Housekeeping

Story so far: I did housekeeping today. First I sorted, put away and threw away the icons, folders and files on my computer desktop. Now I cans see the bird in my background picture. Next I tackled the files and manila folders in the groaning drawers of my metal filing cabinet. They dated back to the 1980s. Some represented happy times that I clung to. Others still bore traces of the pain and suffering I had endured to collect, collate and read them. They didn’t just contain obsolete information. They were connected to my deepest psyche, filed in my heart and soul. Out they went. I slammed them into the wheelie bin before the university board gets a chance to slam my thesis. I must destroy all those references so they can never again creep into my chapter drafts, not even while I’m sleeping at night. What a relief it is to shift into the present.

Day job: Writing in the morning. Walking in the afternoon. Reading at night.

Need to know: I will only use references from the last five years in my thesis - that means anything with a year starting with 2-0-0.

Star quality: I can survive adversity. I can write. I have published one book and many journal articles.

Current status. I’m up-to-date. I’ve started re-writing my lit review chapter. The sentences are shorter. It will be no more than 20 pages long . If I write 3 pages a day it should take about a week. How good is that?