Friday a bust, Saturday better, Sunday doesn't count, Monday disappeared

So, it's almost midnight, and I teach first thing Tuesday morning (yes, that means 7:30 a.m.). I have prepared my lesson plan for tomorrow and graded about one-quarter of the total midterms that I need to have graded by Thursday. It was a total waste of a day for writing. And, really, so was Friday. I just could not write. Well, on Friday at least I tried. Today I didn't even attempt it. I woke up with a headache (gack! humidity! you will be the death of me!) and then went back to bed, woke up again and felt like I was still asleep. I managed to grade a few exams, go into school to administer one last exam, and then prepared to teach poetry tomorrow. And that was pretty much the day. How did it go by so quickly?

Luckily, Saturday was a much needed day of work and progress. I actually opened my Word doc and actually typed some sentences, cut some other sentences, discussed my plan with a fellow PhD student. It was all rather refreshing. So, the key on Saturday to progress was: leave the house, meet up with a fellow dissertator, don't plan to do any teaching-related work, and don't have high expectations. I just planned to look at the document, and--lo and behold!--I actually did more than just look. I managed to think through the possibilities of various chapters and organization and all that jazz.

Wow. So, I'm learning. Slowly, but surely, I'm learning that like Jeff, I need to work on my stuff first or it will never get done. Mornings are going to be the key. Leaving the house and going to a cafe or the library might also be important elements. Working with another dedicated writer might also help. All these things are going into my toolbox.

Okay, off to bed and on to another day of work (mostly teaching, office hours, and dissertation seminar tomorrow, sadly).