I spent a lot of yesterday driving to/from Connecticut, where I was giving a speech. I had debated taking the train, but I would have had to drive in traffic to the Philadelphia Amtrak station, and then it would have been at least a 15 minute Uber ride on the other end too (we weren’t right by a major station). So I just drove the whole way.
It was a reminder that traffic is no fun! I left the house at 6:10 a.m., and pulled into my venue at 10:15 a.m., so that’s 4:05 total time. I probably stopped for a total of 25-30 minutes as I stopped 3 times (getting on the road at 6:10 a.m. requires a lot of coffee…but then that creates its own issues). So a moving time of about 3:35-3:40. On the way back, I left at 12:20 p.m., and got home at 4:00 p.m., with one 30-minute stop for lunch, so my moving time was around 3:10. This is only a 25-30-minute difference and yet it felt so, so different being in stop-and-go traffic during the entirety of New Jersey on the way there and more or less moving constantly on the way home (albeit slower through certain parts). I took the TappenZee/Cuomo bridge both times and I definitely like that better than the GWB.
Anyway, I know some people have jobs that were supposed to be remote and which now feature long drives to/from the office a few days a week and…I know this is rough.
I mentioned last month doing a version of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, when the goal is to write a novel draft in November). I outlined a story and started about a week before the beginning of November with daily writing. Then in November I made it to November 9 writing at least 1700 words a day but…then I ran out of story. I mean, I could go back and fill in some more stuff, but I’d just be padding until I figure out what else needs to happen. It’s currently about a 20,000 word novella (a terrible novella, btw) and the amount of plot just needs to be bigger. So I’ve stopped writing for a bit and will come back to it later. I think there is promise. There are some good characters and ideas. It just needs a lot more thought.
My Before Breakfast campaign with Daffy to support Feeding America continues. We’ve raised $4200, roughly, which currently puts me in second place behind Stacking Benjamins in terms of $$ raised for charity (in a little podcaster challenge). I’m not terribly competitive but…it is a good cause to make sure people have groceries and meals this holiday season. So if you’re inclined to donate to a food-related charity…please do!
Speaking of Before Breakfast, this week my interview episode features Christine Koh! I know a lot of my listeners/readers are also fans of hers, so please check that episode out. She talks about her routines, and also her recent birthday experience of trying to list and notice a LOT of small, good things that happened over that weekend. I love this sort of thing.
I feel so seen when you describe the difference between driving and driving in stop and go traffic. When I leave for my commute home, the first 15 minutes is in stop-and-go traffic. I have started keeping a container of Icebreakers Sparkling in my car. I pop one candy in my month right before I attempt to merge onto the highway, aka “parking lot”. It feels nice to give myself a treat (5 calories) during the worst part of my drive and its sourness is a reminder to relax and enjoy it as best as I can.
@Rachel S – ooh, I like that idea. On the way north I was mostly just practicing parts of my speech when I didn’t need to be totally “on” with traffic but on the way home I listened to Beethoven’s Ninth and maybe that helped me with feeling better in the car too!
Actually, Ms. Laura Vanderkam, my office is just a 10-minute walk from where I live.
I’ve listened to the episode “Editing your life, with Christine Koh”. I definitely agree with her that the planning system that I use needs to work for me, otherwise I won’t use it. I was not expecting Ms. Christine Koh’s golden hours for work and creativity and productivity to be in the morning. Although, I think that eventually, the book on golden hours that you’re writing and Ms. Christine Koh’s golden hours will be compatible with one another, Ms. Laura Vanderkam. When Ms. Christine Koh pointed out that her handwriting is terrible, I actually kind of wondered how terrible it could be. I once practiced writing with my right hand as well as my left hand, but even nowadays, I’m not always satisfied with my handwriting from my left hand. And no, I was not expecting Ms. Christine Koh to call her assessment of the week the Goldilocks assessment of the week.