Winter Break Productivity: It's a Balancing Act

#DailyWings: "Other things awaited. It was good to be young and to know it for once. So much unfolding to do." -The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

It's been a week since I took my last final exam in social psychology and came home for the holidays. After reuniting with my family, receiving notice of my class grades and hanging Christmas stockings up by the fireplace, it feels like everything has fallen into place. Things are as they should be. I've taken the last couple of days to relax on my favorite couch at home with Mockingjay in one hand and a mug of hot chocolate in the other. Life is good. 

And yet, there is a small tug in the back of my mind, reminding me that something's not quite right. I have never been able to sit still for very long without getting antsy -- especially if I'm not doing work. Leisure is wonderful, but winter break wouldn't be the same without some productivity, too. Even as I immerse myself in the world of Panem, the thought of internships to apply for, blog posts to write and stories to pitch always sucks me back into the real world. 

Balancing work and play during winter break is like baking a cake. You've got ingredients like eggs and flour and coarse ground cinnamon that don't taste great alone. Then there are the ingredients that make the cake delicious -- sugar, fruit, chocolate, frosting. But too much frosting doesn't make you feel great afterward, either. So what do you do? Measure, mix, bake and add toppings. And there you have a perfect Christmas confection, a product of perfectly blended time, energy and carefully chosen ingredients. 

Well, creating a schedule isn't exactly the same as that, but it's what I've been doing. (Almost) every day, I create a to-do list of all the goals I want to accomplish -- both things related to my work and things that give me personal downtime. Hashing out the goals in terms of numbers (do this X amount of times, work on this for Y minutes) makes them more concrete and doable. Below is a basic example of the kind of productivity list that can be helpful for balancing out time between work and leisure.

Your productivity list may be a little bit different, depending on the rest of your schedule and what your goals may be. Also, recently, I discovered an amazing invention: StayFocused, a Google Chrome extension  that allows you to block distracting websites (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, etc.) of your choice for a certain amount of time. Without this extension, I honestly don't think my final exam grades would have turned out as well as they did. It has really helped this past week whenever I want to work on an application or poem and find myself steering away to look up memes, gifs and social media. Highly recommended! For Apple users looking for productivity applications, I use Evernote, Weave and WriteChain. 

Has the holiday season served a stressor or a period of respite for you? What are some ways in which you stay productive, but also find time for the things you enjoy? 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Speaking of productivity, come join me and 20 other bloggers who have already signed up for Frankie Mallis's Fourth Annual No-Kiss Blogfest! Here's the deal: 

"Write a scene or post one from of your favorite books, movies, TV shows, pictures or WIP that show the almost kiss -- the rising, crushing, excruciating, longing, tension that comes  when two characters get oh-so-close to kissing that you can just feel it, want it, NEED it....and then...they don't!" 

This will be my third time participating in this blogfest. I have fun every year, and you can bet I'll be joining in for the beginning of 2013 as well! You can find my previous entries here and here. Be sure to sign up and post your entry by Jan. 2! 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Dec. 14 -- Send one text message wishing someone good luck on her last final exam

12:09 p.m. "I hope your exam went well! :) when it's done forget about it! You did your best! Btw did the gift ever get there??"

Dec. 15 -- Apply for two internships with looming deadlines

• Sent a story pitch to a health magazine in Boston
• Applied for a local news internship

Dec. 16 -- Read three chapters of "Mockingjay"

Chapters 18, 19 and 20 -- completed. 

Dec. 17 -- Watch all four "Superman" movies (yes, on the same day)

Dec. 18 -- Put five extra ornaments on our Christmas tree

Dec. 19 -- Write a six-page scene for my NaNoWriMo novel 

Dec. 20 -- Add seven new holiday songs to my Spotify playlist

Dec. 21 -- Visit eight new blogs (provide any recommendations in comments below!)

Dec. 22 -- Meditate for nine minutes. 

Dec. 23 -- Bake ten gingerbread cookies! 

Dec. 24 -- Take an eleven-minute walk outside

Dec. 25 -- Snap twelve photographs capturing the magic of Christmas


Wendy Lu

Winter Break Productivity: It's a Balancing Act

Tweet

To Families Affected by the Connecticut Shooting: You're Not Alone

#DailyWings: "I know it feels like you have all these options and when you make a decision, you lose a world of possibilities. But the reality is, until you make a decision, you have nothing at all." 

