Drawing from the Well
Scenes Arranged: 4
Total Scenes: 158
I did it! I finally broke through and wrote a few scenes. It isn’t many because I hit the end of a scene group and didn’t have time to mentally change gears, but I think I have a plan to get my momentum/groove back. Should be good. Onward to the First Pinch Point!
Filling the Well
That Hideous Strength: 53%
Sightwitch: 68%
Jessica Jones: S2E10 of 13
A little more reading, a little more progress. Might even have some time today to finish up Jessica Jones. I’m getting back on track and (trying to be) firing on all cylinders.
Polishing the Well
Last night we caught up on Supergirl over pizza. The show still has potential and I’m holding out hope that it turns a corner, but it’s so erratic with its direction right now that I fail to see where it’s going. The last episode was at least compelling to watch.
Well Chat
Extra Shot Kind of Day
I planned to write this post two days ago, but my exhaustion got the better of me. In that vein, I’m posting now. So let’s talk about how to get THROUGH days where you’re super-exhausted (which is becoming an increasingly-regular occurrence for me; vacation is coming).
We’ve all had days where we’re falling asleep at our desk (or, more dangerously, the wheel). It’s difficult and embarrassing, but you muscle through anyway. Everyone has their coping strategies so I wanted to share some of mine.
First, there’s powering through. This is typically accompanied by stimulants such as sugar and caffeine. I start most days with a cup of coffee but on days like this, I drink extra cups or, if I go to Starbucks, I get an extra shot of espresso in my coffee. It really isn’t that expensive for the additional caffeine, but I notice the difference. If I’m at home, I drink more cups of coffee, like two in the morning and one in the afternoon. I also typically crave sugar even more than usual so I find something to fill that gaping maw.
My next trick is power-napping. I learned/developed this in college while I was taking Organic Chemistry II with Lab. It was specifically the lab that messed me up because I would pull late nights several nights a week to write the report and prep for the next lab. There were days where I would go to lab, go to work, and then write the report until 3 am. This happened regularly. So I was understandably exhausted. I worked at Walgreen’s at the time and worked out the timing where, on my 30-minute lunch break, I could hop across the street and grab a cheeseburger from McDonald’s, wolf it down on my way back, and then sleep for 15 minutes. I was so tired and had a full belly so I would drop right to sleep. 15 minutes later, my phone’s alarm would go off and I was up and back to work. As tired as I was, that quarter-hour invigorated me. I often came back to work like a new man. My body got used to that cycle so now when I’m beat and struggling to get through my work day, I can knock out for 15 minutes and I’m golden. You could try this too.
The last method is to knock off early. Acknowledge that you’re not at your best and see if you can just go home before your work day is over. Do your best, handle the urgent stuff for today, and go home and go to bed. You’ll thank yourself the next day.
There are lots of other tricks you can try like exercise, phone-a-friend, loud music, etc. These are my best tips, though, on how to get through a snoozy day. I hope that they prove useful for you.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG