The rules, they are a-changin'

Over the last three weeks I've been making various changes to my personal contract, as the need has warranted. Various things, like needing to make a doctor's appointment, have made me experiment with ways to move requirements around to make room. Taking up judo turned out to complicate things a bit, because all told it takes four hours out of my day. Some days have seen me skip it, and others have involved late nights catching up. (Another complicating factor has been my inability to get out of bed as early as I should.) I've had to account for the couple of nights when, for one reason or another, it just wasn't a good idea to stay up as late as it would take to finish everything. I made a lot of changes, sometimes several times in the same day as I thought of better ways to implement what I had in mind. My desk contains a decent stack of the different versions I've printed out and signed.

All that said, I consider this contract a success. It's given my days structure and forced me to be productive most days to a degree that I used to be pleased with achieving once a week. It's kept me from going stir-crazy. I've managed to keep to the essential rule, that I would amend it and sign a new copy rather than violating it, and that has kept me from blowing the contract off. Even if I meant to lighten the load a bit, having to sit down and write out what I intended kept me from taking the sort of advantage that I would regret later.

Today I made the biggest change to the contract, and cleaned up and streamlines the other provisions along the way. The main change was to make room for judo by removing two hours of work from the days when I practice, and adding an hour to my Saturday requirement. I cleaned up the language concerning holidays and days when I missed my quota. If the exact language is of interest to you, here it is:


I intend, upon signing, to follow the terms set out in this contract. I will not act contrary to this contract without first amending the contract and re-signing an updated copy. I will not abolish this contract without printing and signing a statement to that effect.

In case of an emergency I can suspend this contract for no more than the current day. (The contract can be suspended on subsequent days by a decision made on that day.) Barring cataclysm, I will resume or amend the contract promptly and in good faith.

I. This section will apply while I am not employed at a regular job.

A. Definitions:

1. “Pursuing work” means:

a. Searching for or reading job listings.

b. Preparing job application materials.

c. Applying for jobs.

d. The aforementioned activities in regard to health insurance, if I have no health insurance or need to change it.

e. Searching for or arranging paid writing opportunities. This does not include the actual writing of the projects or their pitches, which would fall under I-A-2.

2. Writing and editing.

a. “Edit” means to examine material I have written while making improvements, marking improvements to be made later, or taking notes of improvements to be made.

b. “Write” refers to the production of new words, whether drafting, freewriting, outlining, or rewriting.

c. Research, online or otherwise, is permitted, provided it relates directly to a question that arises during the course of writing or editing, and I return promptly to writing or editing when the question has been resolved.

3. “Reading” refers to reading fiction or nonfiction, for pleasure or edification. It includes the reading of physical codices, e-books on an e-reader, or printed material. It explicitly does not include the reading of material on a computer screen.

4. “Appointment” means a scheduled task or meeting outside the home which, including travel, takes two or more hours. Events which may be considered appointments include doctor visits and martial arts classes. “Appointment” may also include attending to business with bureaucratic entities such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, whether or not scheduled, if the task, including travel, takes two or more hours. It does not include regular errands such as shopping trips, regardless of duration.

B. On weekdays when I do not attend an appointment:

1. I will spend no less than two hours pursuing work.

2. I will spend no less than four hours writing or editing.

3. I will spend no less than one hour reading.

4. I will not browse the internet recreationally, play video games, or read (as defined in I-A-3) beyond the one-hour requirement until I have met the requirements of I-B-1 through 3, except that I may do these things during a one-hour break, which I may only take after completing at least two combined hours of the tasks in I-B-1 or 2.

C. On weekdays when I do attend an appointment (normally Tuesdays and Thursdays when I attend a martial arts class):

1. I will spend no less than one hour pursuing work.

2. I will spend no less than three hours writing or editing.

3. I will spend no less than one hour reading.

4. I will not browse the internet recreationally, play video games, or read (as defined in I-A-3) beyond the one-hour requirement until I have met the requirements of I-B-1 through 3, except that I may do these things during a one-hour break, which I may only take after completing a combined two hours of the tasks in I-B-1 or 2.

D. On Saturdays:

1. I will spend no less than three hours writing or editing; or, I will spend no less than two hours writing or editing and one hour pursuing work.

2. If I have not posted to my blog since the preceding Saturday, I will do so before midnight. Time spent writing or editing a blog post will count toward time spent writing or editing that day.

3. I will not browse the internet recreationally or play video games until I have completed at least one combined hour of the tasks in I-D-1.

E. For the purposes of completing the tasks required in this section I, a day is considered to end when I go to sleep for the night.

