This week I have to work on four articles, plus rework another article. In addition to those, I have to work on Julius, write a book review, make my daily entries on Fit and Svelte, train, along with all the other activities that come with living–like breathing, eating, showering, and so on. Suffice it to say, it’s a wee too much and I’m a tad overwhelmed–and it’s only Tuesday. I know by this crazy schedule that it will be a work weekend. Once I have that burned into my brain, I’ll be okay with it.

The question that arises again and again is how to manage my time better? I was planning to go to the gym–walk to and from–but that eats up an hour of my time. And since it’s turning into a crappy day, I’ll be working out at home. Is the workout necessary? Yes, since I am training for a 10K. But it’s also a mind clearer and it does help me write.  Right now I need all the help I can get because I have rework an article I didn’t find all that interesting (perhaps, I’ll have a major revelation while I’m ellipting?) In any event, working out at home does give me some time to do other things like post on this blog.

Most time management experts say that if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the tasks that you need to prioritize. some say the do the hards one first and then do the easy ones last. While others say get the fast and easy ones out of the way first. I suppose writing this post is considered one of the easy, get out of the way ones, but to me it’s a little more than that. It’s a warm-up to spending the day writing, and it has a high placing on the priority task list.

This time management issue is always a battle with me because I seem to make everything a priority and then I get overwhelmed. It’s one of those catch-22s. What gets chucked or ignored? FaceBook for sure, and possibly email (at least the socializing emails, newsletters, etc). Phone calls are to be ignored, unless it’s a writing related call.  Unfortunately, book reviews (the unpaid ones) and Julius get delegated to the bottom of the list.

I know I’ll pull through and I know something will have to get dropped (except for the paid articles). Well, Saturday is my rest day from working out. I suppose it will be my catch up day for everything else.

Off to the elliptical and then onto THAT article.

It’s been several months that I’ve used my elliptical. Part of it is that the Ol’ Man has been sick with diverticulitis; he’s been very cranky and a drama queen about everything I do from eating (“must you swallow so loudly?”) to working out (“that constant swishing noise is giving me a migraine”).  He’s feeling better, and now he’s in the middle of planning and planting his garden. His gardening hobby is expensive, but it does have its benefits–I get my cherry tomatoes and arugula for my salads, and when he’s out at nurseries in search of seeds and plants he’s out of the house for at least two hours. That means I can swallow, and workout.

If you Google “exercise and creativity,” you’ll see the research that if you exercise your body, you’ll all also see a surge in creative activities, problem-solving, stress reduction, etc. So here I am in my pyjamas, writing a la Truman Capote (in bed, the laptop sits on a bed tray). I look up and there’s my $700 elliptical. My workout clothes are hanging from the handlebars, the heart monitor is resting on the console, and I have the freedom to get on it and ellipt away the extra 8 ounces I gained from last night’s homemade popovers, and get my creative juices flowing to work on an article and later on Julius.

I don’t know whether exercise makes me a better writer or not, but I know that after a hard workout I feel like I can take on anything. My thoughts on the elliptical or treadmill are usually, “when is this going to end? I hate sweating.” But once I get into the groove and I’ve hit my target heart rate zone, my thoughts tend to go to Julius or the article I’m currently working on.  And when I’m finished–sweaty and breathing hard–I’m always amazed of how relaxed I feel. But there’s more to it. I feel like I can take on the world. The article doesn’t seem so daunting; Julius calls out me to add or rework scenes.

After nearly four months of collecting dust, it’s time to grease those pedals and handlebars, and take it and my brain for a spin, and maybe if I avoid popovers it will help me lose those blasted 8 ounces or more!