Sunday 27 November 2011

Achievable targets

I've actually made good progress this week, despite the fact that it's been terribly difficult trying to summon up any kind of motivation since my father died. I now understand what people mean when they say they find themselves unable to concentrate after a bereavement, because I certainly feel like my brain's flitting from one thing to the next without settling on anything for more than a couple of seconds. However, I've found that as long as I set myself achievable targets, then I can make progress.

By achievable, I mean minute, bordering on the microscopic. For example, yesterday I set myself the target of finishing a paragraph. I got stuck stuck there last week and finally moved on to something else - I think the problem was that I kept telling myself I had to finish the chapter, and that seemed like an impossible task. However, once I told myself that I just had to write a couple of sentences, I had no problem getting down to work. And once I got going I didn't stop at the paragraph, but carried on writing for most of the afternoon and finished the chapter. But the point is, even if I hadn't got further than the end of the paragraph, at least I would have achieved my target and moved my story forward. That's better than getting nowhere at all.

Saturday 19 November 2011

Getting there...

I'm slowly getting my act together.

I'd been dreading the funeral, but actually it went much better than I'd thought it would. It was lovely to see how many people came to say goodbye to Dad, and it really helped to hear their reminiscences and how Dad had touched their lives.

I got back home on Monday and I've been in a whirl of catching up ever since, but this weekend is blissfully empty. I'm sat by my fire (there's something so comforting about a log fire) and I've got a stack of rom coms  to work through, starting with Legally Blonde. There might be chocolate involved, too.