Enjoying a picnic lunch in Spokane
As I began more regular consulting work in early January, I needed to develop a new schedule. I’ve been adapting, but finding it hard to balance time and energy for fiction writing. The transition was tiring — I barely read in January. I always forget how much mental energy starting a new job takes, apparently even when it’s not a “job” job 😉
My 2022 life remained pretty quiet and close-to-home since I’m still wary of COVID. I quit my job halfway through the year, and since then have been writing a lot and working on starting a freelance consulting business.
This was a busy fall quarter filled with lots of writing and making progress on starting a consulting business. I was still trying to make lots of time for resting and relaxing, but felt pretty busy even though I didn’t start working each day till 10:30, and usually wrapped up before 4.
I’m on a slightly downward trend but still spending a good bit of time browsing the internet on my phone every day. I think I’ll adjust this goal going forward to be closer in reach to reality.
Data source: RescueTime monthly reports
October and November were seriously devoted to writing and planning, plus the first half of December.
Data source: RescueTime monthly reports + self-tracked off-computer work in October and December
I find using the Fitbit numbers very irritating because I typically only get active minutes for half the time I spend walking — a 98 minute walk I took last week only gave me 51 active minutes 😑 But I guess it’s keeping me honest about what actually gets my heart rate up high enough.
Data source: Fitbit app total active minutes by month, divided by days in month
Data source: Fitbit app hours of sleep annual view
At the very end of Q2 this year, I quit my day job after 7 and a half years — without anything lined up for work. The past three months have been a total change for me, the first time in fourteen years I’ve had more than two weeks off. It’s been a mental adjustment in many ways, as well as an opportunity to recover from years of stress.
Far from being a blank slate, my life has expanded to fill the freed-up time to the point where I don’t totally see how I fit thirty hours of work in before. There was some concern I might feel disconnected, but between seeing friends for weekly walks, hanging out online at Homebrew Website Club, ongoing chats with friends on WhatsApp and Discord, and calls with family, I am talking to people outside my house most days.
My daily time reading articles on my phone has gone up by about an hour compared to Q2 — and an hour above my goal. Frankly, I’m surprised (though pleased) it didn’t go up more 😉
Data source: RescueTime monthly reports
I took half of July totally off from working, and didn’t do much writing. I have been doing a lot of my work on paper, which is harder to track. (I’ve done it in the past but didn’t think of it for this.) This is definitely not representative of effort for this quarter 😉 I’m going to start tracking paper sessions for Q4.
Data source: RescueTime monthly reports
In August it was too hot for several of our walks, and in September we hit wildfire smoke.
Data source: Fitbit app active minutes by week
Data source: Fitbit app hours of sleep annual view