Recreating Habits

I've been making more of an effort to sit down and write, like it's my job instead of leaving it up to when I get the urge.  It's cathartic for me and helps empty out a portion of my brain which is often over-full.

With that in mind, I'm scheduling myself to sit down and write during the weekends.  Kevin is usually outside and the puppy with him so the distractions are less.  I try to write in the afternoons when I get home but have found it only mildly successful.  I'm unsure exactly why (puppy) but the weekends seem better.

I've also reverted to writing in the office instead of at the dining table or my couch.  Something about the act of going into the office and sitting at the desk enables my brain to  click into writing mode. There's a little tinge of "Duh" about that but consider that I used to be able to write anywhere: work. racetrack, couch, bed, wherever.  Now, it just seems to take a more concentrated effort. I don't know why and I suppose it doesn't really matter.

I've cleaned up and out my desk, reverting back to how it was before throwing myself down the stairs.  This has taken a few Sundays but I think I'm to the place of "There are no more excuses." The drawers are organized, the surface is cleaned, there is no clutter around. Yes, I'm ignoring you stack of unread books! 

I settle in, usually, with a bottle of water or in today's case: a mocha, and music playing in the background.  I'd like to say that it's something that is soothing or fosters creativity but it's just the Canadian country music station.  I don't have my Sirius set up back here and I think it would just be one more thing to distract.  Also, Canadian radio makes me not miss my friends so much.
(And, the puppy.  Missy never cared about my writing other than to sigh and eye-roll because I was In Her Room whereas the puppy tends to be all puppy-ish and gets into mischief while I'm writing)

I alternate between laptops.  My old work one has zero memory so I use it if I'm simply writing without the use of pictures or anything and it is more comfortable to type on.  The new laptop is lovely but it has Windows 8 and anyone who has experienced that knows what I'm talking about.  (namely: don't swipe up on the pad or rest your left hand on the keys or unreasonable frustration ensues)

I'm still having separation anxiety from my keyboard and dinosaur computer.  I can type so much quickly on an ergonomic keyboard and the wheezing of the dinosaur was soothing.  Not to mention I still haven't gotten the hang of having my files on the cloud.  Sweet baby jesus, why I don't I just mutter about the good old days of banging away on a typewriter...

I am going to also try to write when I get home after work as well, kind of like doing your homework as soon as you get home from school.  This is a strange habit for me because if I had homework, I usually did it on the bus while riding home.  This doesn't seem like a transferable skill to use in adulthood.

I'm also going to post links on the twitter when I write.  Swistle does it and even though I read her every single day, I still get that little twinge of excitement when I see her post a link on twitter.  This will be an interesting habit to acquire.  I read the twitter during the day but I forget to actually post.  I'm unsure why that is.

So, as apropos during November's NaNoWriMo and NaNoBloPo, this is my new goal.