Weekly Goals, Week 17: Laptop Woes

I blogged earlier about my laptop's sudden demise last night, when the hinge broke and nearly destroyed the screen when I tried to open the computer.  Right now I have the screen's bezel held together with a kitchen clip, both to keep it together and to serve as a visual reminder not to try to close the computer again.

Of course, this is going to add some unexpected to-dos to my list this week, as I'm going to have to set up a new computer and transfer over all my data, which is so time consuming and tedious.

Last week was a mixed bag.  I didn't meet all of my goals but what I did get done, I'm really pleased with.  I worked on my novel every day from Tuesday (our write-in) onward, so I'm back on the wagon as far as writing goes.  I got some good work done on the museum copy, too.

Unfortunately, I fell off the wagon as far as working on taxes and organizing both go.

This week I have similar goals, with the obvious addition:

1. Set up my new computer
2. Write every day
3. Work on taxes every day, even if it's just a little
4. Work on museum materials
5. Get back to work on organizing

Unfortunately, it's going to be a busier week.  Not only do I have a new computer to set up, but I also babysit tomorrow and Wednesday (only briefly, thankfully, but it's still a few hours out of my day each day) and will be helping go through an extensive doll collection at the museum Thursday morning.  Plus Friday is my birthday, so I expect a few dinners out to take away from my time as well.

All I can do is to get through it the best I can, I guess, so here goes nothing!

Time for a New Laptop

One of the worst things as a freelancer is when your computer dies unexpectedly.  That's what mine decided to do late last night.

Technically, it's not dead-dead, which I'm grateful for because it means I can pull all my data off of it still.  But the hinge on the laptop broke, and the way it broke, it popped the bezel around the screen partway off when I tried to open the computer.  Fortunately, I saw what was happening in time, and we were able to see inside through the broken bezel well enough to finagle it open.  I put a clip on the corner with the broken bezel, to hold everything together and also to remind me NOT to try to close the computer again (I already tried once, out of habit).

But it does mean I need to get a new computer ASAP, because I depend so heavily on my computer, and because I don't want to wait until it is dead-dead.  I could work on my Surface Go, but it wasn't really purchased for the purpose of running my writing business, and I don't think it would hold up well under the increased demands.

A writer's computer is such an important choice because it does have to hold up to so much.  I've found writing is hardest on my keyboard, as I've worn out several during my career as a writer.  This is the first time I've ever had a hinge break on me, but I'm not entirely surprised, given how much I open and close my laptop.  (Plus, after my research last night it appears that hinges breaking is a common Lenovo problem, probably due to weak hinges or poor hinge design.)

So last night I did some online laptop shopping, trying to decide what to get this time.  Another Lenovo was my first choice initially, as I've had this computer for 3.5 years and have been overall very happy with it.  I did change my mind once it started looking like broken hinges are a common Lenovo issue, and not always covered by warranty, since Lenovo blames the user for opening and closing the computer too much.  (Never mind that that's what a laptop is for!)  I am a little concerned about the likelihood of that happening again, and potentially sooner, as I do like my computers to last me at least 3 years.

Ultimately I decided to go with another Surface.  I really liked my old Surface, even though it eventually died due to overheating issues from a malfunctioning fan.  But I liked the weight, size, and especially the fact that the keyboard was a separate piece and easily replaceable, since heavy keyboard use is the usual way that I kill laptops.

My new computer will be here tomorrow morning, and then I'll set it up, make sure I like it, and start the annoying process of transferring everything over.  The type pad will arrive a day or two behind the rest, so for now I'll be using a different Bluetooth keyboard, and switch over as soon as the new one comes.

It's a big change to go back to a Surface as my main computer, after using the Lenovo for 3.5 years, but I'm looking forward to it.  I have liked my Lenovo, and I don't necessarily need the new Surface for its travel capabilities since I do have the Surface Go for that, but I'm hoping it'll be a better machine for me in the long run than another Lenovo.

Weekly Goals, Week 16: Back to Camp NaNoWriMo

Tax Day wasn't really the end for me, as it turned out we had too much to do, so I filed an extension.  I need to promise myself I won't forget about it and will continue working on it regularly, otherwise I'll be in the same boat in October.

I did work on my taxes though, not every day because the week got crazy busy, but quite a bit over the weekend.  Unfortunately I also missed several days of writing, especially over the weekend when I ramped up my efforts to work on taxes.  So last week was kind of a bust as far as meeting goals.

