5 things to do without a screen

No commuting means shorter days and more energy to do everything, right?

Unfortunately, wrong.

I’ve been struggling with exhaustion after spending so long staring intently at my screen lately, without physical meetings to break things up.

Everything has suffered: my blog, my writing, even catching up on T.V. I’ve been tired; my eyes sore; my head pounding. Looking at a screen is the last thing I want.

But that point about shorter days? I need to stay occupied and while I didn’t have the energy to learn a new skill, I have found different things to do.

Writing progress: August

I had a writing post planned for today, just not this one. It was a rant; a moan; a whinge, and I didn’t want the blog as an outlet for frustrations but a place full of motivation and inspiration.

I’ve certainly been inspired recently. At the end of July, I realised it was annoying me that I wasn’t managing to find time to write: I was too tired when I got home from work and best intentions and all that wasn’t getting me very far.

I started getting up early. I normally get up at 6:45, but set the alarm for 45 minutes earlier with the intention of having a writing session every morning before work.

NanoWriMo

This is my fourth year of participating in NanoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – although not four years consecutively.

It was a difficult decision whether to enter this year. I’m now working full time and trying to make it to the gym in a few evenings as well. Trying to work in 50,000 words on top of what I’m already trying to do felt like a lot.

But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it.

Since settling in my job, I realised I was missing it. I was too tired in the evening to start battling new storylines. I had chores to do at the weekend so I didn’t justify the time, despite there being nothing other than my own thoughts holding me back. It has been a long time since I spent a Sunday afternoon in another world, playing with plots and characters and being swept up.

Importance of Reading

Over the last month, I have begun to think of myself as a book blogger. Involving myself in chats has revealed there are a large number of bloggers who spend their time with their noses in a book. Or if not that, thinking about books.

It was such a refreshing discovery. I have always been a keen and active reader. At family events as a child, I would be found curled up in the corner with a book. Now, however, it is my cousins in the corner with their DS’s. Are we as a generation losing our love for reading?