Writing Journal 7 February 2024: Goodbye Chariton (and writing productivity)

This might be the last blog post I write in my home for the past four years, Chariton, Iowa. Within the next few days, we will be moved out of our home and (more or less) fully into our new home of Fort Madison, Iowa, right next to the river that seems to be a focus of my life.

Naturally, writing has been on the back-burner for me. To be honest, I barely was able to concentrate on it this past week. I am hoping it will be the worst week from a writing productivity standpoint for me for the rest of this year.

I’ve previously tried to describe the experience of teaching (even in a good learning environment) and how it affects you mentally. The best description I can come up with currently is attempting to complete a triathlon with your brain. It’s an all consuming effort when you are in the midst of the experience, and when you mix in trying to get everything packed up from your home, it is frankly a lot to take in. I might be able to think a bit about the stories I’m interested in telling, do some planning and outlining of those stories, but actually telling them is something else entirely.

I’m not necessarily hopeful I will see a turnaround this week. However, when next week comes around and I will be alternating between Fort Madison and “in the wind, so to speak,” in the words of the fantastic character Omar Little in The Wire. It may be a bit simpler for me to write in some anonymous hotel room where I don’t have to worry about what to pack up for storage and what to take care of in my home. My father did a considerable amount of traveling as a consultant engineer for about 40 years before his retirement, both around and outside the United States. I might have to get some tips from him about properly handling hotel living.

Enough stalling; here’s the stats.

Writing statistics for the week ending 3 February 2024:
862 words written.
Days writing: 2 of 7.
Days revising/planning: 5 of 7 for 270 total minutes.
Daily Writing Goals Met (500+ words or 30 minutes of planning/revisions): 6 of 7 days.

Writing statistics for January 2024:
Words: 10,769
Revise/Plan: 1,440 minutes
Daily Writing Goals Met: 86%

Honestly, I’m surprised I exceeded 10,000 words for this month. I need to be closer to 16,667 per month to make it to at least 200,000 for the year. At least I have some decent numbers for planning and revising, and at least am meeting my daily goals that way.

However, that’s not enough for me. I want to get back to where I was. I might not get on that pace in the next couple of months, but I can get there. I have the stats and the numbers to prove it. And I’ve got a lot to write about.

Better luck next week.

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