F. In the event that, after midnight, I cannot reasonably or should not complete the tasks required in this section I before going to sleep for the night, one-half of that day’s total requirement in any uncompleted task will be added to the requirement for the next nonexempt day.

G. Exempt days. I will not require myself to perform the tasks required in this section I on exempt days. Exempt days are:

1. Any Sunday.

a. When it is clearly helpful (and not merely to accommodate a lack of motivation on my part) I may make Saturday an exempt day instead of Sunday, for that week only, and perform the tasks required by I-D on Sunday instead of on Saturday.

2. Valentine’s Day, Easter, Girlfriend's birthday, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

3. Days when I am on vacation. “Vacation” refers to periods where I stay overnight somewhere other than my regular home, and the days spent traveling to or from the place of the vacation. Days spent attending a convention, such as PAX, will also be considered vacation days even if I stay overnight at my regular home.

H. Half days. On half days I will reduce the time required for all tasks by one half; except I will not reduce the amount of any time requirement carried over or transferred from a different day as permitted by I-F or I-G-1-a. Half days are:

1. School holidays when Girlfriend has the day off from work, not including Summer Vacation.

2. Independence Day, Election Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.

II. This version of this contract supersedes previous versions. I activate and engage the contract by signing below.



Other than that, not much to report.

New year, new rules

I mentioned, back in August (wow, that long), the idea of writing and following a sort of personal contract. Well, in the spirit of the new year, I have finally done so, and today is my second day of following its terms.

Drawing it up was a bit of fun. I got to use the part of my brain that likes to read and interpret RPG rules, and that kept me from being bored to death while I proofread municipal codes for a living. I tried to craft language that was airtight, only giving me wiggle room where I was confident it was necessary and wouldn't let me wriggle out of the commitment altogether.

If you're a certain kind of curious, you can see the text of what I signed

I intend, upon signing, to follow the terms set out in this contract. I will not act contrary to this contract without first amending the contract and re-signing an updated copy. I will not abolish this contract without printing and signing a statement to that effect.
In case of an emergency I can suspend this contract for no more than the current day. (The contract can be suspended on subsequent days by a decision made on that day.) Barring cataclysm, I will resume or amend the contract promptly and in good faith.
I. This section will apply while I am not employed at a regular job.
A. On weekdays:
1. I will spend no less than two hours pursuing work. “Pursuing work” in this case means:
a. Searching for or reading job listings.
b. Preparing job application materials.
c. Applying for jobs.
d. The aforementioned activities in regard to health insurance, if I have no health insurance or need to change it.
e. Searching for or arranging paid writing opportunities. This does not include the actual writing of the projects or their pitches, which would fall under I-A-2.
2. I will write or edit for no less than four hours.
a. “Edit” means to examine material I have written while making improvements, marking improvements to be made later, or taking notes of improvements to be made.
b. “Write” refers to the production of new words, whether drafting, freewriting, outlining, or rewriting.
c. Research, online or otherwise, is permitted, provided it relates directly to a question that arises during the course of writing or editing, and I return promptly to writing or editing when the question has been resolved.
3. I will not play video games or browse the internet recreationally until I have performed at least three combined hours of the work described in I-A-1 and 2. Before completing the entire requirements of I-A-1 and 2, I will limit these activities to one combined hour.
4. I will read for no less than one hour. This includes reading physical books and e-books, but not material read on a computer monitor.
B. On Saturdays I will write or edit no less than two hours, either continuously or in two periods of no less than one continuous hour each, before midnight.
1. If I have not posted to my blog since the preceding Saturday, I will do so before midnight. Time spent writing or editing a blog post will count toward time spent writing or editing that day.
2. The writing or editing requirement on a Saturday can be reduced to one continuous hour in the event of social engagements, church services, or other personal obligations that do not allow sufficient time before or after.
C. I will not require myself to write or edit in the manner of I-A or I-B on Sunday, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Girlfriend’s birthday, my birthday, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.
D. I will not require myself to write or edit in the manner of I-A or I-B while on vacation. “Vacation” refers to periods where I stay overnight somewhere other than my regular home, and the days spent traveling to or from the place of the vacation. Days spent attending a convention, such as PAX, will also be considered vacation days even if I stay overnight at my regular home.
E. On certain days (“half days”) I will reduce the time requirements of I-A by one-half for that day. The half days are Independence Day, Election Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.
II. This version of this contract supersedes previous versions. I activate and engage the contract by signing below.





Now, I hope that I made that button right. It should show you the text of the contract and if it does then I get to pat myself on the back for finally figuring out a somewhat reasonable way to handle spoiler text on this blog. Which opens up so many doors.

