I realize I do this to myself. I have a little available time… my inbox is down to 5 emails I’m hanging onto for various reasons… and I sign up for six webinars, download a bundle of a dozen ebooks, agree to give my email address in exchange for fifteen newsletters… and that available time evaporates. I look at my calendar and now I have other stuff on it because I feel obligated to read all the ebooks, attend the webinars, and not unsubscribe right away to the newsletters. So yes, I realize I do this to myself. The first step in changing anything is to acknowledge there’s a problem. I know what mine is (I know a lot of my problems, but sticking specifically to this particular one…). In a way, it’s related to the next thing.
I finished AC. I have 100 Covers working on an ebook and audiobook cover for this short story. Today, the beta reader returned the manuscript. I would never pretend that I publish in a vacuum, and I’m always very grateful for the time and effort others put into my projects. I had five days to start on the next project. I even picked out a story starter from my files that would make a good holiday story. I have the rest of my spiral notebooks dusted off and within easy reach. I was ready for the next thing. Really, I was. Only 5 emails in my inbox… my calendar had some available time… and then I did the thing.
Tomorrow I’m meeting with another writer. I’ll have my spiral with me for the holiday short story. Getting started creates momentum. The other stuff on my computer can be squeezed in here and there. I’ve promised myself to not feel obliged to finish the ebooks if they don’t apply to my writing journey or my process. Same with the newsletters and webinars. Writing is what I want to do. Writing fiction is where I want to put my effort. Maybe I’ll learn something from all the information now on my computer. But the most important piece to know is my creative process. Do you have a habit that keeps you from doing the one thing you want to do? How do you go about changing a habit?
0 Comments