A writer's holiday

• Do a spot of cleaning.
• Realise there is a sky and colours are quite bright.
• Finally clean the car.

• And the computer.
• Make food in a leisurely manner.
• Consider planting tomatoes, capsicums and snow peas.
• Trim back the overgrowth on the apple tree.
• Sweep away all the leaves dropping from the peach tree.
• Realise the olive tree has doubled in height since the last time you actually looked at it.

• Consider escaping into the wider world but you're not quite up to that yet. One step at a time. Maybe tomorrow.
• Enjoy the catty company.

• Pick macadamias that the cockatoos haven't eaten.
• Wonder what the 8 foot high plants growing randomly about the front garden are because last you remembered you'd thrown out a bunch of seeds and were sure they were just for flowers. Are they weeds? Really big weeds? Should they be cut down?

• Consider re-stacking the book shelves so they look neat then realise the effort is futile as you still don't have enough shelf space to make anything neat.
• So you chase cat furballs instead and collect enough to make a third cat. Aren't cats supposed to stop shedding in Winter?
• Become unnecessarily distracted by putting things back where they aught to be and by fixing problems like unwinding the curtain strings that have been slowly but surely tying themselves in knots.
• Realise the cat is enjoying the fact you're up and about because he's following you around and going brrr? brrr?

• Who's 0418...865 and why are you calling me? I don't like calling people or talking really so you'll have to try again.
• Hmm, going for a peddle would be a good idea.
• But first there's the garden to tackle.

• But no. What's really first is to finish making that butternut pumpkin and apple pie. Hungry...

Importance of rest days during the writing process

It is often said that if you stop writing day to day that you'll likely stop altogether. That isn't the case and it does make it sound as though writing is more chore than pleasure. I'd say it is about fifty-fifty when you get started but if there is a story scratching at your mind, demanding to be written, then you will definitely begin writing again no matter what. Only exhaustion, so-called writer's block and disinterest will ever stop you from writing. A day or two, a week or two, off won't mean you will never write again.

Everyone else can take a holiday and rest so why not a writer. Besides, some good can come from a writer taking a break.

Breaks allow:

• The mind to begin seeing the whole picture rather than the details.
• The mind time to pick out contradictory details.
• Time for extra thought or research.
• Time for a new story to formulate in your mind.
• Time for a new idea on how to solve a tricky problem to formulate.
• Time for your energy to rebuild.
• Time to catch up on the other things in life that need attention.
• Time to explore the world and discover new things to write about.
• Time to gain new experiences which can be used to make your characters more rounded.
• Time to break through the hermit shell and practice your social skills.
• For those of you who work all hours, time to sleep and relax, lower that stress level.
• Time to read what other people have written.
• You to stretch your bones and muscles back into a normal shape and improve your health.

I'd suggest a rest between drafts or when a major problem strikes and you need time to think.  I'd also suggest a break between books for many of the reasons above.

As a side note, don't forget to sleep properly.

For everyone, sleep is important, writers included.

The Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests six reasons to get enough sleep:

• Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
• Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
• Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
• Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
• Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
• Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

The good health of a writer (and for those with a sedentary lifestyle)

Frequently stretch and walk about: Do not sit the same posture for more than an hour. Remember to get up and walk about every now and then, to stretch any tired muscles (hands, shoulders, neck and back included) and to rest the mind momentarily before diving back into your writing.

Exercise: Take short walks throughout the day and whenever possible exercise for fitness. Sedentary lives at computers can lead to health issues you never expected, such as hormone imbalances (applies to both men and women). Also, long-term disuse and misuse of muscles and bones can lead to arthritis, muscle degradation and a loss of density in the bone. Watch out for the last if osteoporosis runs in the family.

Maintain a good working posture: If the position you’re in is slouched of shoulder or back you are going to hurt yourself. Remember to keep a curve to your spine, use your stomach muscles to keep yourself upright and keep your neck and shoulders straight and not slumped. To help in this, adjust your monitor, keyboard and mouse so they don’t force you to hunch or lean to reach and see.

Place and adjust the monitor: The preferred distance between the eye and monitor is 50-100 cm. Adjust your monitor to be directly in front of you, not more than 35 degrees to the left or right. Look at faraway objects every now and then to relax your eyes. If your eyes dry out or lose the ability to focus you need to look away and blink to bring moisture to your eyes.

Straight wrist posture: Watch out for wrist strain from holding your hand at an odd angle for long periods of time. Flex every now to loosen the muscles and tendons and keep your wrist as straight as possible throughout your work, whether typing or using a mouse. To do this you may need to adjust the keyboard and mouse position.

Desk or surface position: If the surface you’re working on is too high or too low it may result in awkward wrist, arm, and shoulder postures, causing muscle strain. This can be fixed by adjusting the chair height or desk height. Don’t force yourself to use positions alternate to ones natural to you, such as left-handers using right-hander equipment or vice versa if that so happens.

Seating: To help maintain your posture use a chair that supports your back, legs, buttocks and arms.

Remember to eat: Don’t skip meals because you’re too busy or engrossed in you’re writing. Your health depends on how you eat as much as exercise and adequate rest. Making your food from scratch will give you a much needed break, provide a chance to walk around a bit, relax your eyes and if you’re doing anything like making bread, use your arms and shoulders in other ways. Homemade food is often healthier, if you prepare it with a mind for shorter shelf lives (less sugar or salt, which act as preservatives).

Remember to drink water: You may not even feel thirsty because you’re busy at work but your body might need a drink. Don’t forget to get up and get some water or tea (green more than black but both are fine). Try not to overdo the caffeine as this can also dehydrate you but if you're like me, drinking plain water over and over again can be incredibly monotonous. I'm not addicted to sugar drinks but I do like a little flavour to my water.

Weight loss or gain: Unintended weight loss can occur because of the wrong eating habits, an unhealthy lifestyle or forgetfulness when it comes to eating. Overeating, eating overly sugared or fatty foods and not moving around enough can result in weight gain. Other factors are hormone imbalance from a sedentary lifestyle but this will often come along with chronic fatigue and other symptoms. Anything like this requires a visit to the doctor, exercise and a change of diet. Don’t self medicate for any reason unless you really do know what you’re doing. Spending meal times with family or friends will help make eating an enjoyable break from your writing.

Sleep: Sleep is important to your health. You'll get headaches and strained muscles from working all day and night at a computer. Not to mention from thinking so hard on your writing. Sleep will help you keep a clear mind while writing, provide new ideas, rest your brain and eyes, increase your productivity in writing and keep you able to work long term without sacrificing your health. Just another note on sleep, a lack of sleep can compromise your immune system so all those little bugs your family bring home from the outside world, the one you rarely visit as you're stuck at your computer, will find you a nice little incubator.