-Janet Finch 

In light of recent events, I want to express my condolences to the families whose loved ones were killed in the Newtown elementary school shooting in Connecticut. When I first found out about what had happened, the news had spread all over social media. News outlets were reporting updates every couple of hours, and people all over the country were sharing similar reactions of grief, shock, horror. I didn't -- couldn't -- post anything about it because just the thought of the shooting made me feel sick. Robbing children of their futures isn't just monstrous; it's detestable, and can never be justified. 

I didn't have any candles, so this is my way of honoring those who were affected by the Connecticut shooting. 

To families who have lost much during the past couple days, the rest of us cannot even begin to imagine the pain you are going through. As a college student with no children of my own, I probably understand even less than most adults. But human loss is universal, an agonizing emotion we have all faced at some point. The shooting has been addressed by the entire nation -- including President Obama, who made a public statement Friday -- and has even reignited the debate on gun control. The shooting has affected everyone in some way, and please remember: You don't have to go through this alone. We are right here with you, mourning the loss of 26 lives. 

It may be too early to talk about acceptance or moving forward. And in one week, one month or even one year -- even then, perhaps it will still be too early. Let's come together to stitch the black hole created by evil hands, and commemorate the lives of the people you cared about the most. Only together can we even begin to take the first step toward recovery. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Dec. 14 -- Send one text message wishing someone good luck on her last final exam

12:09 p.m. "I hope your exam went well! :) when it's done forget about it! You did your best! Btw did the gift ever get there??"

Dec. 15 -- Apply for two internships with looming deadlines

• Sent a story pitch to a health magazine in Boston
• Applied for a local news internship

Dec. 16 -- Read three chapters of "Mockingjay"

Dec. 17 -- Watch all four "Superman" movies (yes, on the same day)

Dec. 18 -- Put five extra ornaments on our Christmas tree

Dec. 19 -- Write a six-page scene for my NaNoWriMo novel 

Dec. 20 -- Add seven new holiday songs to my Spotify playlist

Dec. 21 -- Visit eight new blogs (provide any recommendations in comments below!)

Dec. 22 -- Meditate for nine minutes. 

Dec. 23 -- Bake ten gingerbread cookies! 

Dec. 24 -- Take an eleven-minute walk outside

Dec. 25 -- Snap twelve photographs capturing the magic of Christmas

Wendy Lu

To Families Affected by the Connecticut Shooting: You're Not Alone

Tweet

December Challenge: Countdown to Christmas

#DailyWings: "I thought I understood it, that I could grasp it. But I didn't, not really. Only the smudgeness of it; the pink-slippered, all-containered, semi-precious eagerness of it. I didn't realize it would sometimes be more than whole, that the wholeness was a rather luxurious idea. Because it's the halves that halve you in half. I didn't know, don't know, about the in-between bits; the gory bits of you, and the gory bits of me." -Like Crazy

Being done with finals is like breaking the surface of a very deep lake after having been underwater for much longer than your body can handle. And there you are, engulfing buckets of air and grasping desperately at nothing. Once you're finally at peace with the waters again, you look around and realize you don't know which direction to take next. You're just glad you were able to swim to the top. 

This is how I feel. 

The weird thing about freedom is, after you get over the excitement of finally having time to do whatever the hell you want, there's that moment when you really don't know what to do first. Catch up on "Glee"? Bake cookies -- and eat all of them just because it's been days since you haven't eaten anything not prepackaged? Write a blog post about being done with finals? Get back into reading that book you started three months ago? 

Or maybe you're like me, and you start writing a laundry list of all the things you'd like to do before the year is over and another begins (if the Mayans weren't correct, that is). Let's swap? Here's mine: 

1. Actually get eight hours of sleep every night. 

2. Watch The Hobbit

3. Watch Les Miserables on Christmas

4. Watch the original "Superman" series (I - IV)

5. Write a poetry series. 

6. Get through "Lost" (Season II)

7. Arrange a guest post for the blog

8. Finish reading Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

9. Finish reading The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje - bought the book today!

10. Apply to 1,983,021,830,219 internships

My holidays will be spent in New Orleans, somewhere I have always wanted to go to but never had the chance until now. I can't wait. It also occurred to me this morning that, including today, there are officially 12 days left until Christmas! Although I didn't grow up in a household that emphasized religion, Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, one that I associate with family, twinkling lights, marshmallows and socks. I've created my own challenge as a means of counting down the days...and will be blogging updates daily!

Dec. 14 -- Send one text message wishing someone good luck on her last final exam

12:09 p.m. "I hope your exam went well! :) when it's done forget about it! You did your best! Btw did the gift ever get there??"

