Timing ~ 4

Using a timer is the next part of my Daily Planning Guidelines. In my blog it is the fifth on that list. On the side of my fridge it is the fourth on that list. Guess I’d best tidy up my refrigerator list! Regardless, using a timer has been a very valuable tool in my entire learning about a writing practice. We have so many beeps, tones and alert sounds foisted upon our ears whether we’re inside or outside, I hesitated when this strategy was suggested to me several years ago. The longer I struggled against the Power of Procrastination the closer I came to resigning myself to one more sound assailing my ears.

My often used analogy with cooking allowed me to see the value of a timer. If I’m baking anything, the recipe always comes with a timed completion. Here is the neat little timer shaped like a garlic head I’ve used for years. Sadly, after those years of faithful timing, my poor little garlic head is not as reliable as it once was. It has created some near misses and some blackened and crispy products from my oven. So now, I just use my cell phone timer for all my daily timing needs. 

How does timing my work within a Daily Plan help? It provides a beginning and an end for me to work within. Editing is not exactly the most inspiring of activities. Revising is also not terribly wonderful, especially if I have attached my heart to certain sentences or words. The timer often ends one of those struggles, reminding me it’s time to get up and restore the circulation in my legs. Shift my brain into a different gear, whether it’s a bit of gardening or taking a walk around the block, taking deep breaths as I go. There is always a point that the timer is silenced. My body clock tells me when I’ve done enough work. I can take the bread out of the oven to let it cool, just as I can stack up any of my written work and let my thoughts settle until the next day.

“The Sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do 

with the light while it’s here is up to us. Journey wisely.”

~ Alexandra Elle

Don’t forget!  March is Epilepsy month with Purple Day for Epilepsy on March 26 each year.