Activeness

And she's back!

Yes, I must apologise that I once again sunk into the deep dark void of where'd-she-go-ness. This time, I honestly have a good excuse for it which doesn't involve me being excessively lazy.
For once, I was actually truly so busy that sacrifices had to be made. Prioritising meant that blogging had to take a back seat for the moment or either sleep or deadlines just would not have happened. So thank goodness for half-terms and their existence, eh? So here is my recovery.

Picture courtesy of William Younger
freerangestock.com

But to be honest, I like being active. The last three weeks or so have been 'running around like a headless chicken' style, and yes when you're in the fray all you can think of is "Oh when will it end?" And then you finish your deadlines, you turn all your work in and turn around and say, "Ah, actually that was quite fun."

That's me. I have noticed that actually, during times of quite and lack of things to do, I have a tendency to fill that void with things to do. Have you by chance ever seen the movie "Yes Man"? Well, that's more or less me. Just like Jim Carey went about as "Carl" collecting phone numbers for Korean and guitar classes (and everything else), so do I find myself collecting odds and ends to do.
Yes I would like to learn to script software programming languages.
Yes I would like to join the art society.
Yes I would like to purchase and read the entire Game of Thrones series (along with 15 other titles).

The only problem is that what often escapes my infallible logic are the needs of higher-priority commitments. The result? A pile of incomplete activities and hobbies that have had to be benched in favour of the more urgent. Yes this bothers me to a degree. I don't like having a lot of incomplete activities lying around. But I've also noticed, that I truly dislike having no incomplete tasks on my hands.

Strangely but honestly, there is nothing quite so off-putting for me as the site of a clean and neat office desk with everything in the right places, everything new and untouched. Like a field of unbroken snow that has fallen overnight. It is not disturbing if I know I'm about to use that desk and that stationary. In that case I'm just enthusiastic because I love new stationary. :-) Just as if I were about to jump into that sheet of untouched snow. But it is if I'm supposed to keep that desk looking like that. For me, a desk like that symbols a desk that is hardly used, a place in which nothing happens. A messy work space (not chaotic but with stuff littered about) for me shows someone works there and does things. And I like having stuff to do!

Picture courtesy of Chance Agrella
freerangestock.com

The best is when I can work those hobbies into every activities. :-) Tweeting right after I get up. Reading when I get home. Noveling on the weekends. Something of the sort. It's the variety of activities that makes life interesting. Seeing new faces, talking to new people, trying new things. And you find out things about yourself that surprise you.

I found out that I'm quite an avid reader. Before I started writing, I don't think I'd managed to read a single book through. I much perfered spending my free time with my game consoles. Then I realised I had to start reading fiction to get a feel for how other writers approach their trade. Now I find myself more eager to read a good book and having to work at playing games!

Oddly, being very busy helps me get everything done! It's when I have a lot of time on my hands that I don't see to manage to get anything finished on time. Same with my novels. NaNoWriMo especially seems to go better for me and have a higher chance of succeeding when I'm busy than when I'm not. Of course then there are just times when you are so busy you don't have time to get things done, but those are few and far between in comparison.

If someone came to me and asked for help because they couldn't seem to motivate themselves to get things done, I would recommend that they get more active. It's odd how it seems to work but it does. And busy times, when I look back on them, seem to be the happiest times I have. :-)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a book series to complete.

Your friendly neighbourhood Writer Monkey!