But not a quite a false start.

So last week was the dry run of the all-new Weekly Workbook series (replacing the lapsed one of old), where I basically hold myself personally accountable for the past week’s work, or lack thereof. Perhaps it can inspire you to do the same or something similar if you need to. I haven’t filed a proper Workbook entry in a few months and with all things being in the spirit of refreshing/renewal, it’s something I need to start doing here again, if I do anything here at all. The first week of the year was not a great one, so here we go . . .

Last Week’s Listed Objectives

Find gainful employment – ONGOING. But there did occur a very good and encouraging interview late last week that has me quite optimistic. Just have to endure the waiting game while the hunt continues in the meantime.
Organize (and individually code-name) my list of projects – COMPLETED.
Write updated descriptions of all projects (to better pitch to collaborators) – INCOMPLETE. I did set myself up for failure on this one, as it is quite the task given the number of projects on my docket. Instead I should isolate it to the ones speaking loudest to me at the moment.
Reconfigure the Projects page – INCOMPLETE. Due to the above.
Commence production on sample pages – INCOMPLETE. Like item number three above, which this hinges upon, I need to recalibrate this task to something more manageable.

Add-on Objectives

Create the perfect name for PROJECT ANTI-MEDIA’s protagonist/heroine – COMPLETED.
Join Deviant Art – COMPLETED. I finally created an account/profile for myself. This has been a very long time coming having been a longtime lurker there. However, although I’m a huge art junkie, my main purpose for establishing a presence there is to forge relationships with artists, the kind whom I hope to convert into ~~prospective~~ actual collaborators. LINKAGE: http://saintruckus.deviantart.com/
‘Reactivate Twitter’ – COMPLETED. With my decreased presence on Facebook I decided to ‘reactivate’ my Twitter accounts. I like to stay connected but I just don’t need to spend inordinate amounts of time in social media. Twitter, with its inherent extremely transient nature, is perfect for me right now — get in & get out, quickly. Thing is a specific circle of my friends, the ones I geek out with daily, are not as active on Twitter as they once were since we migrated to FB. That actually may not be a bad thing, all things considered, as I don’t really need the distraction anyway. LINKAGE: @RuckinWithYou / @RuckerWrites

This Week’s Objectives

Continue to pound the proverbial pavement.
Continue creating and naming characters.
As scenes or passages of prose arrive in my mind, write them out.
Pursue any micorfiction urges, let them flow uninhibited.
Write project descriptions, focusing on the seven that are speaking loudest.
Loosely outline/update the plots for PROJECT MACABRE, PROJECT BLOOD-BORNE and PROJECT GUNPLAY.
Continue to develop the concepts of PROJECT ARCANA, PROJECT ETHEREAL, PROJECT ANTI-MEDIA and PROJECT COMEBACK.
Work on rebuilding both the About Me and Project pages on the main blog.
Update the Ruckerpedia site with more content from the Vault.
Update the CBF site’s side bar info.
Resist the urge to play guitar . . . or . . .
Give in to the urge to play guitar. Or bass.
Try to publish Weekly Workbook 2 on its proper day of Sunday.

ICYMI

Last week’s transmissions . . .

Weekly Workbook Zero

The Desperation of a Public Library | Kristen Twardowski

Turning Reflection into Everyday Goals | The Corner Office

Quotes | Bob Thurber on Writing

The Morning Muse 10

Weekly Workbook Zero | 2017 – Fitter, Happier, More Productive

A reset, and a dry-run of the all-new weekly Workbook.

So it’s a new year with a new mission, which is naturally an extension of the previous year’s mission, only Fitter. Happier. More productive. Comfortable. Not drinking too much. Regular exercise at the gym three days a week. Wait, what? Yeah, I’m not so sure about that last part. But you get the general idea (and this quote if you’re a fan of Radiohead).

Productivity wise, 2016 was certainly better than 2015, but 2017 absolutely has to be ten times more productive or I may just throw in the towel, at least until both of the younger kids are out of the house (not that their presence and need for attention is my singular excuse, mind you). I’m going to hold myself even more accountable, even publicly here on a weekly basis with an all-new Weekly Workbook.

There’s another major step I’m taking and I started it just last night . . .

No More Squirrels

Image result for logging off facebook

One of my major distracting, time-sucking vices is social media, particularly Facebook. I removed the Facebook app from my phone last night about an hour prior to midnight. I’d been planning this for a while and the New Year seemed the perfect time to make the clean break. I will still check in twice a day from my PC as I have a couple of groups that I admin and I want to clear away the piled up notifications. But the main point is with it off my phone I won’t have easy access to it nor be tempted to grab my phone every five minutes, which frees me up mentally and physically to get on with other more productive things I need to be doing. Win-win.

Not Eating Too Much

I need to commit myself to a healthier diet. I’m probably some 20-25 pounds overweight and it’s all in the midsection. Being a Type-2 diabetic pretty much demands a better diet anyways if I want to minimize the need for external insulin input. So it’s back to low carbs and eating in moderation again. I’ve done it before, I just need to stick to it with a dogged determination and soldier-like discipline . . . develop a machine-like regimen.

(Yeah, yeah, I should probably exercise more too)

Things To Do This Week

Preliminary activities as the new year is kicked off:

Obtain gainful employment
Organize my list of Projects
Write updated descriptions of all of them (for interested collaborators)
Reconfigure the Projects Page(s) here on the site (for same)
Commence production on sample pages (for same)

I hope you all had a safe New Years. I want to say a few inspirational words about the coming year, but I see that Warren Ellis has done that much more astutely than I could have on his latest morning.computer entry.

It’ll be different. It’ll be interesting in many fine and terrible ways. It’ll be sad, if not in precisely the same way 2016 was. I’d love to tell someone that it’ll be better. But I think we were all fooling ourselves with that notion that years get better, just as we fool ourselves into thinking each year is starkly fenced off and the space ahead is virgin field.

It will be memorable. It will have beauty in it, and new things, and it will sing and light up skies. There will be joy.

Will it be better? No. But I trust that it will be worth sticking around for, and that it will not be boring. That’s enough for me.

Next week will bring a proper Weekly Workbook update, detailing what got done, what didn’t get done and what better get done for that coming next week.

Be good. Live better.

-BLR