I’ve just spent the better part of 6 hours with my bum glued to the chair in my office. Mind you, I have taken the necessary pee breaks (quite a few actually, because I’ve been sipping on a gigantic tumbler of unsweetened iced tea all day), and I did get up twice because the hip I had surgery on a few weeks back was starting to ache and I needed to walk off the discomfort and grab a couple of Advil. But other than that, my chair will probably have a permanent imprint of my gluteus maximus – and that won’t be pretty.
You would think I know I need to take breaks every hour or so and do something physical to keep my mind and my body happy. But no. Once I’m in the zone, I know I need to push on.
The problem is that as much as I enjoy writing in general, I find academic/scientific writing painstakingly slow due to the need to include peer-reviewed and current references (at least 50), APA 7 writing requirements, and the simple fact I need to think like a university professor with a PhD instead of a gardener who wants to play with butterflies. Fortunately, I love my research (nature and health, well-being, and human/planetary health), so I am super motivated to churn out the necessary information and get the job done. I also know if I stay on schedule, I should have this beast of a paper finished by next week (finger’s crossed) and I can move on to other projects I need to complete.
But I have two BIG distractions. First, my study sits directly opposite the foyer and dining room, and on Sunday, Marty and I brought up the Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations for the house and yard. Second, my chair and desk sit right in front of a huge window which has two flower boxes and a large hanging platform feeder. So, every time I look past the monitor, I can see all those wonderful fall decorations which remind me I need to get my rear in gear and set these up AND every time a Blue Jay, a woodpecker, a squirrel, or …any animal… comes to the flower boxes or feeder, my attention diverts away from writing. I LOVE to decorate for the holidays, and I would much rather be decorating and playing in the garden than being tied to a chair on a beautiful, sunny autumn day. Also, when it comes to animals, plants, and anything remotely associated with nature, my brain naturally goes to that happy place. It’s like waving a shiny object in front of my face. My attention span for anything other than the nature event becomes equal to that of a gnat.
But knowing I can see the finish line with respect to my manuscript helps me to re-focus, keeps me on track, and brings me that much closer to being able to get back outside, celebrating the season and its holidays, and taking in the beauty and glory of autumn’s colors.
Still…..my mind frequently wanders to pumpkins, and fall mums, and mischievous skeletons, and pumpkin pie, and spiced apple cider, and crisp cool nights, and fireplaces cuddling next to Marty and wrapped up in a blanket, and the smell of the autumn air, and…a zillion other things which make me love fall so much.
I will let you know when I finish my paper and finally get the chance to jump into my decorating. In the meantime, I will have to settle with evening trips through the neighborhood and beyond to marvel at the creativity of others. Please feel free to send me photos of your fall gardens and decorations. I guarantee they will bring a huge smile to my face.
Happy Fall Everyone!
