Monday, October 13, 2008

So You Don't Have Time to Write or Dairy of a Romance Writers



Monday - October 6
To do list: write five pages, business meeting at 1:30

5:30 – 8:00: (Cat’s meowing woke me up) Update blog, fill in cover information for August book, edit previous work, write three pages.
8:00 – 9:00: Shower, laundry, dishes, wake up son, everybody dresses, breakfast, out the door.
10:00 – 1:15: teach two classes.
1:15 - 3:00: Business meeting – working on strategic plan.
3:30 – 5:30: teach one class.
6:00 – Home, eat dinner, play with husband and son, do bedtime routine.
9:00 – everyone in bed. Back to office to write two pages. Bed at 11:30

Tuesday – October 7
To do list: write five pages, committee meeting

5:30 – 8:00: (Cat’s meowing woke me up) Send editor photos of ideas for August book, edit previous work, write five pages.
8:00 – 9:00: Shower, laundry, dishes, wake up son, everybody dresses, breakfast, out the door.
10:00 – 1:15: teach two classes.
1:15 - 4:00: Grade, prep for tomorrow, grade, clear desk.
4:00 – 5:30: Committee meeting at work, am co-chair.
6:00 – Home, eat dinner, play with husband and son, do bedtime routine.
9:00 – everyone in bed.

Wednesday – October 8
To do list: write five pages, church tonight

5:30 – 7:00: (Cat’s meowing woke me up) Send editor a few more photos of ideas for August book, write zero pages because son wakes up more than an hour early.
7:00 – 9:00: Shower, laundry, dishes, wake up son, cuddle, everybody dresses, breakfast, out the door.
10:00 – 1:15: teach two classes.
1:15 - 3:00: Grade, prep for tomorrow, grade, clear desk.
3:30 – 5:30: teach one class
6:00 – Home, eat dinner
7:00 – Church
8:30 – home, help son with bath
9:00 – everyone in bed.

Thursday – October
9
To do list: write five pages, shop for TV tonight

5:30 – 8:00: (Cat’s meowing woke me up) Edit previous work, write five pages.
8:00 – 9:00: Shower, laundry, dishes, wake up son, everybody dresses, breakfast, out the door.
10:00 – 1:15: teach two classes.
1:15 - 3:00: Grade, prep for tomorrow, grade, clear desk.
4:00 – 5:00: Talk with husband
5:00 – 9:00: Power shop for new TV (Husband gets to make decision, this could take forever). Shop for son’s Halloween costume (gasp) Dinner at McDonalds (yeah, I didn’t have to cook) Head to target for more pull-ups and cat food
9:00 – everyone in bed.

Friday – October 10
To do list: write five pages, meeting at 8:30, meeting at 2:00, husband going out of town to work 4:00

5:30 – 7:00: (Cat’s meowing woke me up) Editor emails that she doesn’t need anymore photos, write three pages.
7:00 – 8:00: Shower, laundry, dishes, wake up son, everybody dresses, breakfast, out the door.
8:30 – 11:00: Critique group (couldn’t survive without it.)
11:00 – 11:00: Shop for more Halloween decorations (Oh, come on, my little guy is three. He’s dressing as Handy Manny. We’re decorating with spiders and having a blast).
11:00 – 1:30: Grade, enter grades on computer, prep for next week, make copies.
2:00 – 4:00: Meeting with co-chair to outline what we’ll be speaking about at next Friday’s conference.
4:30 – Mikey and Mommy are at barbershop getting him a haircut.
5:00 – Home, Mikey outside while Mommy does laundry and dishes and cooks dinner.
6:30 – Go for walk, find neighborhood kids, watch son run and have fun for an hour.
7:30 – bath, sit and watch Thomas the Train, bed for son.
9:00 – Write three pages, catch up on emails
11:00 – Go to bed, read an hour for pleasure.

Saturday – October 11
To do list: babysitter coming at 10:00, write five pages, dinner and movie with Cathy tonight.

7:00 – 8:00: (A mosquito woke me up. Wonder where the cat is? Probably hiding from the mosquito.) Write puppet play for Sunday school tomorrow.
8:00 – 9:00: Write two pages
9:00 – 10:00: Feed and play with son
10:00- 1:00: Babysitter arrives. Head to office. Make list that looks like this:
Write until page 35

Laundry
Start writing talk for Friday’s work conference
Write until page 37
Unload dish washer
Write until page 39
Laundry
Read Connie’s chapter, critique
Write until page 40
Read Cathy’s chapter, critique
Begin working on table topic
Print chapter one

1:00 I am at page 37. Load son and babysitter into car. Go to Taco Bell, go to park, have picnic. Write on Dana while Mikey and babysitter play. Get to page 39.
2:30 – 3:30: Write talk for Friday’s conference
4:00: Leave to meet Cathy at movie theater
4:30 – 6:30: Nights at Rodanthe (On a scale of 1 – 10, with ten being wonderful, I give this movie a 5. They were heavy on plot and missed the mark with characterization.)
6:30 – 7:30: Dinner
7:30 – 8:30 Shop at Mervyn’s for clothes.
8:30 take babysitter home.
9:00 Mikey in bed, back to writing.

Sunday – October 12
To do list: Church.

5:30 – (Mikey woke me up) Wake up to find son next to bed. Son winds up sleeping in Mommy’s bed. Son runs marathons in his sleep.
7:30 – 9:00: laundry, breakfast, get ready for church.
9:30 – 12:30: Church
12:30 – 4:00: eat lunch, play outside, play inside, watch Happy Feet, all the while reading The Good Neighor by Sharon Miginery [sp?]
4:30: Yeah, husband home.
6:30: Supper
7:00: Bath, watch Thomas the Train, read bedtime stories.
8:30: Write 5 pages.
9:19: Go to bed.

Monday - October 13
To do list: write five pages, doctor’s appointment at 8:30

5:30 – 7:30: (Cat’s meowing woke me up. Twice!) Update blog, try to finish book.

5 comments:

Debby Giusti said...

Pam, you're like me -- you sandwich writing in anywhere you can! Somehow those pages get written and end up as a manuscript that turns into a book! Thanks for sharing your schedule with us!

EllenToo said...

Yikes -- you made me tired just reading your schedule.

Margaret Daley said...

I'm exhausted reading your list.
Margaret

Pamela Tracy said...

You know, I got the idea to do my week when someone called me to back out of a commitment. Yup, they just didn't have time. Now, I have to do it. And I know KNOW know, they have as much if not more time than me. Uh huh, the dairy is a rant. Now I have to do their job. Arg.

Southern-fried Fiction said...

You're amazing! Your cat's better than an alarm clock. I've always said bust people get more accomplished than anyone. Especially busy moms.

I got tickled at Mikey waking you. As soon as my son figured out how to climb out of his crib, he would come into our room every night around 1 or 2 AM and sleep with us.

Some "experts" say you shouldn't allow that, but I figured he'd quit eventually. I was right. It lasted for a wihle and he stopped--long before he went to high school.

Never did understand what the big fuss about it was. :D