Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Writing Lessons, Balance, Motivations & Procrastination

Today's blogs...

Welcome To My Reality - November Prompts

17. What have you learned about yourself through your writing?

I write to find myself. I write to learn about myself. I write to express what I really think. I also write to work out issues that concern me.

Writing grounds me when the day to day challenges build and feel like they are going to overwhelm me. I started writing when I was a least 7... around the time my parents were having problems. They eventually split up. I was an only child, living in a small northern Ontario town where I was probably the only one in my class with separated parents. It was the 1970s. Writing let me explore my feelings without having to talk about them.... because my family did not talk about stuff like that.

I also find blogging really puts me in touch with what is important to me and challenges me to consider the issues raised. Writing about these things, I am able to see what it is I really think... hence learning about myself in the process.

18. How do you balance all that is going on in your life?

I would be interested to read others responses to this... as I find I am not always the most balanced of individuals.

Well, on a mental level, I am fine... just in case you were wondering.... but being a writer, aren't we all having to deal with momentary imbalance at times?

In terms of the day to day, I am not always consistent... just like my inconsistent hours. Some days I am called in to supply teach and other days I am 'free' to do as I please. The problem lies in having too many hours and feeling like you have time to get to things, when by the end of the day you find you wasted most of those precious hours. I get more accomplished if I am busier.

The day I supplied all day and then went to a three hour workshop afterward, I found I was still able to crank out a thousand words for my Nano novel. But Saturday, on double down day, I waffled through my time... I did get a decent word count, but part of that was from writing with others at the Overnighter until 1:40 Saturday morning. I posted my word count when I got home that included the writing I had done in the first three hours of the overnighter - that was technically Friday night's words. (Friday was also a supply day and I managed a two hour nap before heading out to the overnighter).

November is a crazy month anyway... this is my 4th year doing NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month (I am over 31,000 words). Balance is precarious in November - especially since that is usually the month my husband decides to complain about all the other months I am inconsistent with the cleaning and such. Just one more emotional tag to add to my monthly baggage.

I am hoping the supply work will pick up but I am thinking I will need to get another part time job to supplement my income.

To keep me on track, particularly in the area of house care and cooking - both of which I don't care for and try to put off - I find making a schedule of things to do helps. In this schedule I also need to take in to consideration my husband's schedule - sometimes he is on nights and sometimes he is on days. When I do certain activities depends on how much noise the activity creates and if he is sleeping or gone to work. I prefer to get the cleaning done and out of the way as soon as possible in the morning... that way I can get to more preferable things afterward.... and still stop to prep for dinner if he will be here for dinner.

I also write better in the morning, so I try to do a little of both and see how the time plays out. It is always a juggling game.

19. What motivates you to give your all towards something?

Passion and love for what I am doing. I am motivated to roll out of bed to write. To meet up with friends. To teach an exciting lesson I have taken time to plan. It is even more motivating when the students pick up on my motivation and run with it... this is harder to do with daily supply work. You do not get to plan the lessons and you are meeting new students each and every day. Having my own class and my own group of students motivates me to provide engaging lessons for them so that I can inspire their own creative and thinking minds.

I enjoy working with special education students because they need an advocate - someone to be there for them... to let them know they are wonderful just the way they are and to support them through all they are going through. Small steps are celebrated. Breaking tasks down so that they can find confidence in doing things that they originally found impossible. Guiding and facilitating their learning... that is both the challenge and the sweetness of success when they finally master it. I helped. I cared enough to be there.

Those are the things that motivate me.

20. Procrastination, does it work for you or against you?

One of the things I learned in University was how long you could procrastinate doing something and still rock it. Sounds awful, really, but I found there was a level of frenzy I needed to get some papers done. Leaving it too long could cause me to freak out... then I would find my center and plow through. Finding the perfect spot of procrastination and motivation was a challenge. I was young and stupid.

Now I find I tend to tackle things much earlier... I do not have the stamina to put myself through that turmoil. The real world can through you things you do not anticipate... so it is better to deal with something right away so that it is taken care of before I forget to do it completely.

My university average was in the 70s for grades. When I went to Teacher's College, I was more mature and did not do that crazy procrastination game... my average was mid to high 90s. Part of that was interest level, but it was also doing my projects with more time and attention.
I still procrastinate. But I also know it is so not good for my peace of mind.