{"id":3408,"date":"2020-04-13T17:33:14","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T07:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/?p=3408"},"modified":"2020-04-06T18:30:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T08:00:00","slug":"work-home-lisa-walkers-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/2020\/04\/work-home-lisa-walkers-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Work from Home: Lisa Walker’s Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

Welcome to the week, and to a new blog series here at Wakefield Press! Introducing\u00a0How to Work From Home: Authors talk about how they stay productive.<\/h1>\n

Like many others, we\u2019ve recently begun the transition from office work to working from home. It\u2019s a strange transition to make, and we need some help. We\u2019ve interviewed a collection of our favourite authors to get their best tips, tricks and truths about working from home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Next in the series is Lisa Walker, whose\u00a0body-positive detective romp,\u00a0The Girl with the Gold Bikini<\/em><\/a>, features a hearty appreciation for the glitz and glamour of the Gold Coast.\u00a0Lisa writes novels for adults and young adults, and has written an ABC Radio National play. She has worked in environmental communication and as a wilderness guide, and recently spent six months in a Kmart tent in outback Australia.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Is writing your full-time job, or do you have another job to keep you busy? If you have more than one job, what\u2019s the split between that job and writing?<\/h1>\n

Writing has been my job for the last few years because I\u2019m doing a PhD in creative writing and I have a scholarship to support that, which is wonderful. Before that, I worked three days a week for many years, so that I could write on the other days.<\/p>\n

How do you usually structure a writing day?\"YA<\/a><\/h1>\n

I\u2019m a bit flexible, as it depends on how good the surf is! I\u2019m usually at my desk by about 9.30 but sometimes later if the surf is good. I\u2019ll have a break every couple of hours for about half an hour. I usually wind up by around five o\u2019clock. I\u2019m pretty much brain-dead by then anyway.<\/p>\n

How do you keep yourself on task when you\u2019re working from home?<\/h1>\n

I make sure I\u2019m at the desk throughout the day and I use an internet blocker to try to stay on track. With everything so strange and crazy lately, I\u2019ve definitely been a bit distracted, but I haven\u2019t beaten myself up too much about that. There\u2019s a lot to take in right now, and I think we need to be kind to ourselves.<\/p>\n

How do you take a break properly?<\/h1>\n

I always do some exercise before I start writing. If the surf isn\u2019t happening, I\u2019ll walk or ride on the beach. I then have a couple of mini-breaks during the day. If I start to get sleepy, I\u2019ll often do a short yoga session mid-afternoon to wake me up. I also like to play the ukulele as it really gets me in a different headspace.<\/p>\n

Do you have any favourite\u00a0treats or\u00a0things to have nearby to help you work?<\/h1>\n

I start off with a nice cup of coffee, then I have a big bottle of water and frequent cups of tea throughout the day. Writing is surprisingly thirsty work. I also eat a lot of nuts!<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on getting dressed for work when your office is at home?<\/h1>\n

Definitely not! Appearance is not a priority, I just wear whatever is comfortable. My look can get pretty bad, particularly at the moment, when I have no real reason to smarten myself up. I guess I\u2019ll have to do something about my hair at some stage.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>What are your top tips for working from home? Alternatively, what has working from home taught you?<\/h1>\n

My top tip is the Pomodoro method, in which you work in twenty-five minute blocks with a five-minute break between them. It helps to keep me motivated and I do a few stretches between writing blocks so I don\u2019t seize up.<\/p>\n

My next tip is that I love the internet blocker, Freedom. When I start writing, I\u2019ll set a two-hour Freedom session then have a break, then do another two hours and, if I\u2019ve got the energy, a third one. It keeps me focused.<\/p>\n

My third tip is that I\u2019ll usually do at least a two-hour block of new writing, which takes the most creative energy, first-up. Then, if necessary, I can do other writing-related work such as promotion in the afternoon when I\u2019m tired.<\/p>\n

What does your workspace look like, and where is it?\u00a0 Would you change anything about it?<\/h1>\n

My workspace is a room at the bottom of our house. The good part is that it\u2019s roomy and mostly quiet. The not so great part is that, being under the house, it\u2019s a little dark. But being away from the action is the main thing, especially now that my son and husband are also at home for the duration of this pandemic. I have a stand-up desk, which I like, though I still probably spend more time sitting than standing.<\/p>\n

What are you working on at the moment?<\/h1>\n

I\u2019m finalising my PhD, which is due for submission in July. This is a thesis and a novel, which is focused on an older male character, so it\u2019s bit of a change in direction! I\u2019m also working on a new young adult novel. I alternate between the two as the mood takes me.<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with Lisa by following her on her website<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, or Twitter<\/a> (or all three!).\u00a0Read more about The Girl with the Gold Bikini <\/em>over on our website<\/a>. You can also read an excerpt of the book here<\/a>.<\/h1>\n

Support Wakefield Press by buying our beautiful books!\u00a0\u00a0Visit our\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0or contact us on 08 8352 4455 for more information, or to purchase a book (or three!). We can post your purchase to your doorstep!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the week, and to a new blog series here at Wakefield Press! Introducing\u00a0How to Work From Home: Authors talk about how they stay productive. Like many others, we\u2019ve recently begun the transition from office work to working from … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553,792,868,808],"tags":[871,809,884,887,883],"class_list":["post-3408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adelaide","category-australian","category-author-feature","category-interview","tag-author-feature","tag-author-interview","tag-buy-books","tag-how-to-work-from-home","tag-support-publishers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4v1Of-SY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3408"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3413,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3408\/revisions\/3413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}