I haven’t attended a critique group meeting for over three months. Tomorrow This evening I return for the first time since breaking that stupid little bone in my foot. Although I’ve critiqued the other members’ submissions via email, I haven’t submitted anything of my own. I’m off the hook for tomorrow’s meeting, but in two weeks, I’m back in the rotation.
This is the one thing that’s most likely to get me out of my slump, force me into my chair, place my hands on the keyboard, and make me type….and read….and revise….and submit.
The truth is, I spent years working in a job with deadlines, and I still work better under pressure. I still get more done when I have a time limit.
Schedules and To Do Lists and a timer and multiple calendars make me more productive.
Too much free time, and I won’t necessarily use it wisely (although I admit I might enjoy what I’m doing when I’m goofing off….like reading all those books I’ve been telling you about on Mondays).
So now its back to critique group, and hopefully, back to work. I really won’t have much of a choice. They’re such nags!
How do you feel about deadlines and schedules, productivity, and critique groups?
It’s true…..we are nags
Ha! This is how I figure out who in my critique group reads my blogs. Thanks for visiting, Ken!
I find when I’m busy, I get more done. Days I have little on my schedule, I slack.
That seems to be my pattern, too, Alex. Today I have a lot on my schedule so I have high hopes for high productivity…but I’m still going to take time out to sit out in the sun for a while. After all those rainy days we had, I’m eager for at least fifteen minutes of relaxation.
I’m so glad you’re getting to work with your critique group, Pat. If that’s what spurs you on, that’s great. I find I would best when I have a schedule – a plan – for my writing. So even though I don’t work with a group, I try to have some sort of discipline about that. Otherwise it all slips by.
When working without a class or critique group or even a critique partner, discipline is the key. Sometimes I have it, and sometimes I’m just a goof off.