I’m back after my week of sketchbooking! Now I can finally conclude (in more ways than one) the January Blues series I began a couple of weeks ago.
Last-last Thursday I wrote about my difficulty in setting good goals for myself. At the time, I’d planned for this third blues post to be about my longtime struggles with work-life balance. I’ve always had trouble compartmentalizing my life, and when I started working at home, it became an even bigger problem. After all, it does save time to run errands in the middle of the day, and it is important to take breaks between work sessions so I don’t burn out. Ideally, I’d work most of the day with only short personal sessions, but the personal stuff has had a tendency to take over. It makes sense: personal tasks are easier, they’re just as necessary, and they produce an equivalent sense of accomplishment (in the short run). Moreover, it’s impossible to get by without doing at least a smidgen of personal stuff each day (cooking, exercise, cleaning, and so forth), whereas my work can be put off indefinitely (if I don’t have deadlines I believe in, as I discussed in Part 2). It’s no wonder my grand creative dreams have so often been reduced to a tidy living room and a full fridge.
However, I’m pleased and proud to report that almost two weeks after my initial blues post, I’m inching closer to a happy work-life balance! This practice I’ve discovered has totally changed the way my days are structured, and it’s been working really nicely for both Erik and me.
Before Christmas a friend told me about a trick that helped her write her dissertation: work in 45-minute increments. She’d heard someone say that this is the optimal duration of work sessions, because it stops you at your peak flow, and you can then continue from peak when you start your next session. Obviously, 45 minutes can’t possibly be the perfect number for everyone, but so far it’s working shockingly well for me. The 45-minute session is long enough that I can get into what I’m doing, but short enough that I can’t dawdle and don’t get bored. I then take a 15-minute break to rest my wrists, eyes, back, and mind; those 15 minutes are also a great time to finish mindless little household tasks (on my first day, I unpacked from my weeklong holiday vacation, and cleaned the toilets).The 45/15 division really helped me keep my sanity and my hand and wrist health while I was working on the sketchbook project. When I was feeling “off” and distractible, the knowledge that I would get a break in 45 minutes helped keep me going; when I was on a roll, breaking at 45 prevented me from going all afternoon and then burning out at dinnertime. And, since I lined up my 45 minutes to end at each :45 on the clock, if I needed to take a longer break, or a slightly longer work session, it never got as out of control as it used to; I could do whatever I needed to do, and then realign during the next hour.
In addition, following a predictable work/break schedule has allowed me to synchronize with Erik, who also works from home. Although he needs work sessions that are longer than 45 minutes, when he knows I’m breaking at :45, he can still coordinate some of his breaks with mine, so we can use our 15 minutes to chat and check in with each other. That has been one of the best benefits of this 45/15 split.
My early-January blues are already receding into the distance, and I’m feeling great about the rest of the year. Finishing the sketchbook project gave me a huge boost in creative satisfaction and optimism, the 45-minute work session is empowering me to work hard without burning out, and I’ve received so much superb support and advice from my goal-setting post, I can’t wait to try it out! Look for another goals post on this blog in future!
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 
my friend clued me into a similar thing called the “pomodoro technique” where you work for 25 minute increments, break for 5, and every few cycles take a slightly longer break: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique
a lot of people really like this kind of work technique (whether 25 or 45 or whatever increments + built-in breaks), but it never worked for me. i can get it to work for a few rounds before it devolves and i’m back to procrastinating or whatever 😛 but more power to you for getting it to work!!!
like i mentioned before, i seem to thrive on going for hours and hours in irregular bursts, and don’t do well when forced to “change states,” as sean and i like to refer to it :P. we blame our reluctance to “change states” for our nocturnal schedules and long sleep cycles: if we’re working, we don’t want to stop to go to bed. if we’re asleep, we don’t want to wake up. we often bemoan that the world runs on 24 hour days… 36 or 40 hour days would be much more ideal! (for us ;P)
…speaking of which, we just woke up less than 3 hours ago. dammit! the nocturnality managed to sneak up on us yet again!
Ouf, Pomodoro sounds too fast for me too — I wouldn’t be able to work in 25-minute increments without feeling spastic!
Now that you mention it, I think I’ve tried similar techniques before, without success. I think it’s working for me now because (1) Erik is doing it too, (2) My action lists and goals are at a point where I really know what I need to be doing during every work session. Strange how it all comes together!
Hee, I’m sure lots of people work well in irregular bursts. I think if Erik weren’t so fond of his regular bedtime, I could easily manage the 45/15 technique within an odd-hours-of-the-day schedule! But since he’s got me trained to it, I like waking up and going to bed early. ;b
I’m glad the new schedule is working for you. While you were working on the sketchbook project, I was in the midst of a burst of creative writing. All I could think about while working at the store was that I’d rather be writing — finishing two stories that I’ve been working on for years. When the store let me go the week after New Year’s, I was simultaneously upset and thrilled! (More about that later.)
I’ve gone back to my old habits, which are a lot like the ones Tangerines describes, in that I would prefer a much longer day so that I can continue to work for hours but also be able to sleep for hours. (I also don’t “change states” well!) My biggest problem is that if I pause a story before the creative burst is played out, I really do lose my train of thought. And often if I try to leave myself a note, it’s not enough to get my creative juices flowing again. So far, I don’t seem to be able to work according to a schedule.
