I would still have preferred a couple more hours’ sleep yesterday morning, but I sat down to revise my paper in the afternoon, and found my early morning brain had done me a favour: moving a couple of chunks of text didn’t involve much rewriting, and I think it makes a more interesting narrative.
My weekend working pattern is a bit disjointed – anyone running a household will understand – but that’s just my reality. Revise a bit of writing – start cooking dinner – a bit more revision. And so on. I tell myself that my subconscious mind is still working on it. (So, when I was carving the roast …? No, I don’t believe it was working at all!)
How to Slow Down Speaking Pace?
I also timed my paper. I think I must still read a bit too fast, though, although I do try to pace it. I don’t gabble. Maybe I should try again tonight, as slowly as I can manage. How do other folk get themselves to slow down? Any special strategies, tips or hints?
Here are suggestions from friends and colleagues. I’ve been practising with the first two already:-
- Count one for a comma, two for a full stop, and three for a paragraph
- Mark the script with where to breathe
- Imagine you’re speaking to people for whom the language you’re speaking isn’t their first language.
I woke early again this morning, but thankfully my wakeful brain wasn’t in editorial mode today…
Karen McAulay, Musicologist 