On Monday we talked about scheduling rest times while working on a big project. The value of this new-to-me practice has been made clear these past few weeks. I credit author Ellen Sussman for introducing the concept of “units;” one-hour segments broken into 45 minutes of concentrated work, followed by fifteen minutes of non-work activity. No matter what, when that timer goes off, I take a break and attend to the Piddly Diddlies, or just plain have fun. During that mini-vacay my brain is relaxed and playful, but it is working things out. Inspiration hits and I return to the next hour, or unit, all fired up.
Maybe it is because I know I can handle 45 minutes. Maybe it is because I love the fifteen-minute breaks. Maybe it is because I have revised more than half of novel number one this past week after a dream inspired me to place the action in an earlier decade. This small schedule revision has advanced my creative life by quantum leaps. I am actually loving this latest round of revisions. Dare I say, the writing is better. How exciting is that?
Patty Mayeux Blog 
Leave a comment