I think tonight I may have finally finished the second story. I’ve just emailed it to my daughter who seems to be a pretty good at finding my flaws. We met this afternoon, and she pointed out a few things. If she likes the changes, maybe I could send it to you for one of your Open Mics and get some more feedback?
Anyway, congratulations on finding a groove that works for you!
Ré, I am so excited to hear about your writing!! I’m so glad you mentioned the Open Mic because I was just about to email you about that. Expect one from me later today. 🙂
I know what you mean about not being able to leave a story mid-flow. I’m like that too, but I’ve discovered during this 45/15 thing that a 15-minute break is actually short enough that it doesn’t mess with my thoughts too much. (I admit I’ve also shortened the breaks when necessary, leaving my 45-minute session a little late and starting the next one a little early, so it’s more like 50/10 sometimes.) I haven’t tried this technique with long prose yet, though, so maybe that’ll change my mind. It does work well with blog entries, however, since the break gives my brain a little refresher and I can sometimes spot edits when I come back to the post afterward! And when I’m drawing or painting, I really do need the forced break, no matter how much I think I’m in the flow; my hands thank me!
Lisa, if this system works for you, I’m all for it. I can see the advantages, but also realize it would take a certain psychological make-up to not get taken over by clock watching. Sometimes (often, actually) the creative process has a life of it’s own, and you lose momentum when you interrupt it. That said, being able to schedule a rest for your wrists and back and eyes is important for you and not to be neglected. Give us a follow up in a few weeks to see how well you are able to maintain the 45:15.
Last year I took three eight week pottery classes. My teacher and her husband bought an historic building in downtown Salisbury and renovated it to be both her pottery studio and their home. The first floor is the gallery and studio, and the second a spacious and lovely home. This to me would be the perfect setup. Your home and your workplace are close, but they don’t intercept. You don’t have to pass the kitchen to get to the bathroom, or look at the unfolded laundry or unmade bed. It is convenient, but you maintain two different worlds. Perfect, except they don’t have any yard to walk the dog. Oh, well……
Sherry, I’ll definitely be posting follow-ups to this in future, though if all goes well they might just be quick mentions rather than full-on posts. Last year I started the year in wild excitement about Getting Things Done, and since I still use that system, I just refer to it every now and then when I mention my action lists. 🙂
It is odd, because I do seem like the type of person who would let the 45/15 schedule devolve into clock-watching, and yet (so far) that hasn’t happened. Not sure why that is.
Pottery sounds fun! It’s one of my many “maybe someday” activities, like knitting and baking my own bread on a regular basis. I love handmade pottery; it just feels so good in the hands, and looks so nice too. Your teacher does seem to have a wonderful setup. I think mine would be to have the two spaces be adjacent, but detached. A couple of years ago I visited a local painter‘s Open Studio, and her studio was a little cottage in the backyard of her home. She had a lovely garden and yard, with enormous old trees and a view of the bay, and this was what she got to walk through when going between the house and the studio.
You’re right – a detached studio would be great, especially for a writer. I think the downtown building is perfect for the pottery studio though. Potters need a lot of space for the kiln and drying shelves, tables for hand building, and, of course, a wheel(s). And if you teach you need even more room. Plus the gallery takes up almost half the first floor. The building is on a corner with lots of big windows for display. It is a gem in the middle of our thriving downtown area. And they seem to love it. However, I’m with you: a more pastoral location would be a better fit for me too.
I hadn’t thought about urban versus non-urban, but you’re right, I do prefer something that’s not quite in the middle of everything (five years in LA made me very crowd-averse!). But for people who do want to be in an urban setting, and especially people who are interacting with that community via a storefront or gallery, it’d be more convenient to have your two spaces be connected.
Daydreaming about my ideal creative/home space is like reading catalogs for my perfect life. 😉
Sometime in the last few days I saw a newspaper article about a woman who won the lottery, and (get this) she claims it’s because she visualized it! She visisualized the amount (I think it was 1.2 million), what she was wearing, all sorts of details. And it all happened just the way she saw it. At least that is her story. So, Lisa, just scrunch up your forehead and picture the studio of your dreams. Who knows what magic will happen:) And if it works, let me know….
It’s weird since my favorite way to draw is from my imagination, but I have a very difficult time visualizing anything accurately. Maybe I could collage my ideal studio instead… 😉
Speaking of collage — I’ve been wanting to tell you how much I love the header (is that what it’s called?) of your blog. I think I read somewhere in your journal that you made that for a project. Is that right? The colors are rich and gorgeous, and the fabrics, kitty, teapot, and table setting, all tell a visual story about you. You are a storyteller through- and- through.
Thank you, Sherry! I don’t know if it’s technically called the header but that’s how I think of it too. I love it as well. The storytelling happened unconsciously, as I just selected magazine photos that spoke to me. The original post (and the entire collage) appear on my Livejournal.
Oooh, I really like the idea of scheduled breaks. You know what, I’m going to give this a try next week with a slight modification. I’ll aim to work an hour and forty-five minutes, and break for 15. It’s funny–just writing that makes my inner workaholic feel anxious (“That’s 15 minutes I won’t be working!!), but another part of me is already foreseeing good things. Heaven knows I could use a little more balance in my work life. 😉 Thanks for the idea!
Hah, if your inner workaholic is getting panicky, that’s probably a good sign for the rest of you. ;b Doing 1:45 sessions is actually what Erik has been doing, and it seems to be working nicely for him. 🙂 Let me know how it goes! I’m really curious to hear whether it suits you too.
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