The more you do…
Posted: 2012/01/20 Filed under: Bio | Tags: organization, work Leave a comment »… the more you do? That’s how the quote goes, right? Well, it better be right!
Through a conjunction of unfortunate events, I may soon find myself forced to work hard. And pray, and cross fingers all at the same time. In other news, I did my five master’s courses without knowing that there were mandatory ones. Therefore I still have to take the mandatory course, but because I’ve already taken five, I’m going to have to pay extra bucks for it.
Also, because the session’s already started, I don’t have a choice anymore between said mandatory courses; only one isn’t full. It is also taught by a teacher with a very bad reputation among students because… in the past she’s tried to countermand a strike which was voted democratically by the students. And as it happens, there is a pretty big chance we’ll go on strike again… Precisely. This. Session.
The gist of it is that I’m going to have to take an additional course, with the substantial workload that goes with it, at the same time as I was expected to start writing my thesis, and at the same time as we hope to go on an unlimited strike which will necessary disrupt, if not ruin the session. Oh, yeah, and all my New Year’s resolutions… (Among which I forgot to mention that I am learning how to drive. In the snow.)
But don’t they say that the more you do, the more you do? What’s your opinion on that? Ready to jump on the hard-working bandwagon with me? 
Hard work? what is that?
Posted: 2011/10/13 Filed under: Music, My writing | Tags: alexander, krakow, myslovitz, organization, sprzedawcy marzen, work, writing tip 1 Comment »1) I’m the person with the shortest attention span in the world. I never thought I’d say that. (Funny, how our representations of selves sometimes persist against all concrete evidence.) But too many signs have recently pointed in that direction, so I think I must accept it as fact. I get distracted easily, I’m all over the place, I get bored even more easily, I’m always multitasking. I may not always have been that way, but modern adult life certainly made me so.
2) I’m the most disorganized person on earth. My desk is a mess, I never write important info at the same place twice, if I write it down at all, I don’t use notebooks, binders or files, just loose leafs (usually recycled from some photocopy disaster), I don’t plan, because I never follow the plan anyway.
3) I’m the laziest person you’ve yet to meet. I can’t work hard or force myself. When I’m tired I sleep, when I’m bored I stop, when I don’t want to work, I don’t. (I’m obviously talking about school work here, for none of the jobs I’ve ever done could qualify as ‘work’ in comparison.)
In the past seven days, I wrote my 30-page paper, but I also: read a 540-page romance novel, went out to watch UFC on Saturday night, watched a lot of TV shows, cooked, washed dishes, rediscovered the Polish rock band Myslovitz and watched all their videos on YouTube, updated my blog and my Tumblr, commented on the many blogs I follow, checked Twitter at least ten times a day, posted on a few message boards, beta-read a few texts of fiction… I mean, it was a pretty intense week, but would you say I worked hard when you stop to consider all the random, trivial things I wasted time on? Come on! That’s not hard work.
Which leads me to the existential question: when did I ever work hard? Because I can’t remember. And that’s not to say that I don’t feel the difference between working and not working. The most striking symptom of my working this week was that I couldn’t sleep. Which doesn’t mean that I can work (or tweet, or blog, or check out vids) twenty hours a day. It means that I go to bed at midnight (because I’m tired due to lack of sleep), toss and turn until four or five in the morning, then drag myself out of bed around ten, have coffee, and become productive around noon. So I basically have to squeeze a normal day’s content in twelve hours, hence probably the feeling of ‘intensity’.
That’s also not to say that the result of my work is worth shit. If it was, then I wouldn’t be sharing my unmethod with you, because it, too, would be worth shit.
What I’m trying to say with this blog is that, in the end, each person has to find their own work method. There is no trick universally guaranteed to help you. But if you have trouble putting yourself to work, maybe the first thing to do is let go of the commonplaces that work is hard, that working doesn’t mix with playing, that work implies sacrifices. (Well, a few, but it’s kind of like sacrificing going to the beach when you live inland. You can’t have everything at once all the time.) This work week has reminded me exactly how much I like my work, why I ever went back to university in the first place, why politics, why research, why philosophy, why life, why hope, why me…
Don’t let fear of work detain you from what you were meant to accomplish! Listen to some music instead…
Myslovitz – Alexander
What method works for you? What part of working do you find hardest? Do you have epiphanies when you work?
