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GYWO - August
Sep. 1st, 2019 03:15 pmI'm back in the saddle with @getyourwordsout after two months of clocking 0 words. I'd hoped to be able to get loads of writing done in June, as I started my parental leave (sort of) at the start of June and didn't do any client work after that date - but it turned out I had loads of other stuff to sort out before the birth that took priority over writing.
I actually missed the June check-in; I didn't really turn on a computer at all in the week before E was born. I excused myself from the July check-in in advance (although ironically I did actually use the computer that day and could have done it), and wasn't sure whether I'd be able to declare any progress in August. So I'm thrilled to have tracked 4776 words in August over 7 writing days, all in the last ten days of the month. It feels good to be making progress again!
I'm 54% of the way towards my pledge goal (75k words by the end of the year) which is technically behind, but not bad considering a) I didn't join the challenge until halfway through Jan and, more crucially b) I've just given birth. In my head I'd expected I wouldn't get any writing at all done in the fourth trimester, so I'm actually feeling like I'm ahead of the game.
Writing around caring for a newborn is an interesting challenge! I've been clocking in fewer words per day than my pre-E average, and have been having to deal with way more interruptions. Maintaining my concentration when having to stop to attend to baby needs every few minutes is definitely advanced difficulty level. But I have had some hour-long chunks while E's been slung by Leo to find my flow.
I've even managed to get some work done while breastfeeding, thanks to voice typing. I spent a while looking for a Chromebook speech to text app, but couldn't get the Google voice recognition API linked up, so have been mostly using speechnotes.ca, with the speech to text window talking up half the screen, and the chapter I'm working on on the other half. Then I discovered that Google docs had a built-in voice typing tool, although from using it so far, it's a bit less accurate than speechnotes - which surprises me, as I assumed that being a free service it was using the same Google API. The downside of voice typing is that I feel self-conscious doing it when Leo is around, and in the hot weather we've both been hanging out downstairs a lot. But they're looking after E right now, and I'm able to type on my laptop, so I'm going to do some work on the book as soon as I've finished this post.
In terms of my annual targets, I'm now only 4382 words behind - so my goal is to stay on track and catch up the difference in September.
I actually missed the June check-in; I didn't really turn on a computer at all in the week before E was born. I excused myself from the July check-in in advance (although ironically I did actually use the computer that day and could have done it), and wasn't sure whether I'd be able to declare any progress in August. So I'm thrilled to have tracked 4776 words in August over 7 writing days, all in the last ten days of the month. It feels good to be making progress again!
I'm 54% of the way towards my pledge goal (75k words by the end of the year) which is technically behind, but not bad considering a) I didn't join the challenge until halfway through Jan and, more crucially b) I've just given birth. In my head I'd expected I wouldn't get any writing at all done in the fourth trimester, so I'm actually feeling like I'm ahead of the game.
Writing around caring for a newborn is an interesting challenge! I've been clocking in fewer words per day than my pre-E average, and have been having to deal with way more interruptions. Maintaining my concentration when having to stop to attend to baby needs every few minutes is definitely advanced difficulty level. But I have had some hour-long chunks while E's been slung by Leo to find my flow.
I've even managed to get some work done while breastfeeding, thanks to voice typing. I spent a while looking for a Chromebook speech to text app, but couldn't get the Google voice recognition API linked up, so have been mostly using speechnotes.ca, with the speech to text window talking up half the screen, and the chapter I'm working on on the other half. Then I discovered that Google docs had a built-in voice typing tool, although from using it so far, it's a bit less accurate than speechnotes - which surprises me, as I assumed that being a free service it was using the same Google API. The downside of voice typing is that I feel self-conscious doing it when Leo is around, and in the hot weather we've both been hanging out downstairs a lot. But they're looking after E right now, and I'm able to type on my laptop, so I'm going to do some work on the book as soon as I've finished this post.
In terms of my annual targets, I'm now only 4382 words behind - so my goal is to stay on track and catch up the difference in September.