I’m rebuilding my writing muscle. When summer hits and the kids are off, I’m off too. This morning I woke up totally refreshed. That’s probably because I finally went to bed around 10:30 pm. Instead of my normal midnight thirty. I’m pretty sure my husband and I were talking about something, when the quicksand of sleep pulled me home. I was awake and full of energy at 6 am this morning. Side note, I so need glasses… eye appointment one week away.
Lesson one- Go to bed on time
Lesson two- Wake up before the house wakes up
Lesson three- Write 5-8 goals for the day
Lesson four- Write
Lesson five- Move around
My kids are home for one more week. They go back to school after Labor Day. Hmmm, that tells me I can write while they’re home. See lessons one and two. This is about habit forming.
I’m proud of myself. I woke up and got to work. What’s my work? First, I need some quiet time. Quiet time while the house is still and dark inspires me. My head becomes clear and focused. I’m working on mediating. That’s a big one that needs improvement and I hold the keys. Once, I’ve been still for a bit, I need to figure out what needs to be done to progress my family, and the business of writing and publishing. Oh my goodness, when you’re the writer, marketer and publisher you always have a job to do. Sometimes that’s a daunting though and maybe why I totally go on break with the kids. I’ll self analyze more later in the privacy of my own head.
The family takes priority. What are we eating, clean clothes, fairly clean house, being the people mover (getting kids to and from their activities) and my favorite ongoing, forever, can’t believe it’s not over yet… remodeling our house. Breathe. When I was dating my now husband and feeling crazy with school and family I got some really great advice. My now mother-in-law saw me struggling and asked, “How do you eat an elephant?” Answer “One bite at time.” That imagine still walks me back down off the edge of the building.
Lesson 3- I’m tempted to just start writing. And that’s Ok. I can go with the flow of the exercise. I’m writing. I’ve still got goals to write and this will be one check on the list. Here’s my goal list for today. Write a draft for Nelson, Complete chair laundry, wash/style Riley’s hair, start book layout for Storybird, write a blog post, read about tribe building, start speed reading course.
When I wake up and start the day without goals or just as the house is waking up, Everyone else’s needs direct the day. Gone is the time to write or rest and find something productive to do selfishly for me. I write my goals in a journal or sometimes on a post it note pad.
Blogging is writing. I’m not writing content for my next book, but I am stringing together coherent thoughts at least I see them that way. All to the good of getting the writing muscle engage.
At age forty four, I find myself in an in-between world. I love technology, but also love the feel of a pen and paper when I’m writing. I can type out a blog post on line, but writing fiction currently requires paper and pencil. That’s something I’m experimenting with changing. Maybe I’ll get more things done with my trusty Mac.
Woohoo! Blog post done. My husband is awake now, and he’s working on his on projects before his daily phone calls start. The kids will be up soon and while they appreciate that moms an author they still want hugs and attention. I think we’ll start the day with a walk. Lesson five.
Tangled hugs,
Yolanda
