Thursday, April 10, 2008

Don't leave writing to the last moment

I've been working on establishing a habit of writing every day. I've started small with a goal of fifteen minutes (starting small is important for establishing new habits!), and so far I've managed to write on eight of the past nine days. Not bad, considering my previous recent record was two for sixty...

Getting motivated isn't a huge problem; I love to write, and I'm excited to finally be making an honest go of it. However, I'm also a lifelong practitioner of the ancient art of procrastination, and I often end up leaving writing to the very, very, tail end of the day when all I want to do is sleep. Sleep is one of my most favorite things in the world, and I'm not one of those people who can get by on a measly seven and a half, or even eight, hours. Additionally, after I write my, mind starts to churn with all sorts of ideas and possibilites: not a great starting point for a good night's sleep!

My solution: write during the day, and not at the end of it! But of course! Stress relief gurus advocate taking frequent, short breaks throughout the work day, and what better way to relax than to cozy up with a laptop for ten minutes and build worlds out of words? Or instead, I can type a few while eating lunch, or maybe (gasp!) even get up fifteen minutes early to write. The possibilites are endless.

We'll see how that works.

No comments: