I've been intending to write something about the way things are in our house since September (since we got back from Shadow Lane). I did write this and Pab wrote his response, but that was before things in our house really started.
Right after that, well, we started talking about the way things would be while I got some much needed work (meaning writing on my thesis) done.
It (I'll explain more about it as we go) started the first week in September. It's been just over a month now and things have gone pretty well. As of this afternoon a chapter of my thesis that didn't exist at all on September 5 now has 32 pages.
And today, well my bottom is currently so sore that sitting is painful. Which gets to why I'm finally writing about this. You see, today was not an easy day.
So how does this new system work anyway? Well, you may have read about Abel and Haron's system, which given Haron's recent success, obviously works for her. However, that's not what we do. Mostly because we've found that, given a set number of hours to work, I'm very capable of wasting that same number, especially by finding things that I must read. Reading, for me, is easy. Writing is hard.
So instead, I have a set number of pages (2) a day to write on each of the days I don't work at my job. And I get Saturday and Sunday off. In order to motivate me, after I go to bed each night, Pab switches my computers from my usual "Mija" profile (the one with 'net access and all interesting programs) to my "Schoolgirl" profile. The parental controls in Mac OSX have fixed it so I don't have access to anything more interesting than a spell checker. It doesn't get switched back until two pages have been produced.
And if Pab is working outside for the day, I have no 'net access until he gets home. Did I mention that I have to wear a uniform (we got some new uniform skirts --a navy, a tan and a plaid-- for me, on sale at J.C. Penny's -- only $14 each) until the work is done.
Strict? Yes, but then we're only talking about 3 days a week. Though five nights a week (Sunday through Thursday) I have a bedtime of 11 pm. Oh and I'm supposed to track my food on Fitday (so he can keep an eye on my sugar intake) everyday. Most nights he reviews with me how the day went. Most nights I get spanked, sometimes because of things I haven't done (though so far not for not working as I've been quite good about that). Some nights as a reminder.
On Sundays we go over the entire week. On Sundays I wear a strict uniform. On Sundays, generally, I get thrashed on my bottom (and palms). Mostly with the heavy tawse Pab bought from Ian at Shadow Lane.
When he first presented this plan to me --this time, though it combines elements of things we've done in the past, it came unbidden from him, not from me -- I thought "this amount of work is nothing... I don't even think I'm going to get much done."
But I have of course. There's a significant chunk of a chapter now that wasn't there before. And a month where I've worked every day I'm supposed to. I've even started carrying research for this chapter around with me and reading it in coffee shops and on buses. Sometimes I feel like a student / scholar again and not like a fraud.
Yes, it's working. I'm working.
Which takes us to today. But I think I'm going to save that for a new entry as this is already quite long enough.
