How is it September already? What happened to August? Heck, what happened to July? I feel like I got caught in a time warp and lost a whole month – or more. I know that’s not the case, but I still can’t believe it’s September already!
That means I have 2 months left to my new deadline. 😅 I hope I’ve made enough progress that trying to finish won’t short circuit my brain again as the deadline comes closer. With an extra day off coming up with the holiday, I’m going to try to get some extra writing in, too. If I can get ahead, that would be ideal.
Possible Hurdles Between September 1st and October 31st
Thinking about the deadline is making me realize how many things affect my writing that are at least partially beyond my control:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Workload / Overtime
- Weather (allergies especially)
Depression & Anxiety
I’m trying to keep my depression and anxiety at bay, but I can’t control other people’s actions or the world. Both of which can be triggering. While I’ve been doing better recently, I have to recognize that whether it gets worse or not isn’t entirely up to me.
Workload & Overtime
With workload and overtime, I have some say in that, and, honestly, my employer tries to avoid it when possible. But neither I nor my employer can completely control client demands (cough, er, needs). Sometimes, those requirements hit from several directions at once, and we get busier than expected. When that happens, I don’t get as much writing done because work takes too much of my mental and physical energy.
Weather & Allergies
And, as I mentioned earlier, allergies are distracting / annoying and only partially controllable through medication. Of course, the medicine also has side effects, which generally make the brain a bit less effective.
No Excuses
Now, I feel like I’m making excuses before I get there, but that’s not what I’m trying to do. It’s just that writing regularly and talking about the process here has made me more aware of forces that affect the speed of my writing. Since it’s already September (I still do not understand how), I’m hoping those forces will leave me alone for the next two months so that I can make my goal this time.
But if they don’t (*warding gesture*), I’m going to have to continue to make progress anyway. So I guess the moral to the story is that I need to make as much progress as I can while I’m not fighting those things. And when they do hit, I’ll have to deal with them and make as much progress as I can in spite of them.
Just like I have to deal with the fact that it’s already September (how?!).
Savannah Knightly 