Dec. 15 -- Apply for two internships with looming deadlines

Dec. 16 -- Read three chapters of "Mockingjay"

Dec. 17 -- Watch all four "Superman" movies (yes, on the same day)

Dec. 18 -- Put five extra ornaments on our Christmas tree

Dec. 19 -- Write a six-page scene for my NaNoWriMo novel 

Dec. 20 -- Add seven new holiday songs to my Spotify playlist

Dec. 21 -- Visit eight new blogs (provide any recommendations in comments below!)

Dec. 22 -- Meditate for nine minutes. 

Dec. 23 -- Bake ten gingerbread cookies! 

Dec. 24 -- Take an eleven-minute walk outside

Dec. 25 -- Snap twelve photographs capturing the magic of Christmas

How are you spending the holidays? What do you hope to accomplish before the year is over?

Wendy Lu

Milestones: During the past few days, I reached 40,000 page views. This is my 200th blog post on TRA. Thanks for following!

If you want to keep updated with the blog, please "Like" The Red Angel Blog on Facebook. Once you "Like" the page, please click the 'Liked' button underneath the cover photo and make sure the 'show in news feed' option is checked. That way, you'll be able to see the updates!

December Challenge: Countdown to Christmas

Tweet

50,000 Is Just a Number: NaNoWriMo Wks 3-4

#DailyWings: "The question should be, is it worth trying to do, not can it be done." -Allard Lowenstein

Whew! National Novel Writing Month is finally over, my fingers are about to fall off and I can go back to having a real life again. Wonderful. 

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions and dragging plotlines and flying  candy bars. First and foremost, I want to give a very big congratulations to all the NaNoers in Chapel Hill, N.C., and around the country who met their personal goals, whether they were to 5k or 50k or simply write every day. We did it.

For those of you who are curious, I made it to 43,705 words by the stroke of midnight. Unfortunately, I did not reach my goal of 50,000 words, but I was so close! On Nov. 30, the very last day, I wrote more than I ever have before -- about 10k in one day.That is crazy.  (The words weren't exactly fine contributions to the novel, but quantity > quality is the essence of NaNo.) This year's writing challenge taught me so much about myself and my writing. For one whole month, I showed that I love writing enough to put it above all else, even school work and health -- this is no exaggeration, as I was sick during the last week. Still, it was worth every hour spent groveling over word vomit. 

Even though I didn't "officially" win, I still felt like a winner when it was all over because of so many new developments that would've otherwise not been created. If I hadn't decided to partake in the writing challenge this year, my book would still be less than halfway done. The thing is, 50,000 is just some lame number. It's really no different from 49,999. Technically, you could just type "the" 50,000 times and enter "50,000" into the word count validator and say you "won." But that wouldn't feel very fulfilling, would it? Even though NaNoWriMo is all about how many words you write and not how meaningful each word is, it's also about how far you can take your characters. Where the story takes you and get you to where you want to be. I've learned that it's never, never too late to finish what you started.  Just because November is over doesn't mean I'll stop writing my novel. The best thing NaNoWriMo has trained me to do is write on a daily basis. It's more than just a habit, it's a lifestyle. 

One last note: This was the first year I publicized my NaNoWriMo endeavors so extensively on Facebook and Twitter. My goal for doing so was to hold myself accountable, but I discovered something else as well. What kept me going every day wasn't the fear of feeling guilt for not writing, but the desire to strive for what everyone -- my family, my friends and all the people who believe in me -- sees me as: a passionate writer who doesn't give up. Throughout the month, I received so many personal messages from different people who knew I was participating in the challenge. And when I ran into friends on the quad or in the dining hall, they would ask me how NaNoWriMo was going. This meant so much to me. 

Thanks to everyone for all the support and encouragement over the past month. Proud to be a writer. 

NaNoWriMo Word Count 2012: 43,705
Overall Novel Word Count: 101,486 (and still counting...)


Now that NaNoWriMo is over, it's time for finals.

Wendy Lu

P.S. Like reading The Red Angel? "Like" my blog on Facebook to receive updates and more #DailyWings! Hoping to reach 100 fans by Christmas. Help me reach my goal, please?

Once you "Like" the page, please click the 'Liked' button underneath the cover photo and make sure the 'show in news feed' option is checked. That way, you'll be able to see the updates!

50,000 Is Just a Number: NaNoWriMo Wks 3-4

Tweet