truthfully, I pretty much had to link to the article just for the Lensmen reference alone.

More Public Service

I think most (if not all) of us do this at least occasionally, work hard at something, get tired, and then refuse to take a much needed rest. 

There’s nothing wrong with the first two, and even the last one is alright in an EMERGENCY, though it’s helpful to be aware that doing so always comes with a cost, and that there IS a point of diminishing returns where no matter how dire the emergency, you’ll be more effective if you’d just take a damn break.

I think it’s that last part that trips up most people; I know it does for me. 

So here’s a candle to help us all remember a simple rule of thumb:  If you’re tired . . . REST; you’ll be better for it if you do.

Public Service Reminder

Whenever you find yourself starting a sentence with words like “This is none of my business,” remember to just STOP!  Do NOT say the word “but” or ANY of the words you might be tempted to follow it with!

This has been a public service announcement brought to the by “Oh for the love of mercy, Rob, you KNOW that!!” Foundation.

Support Your Local Artists

So I saw a headline today saying that a series of paintings purportedly done by Adolph Hitler just went for auction for around 100,000 euros. 

And though I can’t take credit for this observation, I thought it bore repeating that if someone had paid that kind of money for the paintings when he ACTUALLY painted them, we might have been able to avoid World War II altogether.

Think about it.

Time Management

Some work days are more productive than others, of course.  Even at my MOST productive I’ve NEVER approached the author I remember saying once that he put in 14 to 16 hour days until he finished his novel.  Speaking only BARELY figuratively, I’m afraid my fingers would fall off if I did that! 

Today, for instance, is one of those average productivity days where I’m not trying to break any new ground, just polish up what I’ve already created.  It’s coming slowly, but surely:  I do a page, I take a break, I do a page, I take break.   It’s not as thrilling as the times when the words just flow onto the computer screen with intensity, but it makes me a lot less tired come evening.

Actually, it’s been a few weeks since I had a day like this.  I kind of like it.

Something I’ve Noticed

Setbacks not withstanding, since I started this challenge I’ve so far managed to keep very much on schedule.  Of course, to do this I’ve had to . . . (How should I put this?) . . . to give up (or at least minimize) several poor time management habits of mine.

Funny thing is . . . this wasn’t entirely a good thing. 

Yes, they were “bad” habits, but I had developed them for a reason, and when I did away with them I left a hole in my coping skills.

For instance, one of the things I’ve largely given up is my insomnia, mainly because I don’t WORK when I stay up late, and staying up late just KILLS my productivity the next morning.   That’s all fine, well, and good, but whenever I stayed up late I was ALSO unwinding/blowing off steam, and even though I would drag around like a zombie the next day, it ALSO meant I was still taking things easy BECAUSE I was so tired. 

Since I’m not doing that any more . . . I’m now under more general (and consistent) stress, which has its own effects on my well being and productivity. 

Funny old world.

(As I’ve said before, I continue to find new ways to do things, so this isn’t a COMPLAINT . . . just an observation and reminder for myself that even the best of changes can have unwelcome and unintended consequences.)

For The Birds

So . . . it turns out the Algiz the Sun Conure (whose follow up testing for anemia was delayed for a few months because it is VERY likely it was just because he was molting, so he’ll get that test when he’s a few more months past his molting cycle) is sensitive enough to my stress to become stressed himself when I’m stressed.

Guess what?

I was particularly stressed last week, so Algiz became stressed, and when Algiz becomes stressed he becomes noisy, which puts me under even MORE stress, which brings us back to where we came in at. 

Today (Finally!) he seems to be content again, and if that seems to you to be a minor thing to note, I can only assume that you have NEVER heard an upset Sun Conure.   (And if that’s the case, just let me know and I’ll let YOU know the next time Algiz is in a mood, and you can just open your window.  If you’re anywhere in a five state radius of Florida, you’ll probably be able to hear him.)

Monday Status

Last Monday at this time I had Chapters 6 and 7 drafted and ready for polish.

THIS Monday I have . . . Chapters 6 and 7 drafted and ready for polish, and I’m remind of a story I heard about the early days of the U.S. space program:

Deadlines were constantly being set for launch, and deadlines were constantly being pushed back until someone took a stand and said something like a March launch date was a definite. 

Naturally, the launch didn’t occur in March.

BUT what someone at N.A.S.A. DID accomplish in that time was a new office calendar in which every month of the year was March . . .

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to get back to work . . . I want to finish sometime in March after all.

Because Sometimes The Bandwagon Is WORTH Jumping On

Two words:  Susan Boyle