Breaking the chain

If there is one thing that can be said about the life I have lived so far, it is this: I sat at a desk a lot. Whether I was typing away at my typewriter or at my computer, I was often found sitting at the desk, doing something or another. As it is, when I was working as a freelance writer, I would spend hours at the desk Monday through Friday, sending out queries, researching markets, interviewing people and, oh yeah, writing! While I do not regret this chapter from my past, I don’t exactly like to remember it because all that time spent at the desk and on the computer meant that I missed out on so much in life.

And, even after I stopped working as a freelance writer, I was still missing out while I spent hours at the desk doing other writerly things, which included typing up books.

That’s about to change.

I recently decided that I am going to make some changes with my life. These changes include a drastic cut in desk-time, as well as reading time. No more sitting at the desk for hours writing and no more curled up on the couch or in a chair for hours reading. I have also decided on “no more” for other things, too: No more weekly writing work. (No more writing jobs, period.) No more blogging every weekend. (I blog whenever now.) No more working from home. No more editing. No more self-imposed deadlines on projects. And no more new books until I finish everything I am under contract for as well as WIPs (if I can ever figure those out!). When I said “goodbye to all that,” I did so with the intention of giving my life an overhaul.

And that overhaul means breaking the chain that has kept me at the desk. I don’t want ANYTHING in my life anymore that keeps me chained to the desk or chained to the computer. The less I have of that in my life, the better.

As it is, I have actually started breaking that chain. I just turned down a part-time work-from-home job that WOULD require being at the desk. I also have made it a point to use the computer just once a day, rather than 2 or 3 times. If I MUST answer an email or a post on Facebook, etc., I can use my phone to do just that. And I’ll take time on the weekends to type things up, and even then at a reduced amount of time. (Good thing I am majorly a notebook writer!) I will take time to write, but only when that time is there and nothing else is going on. For the most part, I’m living life offline.

And I gotta say, it’s a beautiful thing. I am looking forward to embracing this new life and these new changes. I’ll blog all about it, too, but just not as often as before.

Here’s to living offline!