Big decisions
Posted: 2011/09/23 Filed under: Bio | Tags: organization, work 2 Comments »For the past two weeks, my schoolwork was on hold, my writing was on hold. I have a man with a sewed up knee to take care of at home, my mom is visiting, the new school year is kicking in, and I… am in over my head. I was ready to suck it up and work harder, too… well, maybe. What’s life worth if you can’t blog, post random shit on message boards, read romance novels and watch lame TV shows? People are always talking about what you have to do, but I only ask, “Why? Why? And why??” Why do I have to do that? It’s the only life I’ve got and I’m going to enjoy it, damn right.
Just setting the mood here.
This morning I met with my supervisor, and we filled a form declaring me henceforward employed by my university. What it means is that I am getting a grant, for basically doing whatever research work I will need to do for my master’s thesis. In other words, I will finally get paid to study. I am so happy and relieved. I am so quitting my job.
I can hardly imagine how amazing it will feel to finally have my evenings free. It has not happened in nearly two years. Of course, I am not quitting this instant. In fact, I have talked with my employer and agreed to stay a while, maybe until he finds someone to replace me. But it is incredibly satisfying to think that I will not risk getting caught in a blizzard at night as I come home from work again.
Gee, I’m happy. 
Any good news from your side of the world?
Going into summer mode
Posted: 2011/06/27 Filed under: Bio | Tags: organization Leave a comment »Dear readers,
as you may have noticed from the (lack of) activity going on around here these past few weeks, I am not exactly in a blogging frenzy. There are different reasons to that, mostly positive. To name a few: taking advantage of the summer to go out more, being more serious about schoolwork, and last but not least, writing more fiction. Since ‘Writing for keeps’ is supposed to be about a positive life experience and MOST OF ALL about writing, it would be ridiculous to force my blogging against such reasons.
I’ll try and keep posting reviews every other day, and I hope there will be frequent updates in My writing’s category, but that’s about all I can promise for the summer. Consider anything more as a bonus!
Posting articulate blogs may be hard work (especially the pictures part; I never would have thought!), letting go of it for a while doesn’t mean that I will be off the web. My friends who have blogs can expect me to leave as many comments as I’ve always had, and anybody who knows me from a message board will be able to hear from me there. Here is a list of my regular haunts these days:
- Les Romantiques: Forum francophone dédié aux amatrices de romance, lectrices et/ou auteures
- CoCyclics: La mare aux nénuphars: Forum francophone dédié aux auteurs de SFFF dans une perspective de bêta-lecture
- The Globe: English-speaking forum hosted by FictionPress, devoted to writers out of high school
See you around!
Spring cleaning
Posted: 2011/03/20 Filed under: Bio | Tags: organization 1 Comment »
To be honest, I’m pretty satisfied with the way this blog is going so far [it may be new, but by no means is its author (ie me) new to blogging!]. However, since everything can always be improved, I’d say that what it lacks is a little more organization, a little more order. It may not be a coincidence that my life needs exactly the same right now.
Basically, I’ve come to the conclusion that if I want to keep up all the various projects and occupations I’ve got at this point in my life―master’s degree, part-time job, recreational/romance reading, fiction writing, physical exercise, activism, this blog, daily cooking/cleaning/dish-washing, taking care of friends and family―I was going to have to change something. Discipline is a scary word, but I guess I’ll have to get used to it or die tryin’. Because I’m not sacrificing anything I’ve just listed above.
So… here’s how I suggest it’s going to be from now on:
- Monday shall be Review Day. Even if I don’t finish one new romance every week, I’ll dig up an old read and share memories with you.
- Tuesday/Wednesday will be Opinion Day(s). I’ll pick an issue which more often than not will relate to writing, reading, or romance, and write how I feel about it.
- Friday will be My Writing Day. Updates on my own writing projects will go in there.
- Weekend will be Random Day(s). A day for love songs, fun finds, website promo and all the rest that doesn’t fit anywhere.
Four entries a week sounds like something I can achieve. Wish me luck!
Since a lot of my visitors don’t leave comments, it’s hard for me to know what they were looking for when they came here, and what they would come back for. I thought I’d do a little poll, another first for this blog!
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