Have you ever taken a work-li-day?

Summer writing plans, exam papers and DIY therapy

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I’ve been super busy this week with various strands of my work. I’m currently marking vast quantities of exam papers, so the carpet of my spare bedroom/temporary office is hardly visible due to the piles of exam scripts covering it. More continue to arrive and I’m running out of space to put them down.

Fortunately (for next year?) the renovation of my new studio/office/writing space is starting to come together, but now that the walls have been freshly plastered it is my turn to get my hands dirty and crack on with the painting.

I really like painting walls. It’s a satisfying job and I can lose myself in it for hours; listening to a podcast or audiobook while slowly seeing the colour come to life. So far I’ve listened to Cathy Rentzenbrink’s ‘Write It All Down’, caught up on Emma Gannon’s new podcast and am about to start listening to the audiobook of David Nicholls’ ‘You Are Here’. There’s quite a bit to do (hurrah, lots of listening time!), so I’m fitting this in around the exam marking, teaching, design work and everything else. I’m using it as an incentive. E.g. If you mark 10 papers, you can paint for an hour.

The main incentive is to get this room finished so that I can move into it. I’ve got plans for a floor to ceiling bookshelf next to my desk, a large pinboard, some hanging plants and a colourful roman blind.

I have three more weeks of teaching on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays before term ends and it is the summer holidays. Seven weeks of every day being a ‘freelance’ day, as well as some rest time. I can’t wait.

This summer, my husband and I are trying out something new. We are going away for four weeks on what we’re calling a ‘work-li-day’.