Anyway, the upshot of the contract is that on weekdays while I'm unemployed, I have to spend at least two hours a day looking for a job (or publishing opportunity, although the latter is so much more fun that I may have to amend the section to keep myself on-task). I have to spend four hours writing. I have to spend an hour reading something that isn't a glowing screen. And, finally, no dicking around until I'm done.

That last part (Section I-A-3) is a hard one to adhere to, but I think it's important. Important enough, anyway, that I didn't amend it even if I wasn't able to follow it exactly to the letter yesterday. It kept me from getting irretrievably distracted, and everything got done. It looks like I'll be able to manage it today, too. I'm more productive lately than I have been in a long time (which was definitely not the case the last time I was unemployed).

You might notice that the contract doesn't cover any period when I'm fully or partially employed. I want to work out language to cover those possibilities, but I need to figure out something that will make sense in any situation. Trying to find the perfect language for that is part of what tripped me up back in August. Right now I decided it was more important to get something down that I would work right now.

It's exciting to have a large portion of the day structured and spoken for, even if it doesn't actually bring in any money. I hope I will be able to look back on this as a period of definite progress. I'll be sending out my first pitches to Paizo and Cracked this week, and I'm making actual progress on Nenle and Death.

It's a beautiful, freezing day in Hyattsville.

The dotted line

A Sunday can feel really long when you wake up before 9.  That that is an observation I can make is probably a sign that I should go to church more often.

I have completely moved out of my old room, and into Girlfriend's (former, bigger) room.  Because my mess has now turned inside-out, my new room is more crowded than my old room ever was.  Even so, I imagine I will sort it out eventually, mostly.  Maybe I should make a rule of some sort, such as: whenever I have to look for something, I clean up what I had to look through?  Do I have time for that?

A few things have come together recently to get me thinking about personal contracts.  One, most recently, was an article about "decision fatigue" claiming that studies are indicating that the ability to decide to do stuff is a finite resource, like the ability to lift heavy things or stay awake.  It's certainly tempting to think that I, myself, am particularly susceptible to this, inasmuch as I keep finding myself lacking the mental energy to change what I'm doing.  It's intensely frustrating that writing, while exciting, is an expenditure of mental energy.  But maybe this is a bit of self indulgence.  Ultimately, whether we call them character flaws or find new, fancier terms for them, these are things we need to get around or else not be the people we want to be.

Stumbling on The Freelancer's Survival Guide, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, was another thing.  For a few days this past week, reading that book free on her blog was my preferred form of procrastination.  I'm not qualified to assess her advice (although she sounds authoritative, and I'd like to be able to recommend this book), and I'm still digesting what I've read, but it got me into the mindset of imagining myself writing for a living, and what kind of lifestyle it would take to actually make that work.

She also included a lot of cautionary tales about contracts which, along with my regular work, got me thinking about precise language and how to write good and bad contracts.  Not that that is my area of expertise competence.

Then there's the likelihood of moving, and the possibility that I will do so without a job like the one I have.  Let's be honest--I'm imagining myself moving after Girlfriend even without a job on the other side, even if I shouldn't be thinking like that at all.  But if I were to write full-time, or even part-time, I'd need to get to a point where 1,000 words isn't very good for a Monday.

One thing Rusch asked is what gets you out of bed and to work in the morning?  I'm not sure I'm answering the question in the spirit in which it was asked, but I thought about it: routine, expectations, inertia.  It got me thinking that if I wrote myself a job description, perhaps I could hold myself to it.  Could I import what's helpful in my real job to a self-employment situation?  Those helpful things, as I see it, are: a commitment to work (not just be present) for a fixed amount of time, and a clear hierarchy of priorities.  I don't spend much energy deciding what projects to work on, because that's hardly negotiable.  I don't spend any energy deciding to go to work (and extremely rarely have the energy to decide not to go to work).  These are the things I started working out language to describe, in hopes of setting up a useful status quo.

I might have drawn something up that day when I got home, if it didn't start to sound very self-indulgent of me, and like a distraction from actual writing I could do.  So I didn't, and surprisingly enough, I don't think I got too much of anything else done instead.  So the idea came back.

Maybe today is the day after all.  More to the point, perhaps, maybe I was thinking about this wrong.  I don't have to define my responsibilities when I don't have a job.  (In fact, I should probably set the terms of what to do if I am unemployed while I am employed, and still remember what a workday feels like.)  I could--and maybe need to--define my responsibilities concerning my free time.

When I started writing this post, I didn't think I would do that today, but at this point I'm considering it.  When I stopped writing "Nenle and Death" for now, I thought I was done writing, but maybe I was just done with that.  By the same token, I didn't expect to have the energy to write anything after this post, but now it doesn't sound so hard.  Also, there's a lot of day left.