Suck it up, buttercup

I'm not a morning person. Combined with my bartending schedule, my preference for being productive starting around noon usually means I don't go running until the hottest part of the day. During the summer, that means I'm running in high temperatures and stupidly humid conditions. If there's a hell, I'm pretty sure mine would include daily runs at 2 PM in July in Alabama. Since the temperatures have cooled a little, my problems have changed slightly. Now, knee pain, overwork and poor hydration have me almost constantly laid out. As an aside, the first two weeks of training with Resolute Running felt good. Each run caused soreness, but recovery was quick and relatively painless. Since I caught the superbug/evil snot monster infestation, running and working have just made me very tired.

Right now, I'm frustrated. It seems that almost everything I do is exhausting, and running just heightens it. Running has never been my favorite past time, but it's always been bearable. For a while, it was invigorating, empowering and sometimes even refreshing. I needed it.

Now, it almost feels like a task. I've depleted my sleep reserve and don't know how to get my equilibrium back. What I do know is that I'll start by going for  a short run today and, let's be honest, follow it with a nap. At some point, though, I'd really like to not feel quite so tired.

Title today comes from a quasi-inspirational saying. Got any tips for beating exhaustion? Leave them in the comments!

Dress like a freelancer

When I quit my office job, I spent the first couple days surfing the web for writing inspiration. After three days, I had exhausted my patience for silly memes. Before transitioning to full-on writing, I combed my hair and changed into slacks and blouse. I didn't change my workspace or routine, but dressing professionally made me feel like I was on the clock.

Psychologically, putting on comfortable but professional clothing can signal your brain and body that it's time for work. When you change out of your pajamas, you're able to stop resting and start knocking out tasks on your to-do list. Since minimizing distractions is crucial in succeeding as a freelancer of any kind, taking all possible steps to delineate work time from play time is essential.

By dressing up, you're enforcing a small measure of self-accountability. When practiced on a regular basis, it can help increase productivity and focus. If you surf the web for cat pictures instead of potential pitches, you're wasting your own valuable time. I've found that it's much more difficult to justify an hour spent on Pinterest or Facebook when I have set goals for the day's writing.

That said, my one pair of dress slacks is more comfortable any of my jeans. As a result, I'm more comfortable in business casual. By dressing up, I'm also able to schedule and attend last minute meetings away from my couch. More importantly, as I build my freelance base, learning how to define the border between work and personal time will be absolutely crucial to maintaining my passions -- and my sanity.

Balancing all of these aspects of my life will be tricky, but it will be doable with practice and support. Luckily, if any of these gets too overwhelming, I will take a step back and rest. All the freelance pitches will still be out in the world tomorrow -- and so will the cat pictures.

If you freelance, do you dress up to go to work?

Running into the wall

After completing my first race last week, I kicked off my new and improved training schedule with a few days of sickness and gentle cross training. It definitely wasn't the hard-hitting regimen I wanted to start, but I made do. At this point, I shouldn't have been surprised. Since school started, I've either tutored or bartended each weeknight and freelance during the day. The workload is manageable when I don't run several miles on four hours' sleep. Lesson learned. Those four days off made for a rough first run. I started out way too fast and had to walk most of the second mile. The second run of the week was slightly better paced, but was pretty short.

Yesterday, I completed the first run on my shiny, new, professionally-made training schedule. It was at an easy pace, but let me tell you, running is tough. I fought the pace for most of the mile (yes, just one), and was just as sweaty and out of breath as if I had run much faster or longer. It's not fun, but it will increase my endurance and make me a better runner over the long term.

After running came the foam rolling and, as usual, lots of cursing. My workout schedule for the rest of the week includes a long, slow run, hip strengthening workout and speed work -- all new to me. Also new is a weekly check in with my coach, Ann Thomas, to discuss my progress and shortcomings in that week's workouts. Up to this point, I've only been accountable in running to myself and the Internet, and honestly, I need more.

For the next few weeks, I'm not making any drastic or life-altering decisions outside of this plan. Upping my weekly mileage will be a big accomplishment, and sticking to a schedule will help me to get back into the healthy exercise habit I've been trying to cultivate for so long. After that point, the sky's the limit.

Have any running or cross training tips to share? Leave them in the comments!

Six ways to build an editorial calendar

In both blogging and running, I've learned a lot through trial and error. After a hiatus during a technical medical writing gig, I'm doing right by my writing. I'm in the habit of writing something every day, and I'm making sure to balance that work with physical exertion. Here are some tips for setting up an editorial calendar of your own.

1. Choose your blog's focus. Unless your blog goes viral or you have thousands of followers, your devoted readers will most likely be people you know. Pick a subject that you want to read about, and write posts that would education and challenge you.
2. Set a schedule and put it on your calendar. If you're only posting once a week, do it like clockwork. It's easier for your readers to catch your posts if they have a general idea of when they'll go live.
3. Practice regularly. Find the time to write every day. Developing a voice and skill set requires regular practice, and with time, it will take less time to sculpt each word of a post.
4. Write in advance. If you're always scrambling to meet self-imposed due dates, come up with a list of posts for the week or month and write them all. That way, you have posts in reserve if a current event or other topic strikes your fancy.
5. Schedule posts. Most blogging platforms allow users to schedule posts. This function can take the guesswork and variability out of an editorial calendar once it's set.
6. Link up social media. Want your posts to go up in the morning without waking you up? Link your social media accounts to your blog. Every time a post is published, so will a tweet or Facebook status with a link to the entry.
7. Ask a friend to be your accountability buddy. Have them call you out if you miss a post. In any craft, having a support system can make all the difference, especially when you're starting out.

Personally, I've still got some work to do. My non-negotiable editorial calendar goes into effect next week, and the order of my posts will change. Though I still need to ask someone to be my accountability buddy, I've been doing better with every other part of this list. For here forward, expect Cocktail of the Week posts to go live on Mondays, running updates on Wednesdays and writing on Fridays.

Can you just be whelmed?

As I have said several times before, one of my biggest struggles is balancing my schedule and making time to be mindful. Right now, my hamper of clean laundry is overflowing and dust bunnies are breeding like…rabbits in my house while a shameful number of unfinished blog posts languish as drafts. To top it off, I have now gone four days without a workout and have not cooked a full meal since last Wednesday.

In the midst of it all, I went through my first week in a new position at my company. The switch has forced me to closely inspect all aspects of my future goals. Financially, I found I would be living paycheck to paycheck if I did not tutor and freelance. No matter how I crunched the numbers, I cannot currently afford to leave the apartment unless I work past 5.

Over the past week, I have been pitching stories like mad. Though some of these ideas will be unpaid, I will still get to gain experience in the field and possibly cultivating larger future projects. I have also started putting together a master list of potential, likely and unlikely publications I would like to write for.

Since all the my public school tutees returned from spring break, my schedule has been steady. Even then, I have started reserving at least part of one weeknight to visit with friends and family. The small amount of mental health space that this move has created keeps me saner and more centered.

The combination of my schedule and the new social media policy at work has left me with little time for online interactions. That said, I’ve still managed to geek out over Doctor Who all over the Twitterverse, hang out with a new friend and write out some (very modest) resolutions for the new season.

I will be introducing a new editorial feature later this week and another at the beginning of next week. The first will be website and app reviews for services that I have found to be incredibly helpful. The second will spotlight people in Birmingham who are harnessing social networking tools to foster growth, development and general awesomeness in the community. I will also begin sharing some of my favorite entries from Birmingham Box Set as I get them posted.

Hang on, y’all. We’re in for a ride.

Title today comes from 10 Things I Hate About You. "I think you can in Europe."