I thought this week was going to be stressful. I suppose it was, too: I had four assignments due, including research, studying, and pages of writing. While I continued my procrastination inclination (I didn’t start actually writing the 4-7 page paper with annotations and proper academic formatting until tonight), I managed to read a fiction book in between, and continued a regular schedule of walks exercise. I even had a great night’s sleep last night despite the ongoing issue with allergy congestion that just keeps wanting to evolve into a cold.
The interesting revelation of the week, though, was that doing MBA classes with the goal of earning that degree is not all that different from writing a novel: So long as you have small goals, set at achievable intervals, and chip away at it on a daily (or regular) basis, you can hit the finish line.
So I worked on my discussion board assignments early in the week, finished my mid-term yesterday, and wrote my “turn-around plan” today. With all that work, and the congestion, I ignored my manuscript this week, but am going to approach October as a mini-NaNoWriMo, and write a minimum of 5,000 words each week to finish the second novel in the Red Slaves series. I’ll be telling myself a lot of “I think I can” to get through it, but because I’m really feeling revitalized by walking under the full moon tonight (you can see Joe and the girls under the dual lights of the moon and a street lamp above) I will be working on the stick-to-it-iveness necessary to complete both my class and my book.
We’ll see how it goes. If you have any tips on how you’ve managed long-term focus… feel free to share them in the comments.
😉