New Job, New Schedules

[sleeplesspotato]

I started the trial period for a new job this week; I'm lucky to be able to work remotely, though it still feels weird to be monitored remotely by an app that takes screenshots of my screen every 10 minutes. Doing my work inside a virtual machine mitigates that somewhat by isolating my work environment (as long as I avoid doing anything non-work related inside the VM while the monitoring app is running). Fwiw the timer definitely motivates me to stay focused on what I'm doing. ^^;;

Maybe it's a good thing that I'm mostly in the planning stage for my current WIPs; I'm not sure yet how to schedule writing time, since work stuff tends to take over my brain. (I suppose this is the downside of being fond of puzzles -- work problems appear like puzzles to my brain, which continuously tries to solve them even when I'm not consciously thinking about them.) This might be a good time to zero in on the aspects of the characters and their settings that I like best; that might help me stay motivated, especially when work gets stressful. In the past I would write silly wish-fulfillment fluff as an escape from dreary jobs; my WIPs are a bit more serious now, though I can probably inject some fluff into them.

Random OT3 thought: I'd been thinking about how Alucard has these strong forever-alone vibes, then I realized that Somebody to Love by Queen fits him quite well. In hindsight, the Mills & Boon/Harlequin synopsis I'd chosen for my Castlevania OT3 is basically that song -- except that Alucard hasn't realized yet that he's looking for that special someone. Or someones, in this case. Guess I know what I'll be playing on loop when I get back to planning and writing.

Comments

[mistressofmuses]

Oof, I'd struggle with the remote monitoring. I know that type of thing is growing more and more common, but it seems so creepily invasive to me. (Though not more so than any other job, I suppose - I'm on camera in my office, which also seems creepily invasive, but I'm used to.)

Keeping writing time prioritized is one of the things I struggle with. My job is one that I don't have to really take home with me (though the stress or exhaustion follows me home sometimes), but it's still hard for me to fit the things I want to do in the evening.

That is a good song vibe for Alucard... and I look forward to him discovering that's what he's looking for. ;)

[sleeplesspotato]

The funny thing about the monitoring app is that it assumes I'm more productive when I switch windows a lot, though when I do that it usually means I'm giving in to my urge to distract myself by checking messages and email. I suppose it's inevitable that an app like that can be tricked in some way. ^^;; If I want to work without being monitored I'd probably have to go freelance, which has its own set of challenges. This will have to do for now, I guess.

Yeah, it can get overwhelming. -_-() I hope you can find a way to make it work; at least you're not alone. ^^;;

Maybe I'll make a playlist for the Castlevania fanfic; I've thought of Don't Stop Me Now for Sypha (since she loves the adventuring life) and I Want to Break Free for Trevor (he's tired of the Belmont family legacy, and it's awkward if you have to kill your potential father-in-law). It's an excuse to listen to Queen while writing/planning, at any rate.

[mistressofmuses]

Lol, there are a lot of things like that that can be exploited, haha. And it's true - freelance is very much its own monster with plenty of other issues to be overcome. I hope you're happy with the job as it is!

I know that a 40 hour/week job is the norm, but it honestly does kick my ass a lot of the time. (I have no idea how people who work multiple jobs do it. I've done it before and I don't know how I did it.) But I appreciate that I'm not the only one struggling (not because I want anyone else to, but not feeling like I'm the only one is nice.) I go through phases where I'm better at it than other times.

Any excuse to listen to Queen is a good one! I like all of those song picks.

[sleeplesspotato]

I struggled a bit more during this first week than I thought I would; I'm hoping that I'll do better eventually. ^^;; The work can get tedious, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

My Castlevania OT3's group song is probably We Will Rock You. I'd love to see a fight scene choreographed to it...come to think of it, I could try writing a fight scene with all of them while listening to the song. Haven't tried that before, at any rate.

[mistressofmuses]

Schedule and routine changes are always hard - I'm sure that once you settle into it, it'll be fine. (Or at least I hope so!)

Excellent! That's such a great action/fight song! I dig the idea of this fic just having a full Queen soundtrack!

I've picked songs with the general tempo I'm going for as writing music. I listen to a lot of video game scores (they're often designed to improve focus on a task!), but I've absolutely picked some super beat-heavy songs or dance tracks in order to help me focus on action-heavy scenes. I think it helps to set the mood.

[sleeplesspotato]

Guess I ought to listen to more video game OSTs then; dance music, too. Do you have any recommendations?

[mistressofmuses]

My go-to for the last year or two has been the Nier: Automata soundtrack, ha. It's a very sweeping, orchestral score (and it's great!) so it suits a lot of the big vibes I'm often trying to channel in writing. There are also vocals... in a fictional language, so I don't have to worry about the lyrics distracting me, which can be a problem for me.

For dancey type stuff, I have a playlist of uptempo pop stuff, haha. I'm definitely not exactly in-tune with much current pop, admittedly, and a lot of the stuff on that playlist is years (or a decade+) old. It's not what I listen to the most, but having that more energetic sound can help me get the vibe right when I need an energetic scene.