Day 13

This morning I set the alarm on my phone to go off in one hour, and then I jumped into the day's writing. I knew that I could stop as soon as the buzzer sounded but not a moment before.

Now I can't wait until my next trip to Walmart or Target, because I'm going to buy a timer.

Somehow using a timer is different from just glancing at the clock and saying, "Okay, now I'm gonna write for an hour." Maybe it's because the clock is vague. On clock time I can be distracted or interrupted. On clock time, I can procrastinate. On clock time, one hour is often interchangeable with another hour. But timer time is writing time. It has a beginning and a definite end. When it's over I can quit, confident that I met my goal for the day. Or I can continue, knowing that now I'm doing extra!

When I had a job, my boss would have been appalled if I had stopped in the middle of a project to run home and sweep my floor or throw in a load of laundry. He expected me to those things on my own time, not company time. But I think nothing of interrupting writing time to do housework or talk on the phone or run to the store. At least for FEBO, I think I need to start clocking in and out.

So, what have I learned so far from doing FEBO?

• It pays to plan the next day's work.
• Interruptions will happen--the trick is getting back on track.
• Writing time needs to be time apart.

But I'm a slow learner, and you probably already knew that stuff. So, what have YOU learned so far this month?