Today we have our write-in, so I plan to jump start my writing habit today.  I also have a few other things I need to accomplish this week, including putting together some copy and images for the museum, and getting back to work on organization.  It's too easy to let those ongoing projects fall to the wayside after a week or two of not working on them.

1. Write every day, even if it's just a little
2. Work on taxes every day, even if it's just a little
3. Work on museum materials
4. Get back to work on organizing

I have some other small projects I want to work on, such as weeding and cleaning up the garden for spring (I have neglected it so badly the last few years!).  Hopefully I'll be able to make some time for that too.

Camp NaNoWriMo April 2024 and Ongoing Plans to Write

We're just over a third of the way through the month right now, and so far I've been able to keep up the habit of writing nearly every day.  There were a couple of days where I didn't write, or only wrote a few words before petering out, but I've largely maintained the habit.

I'd done really well maintaining a daily writing habit last November, but I lost it again in December, and then of course with all of the events of this year so far (my mom's hip replacement, my dad's cardiac procedure, my cat's diagnosis of diabetes, and the doll show), I never made the time to pick it up again.

So it feels really good to be writing daily again, and I hope to continue the habit throughout Camp NaNoWriMo's April 2024 session and (hopefully) beyond.

What's interesting, though, is that I've been writing a completely different story than what I was working on in November (and have been working on intermittently for over a decade).  I came up with the idea for a new story just a few days before Camp started, and decided to run with it.  I knew if I didn't write it now, I wouldn't ever get back to it, so here I am.

It's turning out to be a good story idea, and I'm not sorry.  I feel like it has a lot of promise.

Camp is a much quieter affair than full-blown November NaNoWriMo, of course.  Normally we don't have any write-ins during Camp at all, but we'd talked about starting up a year-round one after the holidays.  After the doll show, with Camp looming, I decided now was the time to do so.  And while it's proving to be helpful, I also feel like a lot of the impetus is on me, since it's only that one write-in once a week.  The rest of the week, I'm doing it on my own.

I'm planning to continue writing even after April is over.  I'll have the weekly write-in to help keep me going, but if I do fall off the wagon again, at least I'll have the next Camp session in July to get me back on track again.

I hope everyone else's Camp NaNoWriMo is going well too!

Weekly Goals, Week 15: Tax Day Cometh

Tax Day is looming, and the week is slipping away from me like water through a sieve.  Already it's Wednesday evening and the week is more than half over.

But first, an update on last week.  After I wrote my post about my goals for the week, Izzy took another turn.  We ended up switching her food altogether as I couldn't be sure anymore that it wasn't just that food, especially since there were a lot of reports in my feline diabetes Facebook group that the same food was causing problems for other people, too.

After that she went back to normal, but it was another distraction in an already difficult week.  So while I managed to achieve some of my goals last week, I didn't accomplish everything I wanted.  I didn't make any further progress on my Square site, since I didn't have time or spoons to take pictures, and I didn't work on dolls or taxes for the same reason.

What I did accomplish was working on my novel every day.  I'm actually pretty pleased with how it's going, as I feel like I'm doing good work on both the novel and the re-creation of a daily writing habit.

As for this week, to be fair I did expect Monday to be a wash, as we spent the day at the museum to see the partial eclipse.  Yesterday shouldn't have been a surprise either, as I had plans to meet a friend at the barn to ride together, and that often leaves me tired afterward.  Thanks to the write-in we had scheduled in the evening, though, I still got a substantial amount of writing done.

And today I had a meeting at the Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls & Toys to talk about future plans for more doll events, some errands to run, and a babysitting gig in the evening.

The rest of the week (what little of it is left) will be similarly busy, unfortunately.  I am babysitting some more (unexpected, though the income isn't unwelcome) and I have another ride planned with my friend.

I feel like at this point, the week is a goner and I just need to focus any remaining time on the most pressing of goals:

1. Work on taxes
2. Write every day

Yes, I still want to make sure I work on my novel at least a little every day, but other than that, I'm going to try to spend any free time I have between now and Friday on taxes.  This weekend we have very few plans, so I should be able to devote most of that time to taxes.

Since Tax Day is Monday, I anticipate I'll be working on it still then, and probably won't officially start my week until Tuesday again.

See you on the other side!

Weekly Goals, Week 14: Camp NaNoWriMo Is Here!

Well, the week got off to a rough start since we had to take one of our cats to the vet yesterday, for the second time in three days.

This cat was actually diagnosed with diabetes on January 31st, the day before my mom's hip replacement surgery, but I neglected to blog about it at the time because so much else had happened.  But that's been one of the things I've been managing over the past two months, while everything was blowing up at the same time.  It has been a journey for sure!

