Back to writing questions! Let's turn this vent into a question.
So what do you do if you're feeling motivated to write and/or edit, but your brain is just spent on staring at your computer or red/green walls of edits. Do you keep going because you're feeling inspired? Do you take a short recess then come back? In general when you're inspired to write, do you keep going as long as inspiration strikes or do you set yourself time limits? Has that changed at all since quarantining and stay at home orders have happened (increased or decreased)?
On the reverse, if you're in an "open/stare/close" mood, how long do you stare before you close? Do you leave it on in the background while you do something else or is a permanent close for the day? How many times a day would you open a document?
If I'm really inspired and the words keep coming, I'll keep writing until my eyes cross... and then I'll turn on voice typing so I can close my eyes and dictate to the computer if I have to LOL. Unless I have to be somewhere, I don't force myself to stop. But when I hit my wall and start staring at the screen for more than a few minutes without actually typing anything or realize I've spent the last hour refreshing Twitter instead of writing, that's when I know it's time to take a break. I don't have a set amount of time I'll give it, but I can usually just tell when I'm not going to be productive and continuing to sit at the computer is just wasting my time. Depending on how late in the day that happens, I may try to come back to it later, but I usually don't have much luck if I was productive earlier in the day. I call it my little fanfic bubble - when I'm in my bubble, I can focus for hours, but once that bubble bursts, it's hard to blow it back up later. I used to do my best writing late at night, but the last couple years, I've had better luck writing first thing in the morning, before I get distracted by anything else. I guess that means I'm getting old LOL.
I tend to leave my current project open all the time. How many times a day I pull it up depends on what day it is and what else I have going on that day. On a Saturday like today, where I have nowhere to be, I'll try to work on it multiple times throughout the day. I already wrote awhile this morning, then took a break to shower and eat and update my site, but I'll be back at it later. I'm trying to get as much written as I can before I go back to work next Wed and my bubble bursts again LOL.
I have probably spent more time writing this past year than in the previous few because of the pandemic. It's given me the perfect excuse to stay home and write to my heart's content without guilt. I'm not being antisocial; I'm being safe! LOL