Time to spam R2+ L2! Knowing when to be realistic without the guilt.

  Borrowed from nastyprisms.com

So, if you haven't figured it out, my writing is the T-Rexaur and I'm the two daintily clad SEED soldiers booking it out of there as fast as my pixelated appendages can carry me in crippling, triple-exclamatory horror.

With an initial NaNo goal of 50k, I'm currently at 18k.  I have a thesis/IRB proposal due next week, a panel proposal due in two days, and that's only the tip of the iceberg.  Countless other writing projects, taken on last month in a bold rush of ego, (including this very blog) have been scattered to the winds because simply, I can't type fast enough or stay awake long enough to do them all.  Which is the reason this blog, unlike the others, will be very brief in compare to the first couple I have written.

Today, I decided to take advantage of the new CampNaNo system and knock my goal down to 30,000 words.  That means I have only 12k to go rather than 32k--a goal that I think I could reach in 9 days easily. Even though I felt guilty about it initially, I felt a big weight come off my chest.  I can make that goal and still get my graded work done.  I can get everything done, without feeling guilty that something's being left behind.  And if I don't, at least I'm pretty close, and the hard work that I have been able to accomplish isn't dismissed as nothing.

But how did I get into this situation anyway?  Well, it's a lot of my own fault. I took on too many projects.  I knew April CampNaNo was happening at the same time as the twilight of the semester.  I knew I needed to make this semester count.  I allowed a couple of people to completely disrespect my time and disrupt my efforts to be productive. I slacked off when I should have been working.  The list goes on.  Then there are external forces at work, which I won't go into because I'm not so much concerned about them.

But sometimes you have to just be realistic about just how much you can do in a certain amount of time and be aware of the obstructions that are going to make your tasks difficult. Be honest and don't be ashamed to say "No I can't, not right now."

Because here's what happens--come crunch time, everything you pledged to do comes crashing down, deadlines sneak up, and when you have to start prioritizing what you're going to do and what you're going to leave until later, guilt sets in.  And guilt's just one of the many seeds of writer's block.

So moral of the story: pace yourself, for goodness sake!  Because I sure didn't.  AND IT BLOWS.  :(

Now if you excuse me, I have to go slog through...everything I signed up for. *sigh*

See you soon,

The Writing Raccoon