One batch of cherry-pistachio biscotti baked, a mountain of laundry (almost) cleaned¹, every meal in October prepared at home (with two exceptions), numerous cat-fights squelched, countless coffee dates with friends, and one a-cappella-jazz-singing-group joined: it’s been a busy month.
Throw in the writing and revisions I’ve done on my novel, and the still-semi-frequent trips to the gym, and you’d think I’d be overwhelmed, or zonked out on the couch watching marathons of shows like MTV’s Made, or old seasons of Top Chef.
Actually, though, I’m quite energized by all of this awesomeness going on as of late. I’ve only succumbed to one episode of Made, and no marathons of anything. A few years ago, I went through a my-life-is-one-big-meeting season, which led to the I’m-sick-of-my-life-being-one-big-meeting phase, during which I swore off busy-overcomittedness altogether. I’ve come out of that one, and have built up my commitment level again to something healthy.
Anyway.
So, now that we’ve established I’m not zonked or drowning, you should know that today is the day I’m moving forward. Enough of this twiddling over mid-draft revisions: time for new action! Yay! I waited until it was Monday morning so I’d have a fresh start, a fresh week, fresh energy².
Hold me to it, you guys.
It’s easy to let the yumminess of cherry-pistachio biscotti get in the way of sitting down to write, easy to put aside my goals for coffee dates, easy to say but I need to go to the gym…But, there’s a time and a place for those things. While important, this week, I need to FOCUS. I need to DO, not just talk.
This week, in order to motivate myself even more, I shall commit to the scary: every morning, I will post an update on how well I’m doing at this goal. To give you perspective, I have about 40,000 words left to write on this draft. I haven’t set a specific goal for this week, it’s more like an ambiguous write, and write as much as you can that passes for quality goal. That way, I won’t stop when I merely write a sufficient amount of words, but hopefully it will get me to push myself as hard as is reasonable.
Support and encouragement are welcome, whether they come in the form of kind words or kicks in the butt. Like I said, hold me to it. You guys rock.
♦
¹Folded and put away? Another story.
²In case you can’t tell, the energy showed up on time. (Or, maybe that’s the latte. One can never be too sure. I think the energy came first, though.)
You can do it!
Kathleen! Thanks for your encouragement!
I’m loving your blog, and plan to return soon (on a break from writing, of course!).
Sounds like you have been having a great month! I love Mondays because they are a new start and hate them because they are also an end of my last start. Sometimes it gets me motivated, other times discouraged. You sound motivated! I second the cheer… You can do it!
Thank you!
It has been a good month, for sure, though I’ve had to shift my mindset of “what do I consider productive?”, especially since I’ve taken on a few non-writing-related responsibilities lately. Overall, very good month, though. Good to see you on here, and I hope your writing is going well, too!
I think making a commitment publicly like this will help you stick with it and yes, you CAN do it. You are doing it….
It’s definitely helping so far! One day, I want to go through the same feelings you’re going through this month, seeing it published and on a shelf in a bookstore (or several bookstores, ideally!) and having people ask for it. Thanks for your encouragement, Laura!
I agree, publicly announced goals tend to be easier to stick to! Go for it chick
I’ll be checking in to cheer you along 
Thanks for taking the time to encourage me this week! I know you’ve had a tough one, but from your blog it seems to be getting better, and I’m so glad for you!
Hopefully your energy will last through November!
I’m thinking there’s a good chance I’ll still have November energy – the project for NaNo is pretty different from this one, and I’m kind of excited to try on a different mindset for a month. I think it will be productive, all-around – write something new, take a break from the familiar, come back to the familiar in December refreshed and ready to go again. (Whew. Long sentence.)
This is a wonderful idea! Good for you. And I love the picture of your makeshift desk above. I’ll be rooting for you.