So, let’s discuss my first-world schedule problems

The week went well. My new schedule definitely gets more productivity out of me. As I said last week, though, it’s really draining and I have to make myself take breaks. Trying to squeeze everything into a 7 am – 5 pm workday plays on my impulse to just go and go and go (there’s always something I can be working on) which gets stressful fast. More so as I don’t exactly kick back at five: I do my blogging in the evenings, and there’s also dinner to cook (at least a couple of nights) and stuff to clean (I much prefer getting that done in the evening to the weekend).
Another problem is that if I have repair-people or anything to deal with or stuff to work on for Mum, I have much less down time during the day to tackle it.
Still, these are all fixable if I just make myself relax and mark off my breaks so I can feel Yes, I’m Off Now. I’ll work on that next week.
As for actual work:
•I got Happiest Place on Earth back last weekend, sent it out to an anthology yesterday, got it back yesterday (they already had two Lovecraftian parodies). I sent it out again this morning.
•I finished 13,000 words on the new draft of Brain From Outer Space. It’s looking better, but I think I’m going to show the prologue and first chapter to my group soon—I’ve worked with it so much, it’s getting hard to see if it sets up my world (which I, after all, know intimately) or just confuses people. Still, I’m liking it.
•I finished my first draft for Monster Earth II, a story tentatively titled The Fox and the Hedgehog. I did something I don’t usually do, rush the work just so I could get it done. Hopefully coming to an end has stirred up enough ideas that when I look at the draft again, I’ll be able to shape it into something.
•I rewrote Original Synergy in response to suggestions from some of my beta-readers. I think it’s done.
•I started a new story, which I’ll say more about when it’s a little clearer—right now it’s just an opening. It may be a while before I go any further with it.
•I took a look at one of my older stories, Fiddler’s Black, and I found it frustrating. I like everything up until the protagonists get trapped in a plane of darkness … but after that, it just doesn’t work. I feel very strongly it’s fixable but I can’t see the path from there to here yet.
•My new And column is out, dealing with the fantasy we can stop terrorism by stopping immigration.
Demand Media for the week:
•How Much Tax to Withhold as an Independent Contractor?
•Can a Married Couple File Jointly From Different States?
•How to Buy a House Jointly When You Are Not Married
•What Happens When a Mortgage Holder Never Filed a Claim in Bankruptcy?
•Can Employers Discriminate Against People Who File for Unemployment?
•The Cancellation of Debt on Investment Properties
•Can Married People Collect Separate Retirement Benefits?
•Can I Keep My Timeshare if I File Bankruptcy?
•Can You Do a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure if You Have Filed for Bankruptcy?
•IRS: Tax Liability Upon Death if Married & Filing Separately
•Are Legal Fees for Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Tax-Deductible?
•Can Fitness Be a Tax Deduction?
•Tax Deductions for Rental Property & Homeowners Association Fees
•Are Fees for the SHRM Certification Tax Deductible?
•Spousal Support as a Tax Deduction