Anyway, on Saturday she suddenly stopped eating and started throwing up and having diarrhea, so we hustled to get her into the vet before the holiday, figuring we didn't want to have a pet emergency on Easter.  They said she was very dehydrated and gave her fluids, which seemed to perk her up.  She ate fitfully for the next two days, so we took her back in yesterday for more fluids and a fructosamine test.  By the time we took her in, however, we had determined that it was likely bad food that had caused the issue, since as soon as we switched to a new case, she started eating fine again.  Today she seems pretty much back to normal.

Between that and a bunch of errands, though, yesterday was almost entirely hijacked.  I finally had a chance to plan out my week in Google Calendar and blog about it today, but the rest of today will likely be hijacked as well, between errands, barn chores, and a brand new write-in.

But that last part is a thing in itself, because yesterday was the start of Camp NaNoWriMo!  That means (hopefully) a jump start to my languishing writing habit.

I actually started writing a new story on Friday.  I had an idea and I just ran with it.  It's turning out to be an excellent story, so I'm going to focus on that this month, despite Ruby still waiting in the wings.  I don't want to say no to the new story idea.

Last week wasn't the most successful of weeks, but it wasn't terrible either.  I did get the write-in set up, and I did get the sales stuff reorganized a little better.  I also worked a lot on a new Square site for my doll business.  Making progress on three out of five goals isn't bad!  However, I didn't have the motivation to work on dolls as I had planned, nor did I get started on taxes.  The taxes especially are a problem, because I'm running up against the deadline.

Unfortunately this week has a lot that is getting thrown onto the list, so I'm trying to be careful about writing goals I can accomplish:

1. Start writing daily for Camp
2. Work on doll collection organization
3. Make progress on future sales plans
4. Get back to work on dolls
5. Work on taxes (!)

It's a big week, especially with one day already lost to Izzy and errands.  But the weekend should be largely available to me, too, which will help.

Most likely Monday of next will be a loss as well... well, in a manner of speaking.  With all of Izzy's problems, we decided not to travel to catch the full eclipse, as I didn't want to leave her in someone else's care right now, while we're still trying to get her insulin doses and her glucose control a little better.  So instead we are going to the museum for education and eclipse viewing.  So I expect not to get much else done that day!

Another Reason Why I Love Plottr

 It's been a while since I blogged about how awesome Plottr is.  I mentioned it way back when I first got my Surface Go as a travel computer, and again when I did a review of the Surface Go.  But somehow I've never blogged about their awesomeness as a standalone post, even though I meant to.

TL;DR: Plottr is increasing their prices in early April, which is what instigated the purchase that made me decide to write this post.  If you have been considering trying it out, click here to get Plottr now!

Also, their customer service is awesome.

Note: This post includes affiliate links, but only because I genuinely believe in this software, and wouldn't mind getting a few bucks back for recommending it.

I initially bought Plottr when they offered a discount as part of the prize package for "winning" NaNoWriMo.  I decided that I had enough going on in my novel series that I needed a series bible in a way that Scrivener couldn't do for me.  I liked the visual interface of Plottr, so I decided to try it.

And wowwww was I blown away.  Plottr has so many features and they're ever expanding.  I can plot individual books, upload covers, set up character sheets and other notes and indicate which installments they appear in, and then export everything into Scrivener so that all the pertinent information is automagically loaded into Scrivener project for each novel in the series that I write.  

Fast forward to last spring.  My dad was planning a trip and asked me to go with him, so I bought the Surface Go with the intention of putting Scrivener and Plottr on it so that I could work on the trip.  Of course I'd only gotten a license for one computer for a year with Plottr, so I had to upgrade my license in order to make it work.

I reached out to customer service to see if I could get the upgraded license prorated, and they upgraded me with my original NaNoWriMo discount, plus restarted my year.  I set it all up so that I could save my files to Dropbox and have them accessible from either computer.

Fast forward to now.  Plottr sent out emails recently warning us that the prices would be going up soon, so if we wanted to upgrade to Lifetime (no more annual fees!) we should do so before early April.  My license period hasn't expired yet, so I reached out to see how to streamline the upgrade... and they sent me a link with another prorated amount.

Honestly, between the Facebook group, the regular updates, the tutorial videos, and Plottr customer service, the support for this product is beyond phenomenal.  I'm not sorry at all that I bought the lifetime license.

If you're interested in a powerful series management tool, I highly recommend getting Plottr before prices go up next month!