Some days no matter how hard you try there is always something else to do before you can sit down to write.
I can't write when the sink is full of dishes. So I do the dishes.
I can't write when the bed is unmade. So I make the bed.
I can't write when there are wet towels. So I wash a load of laundry, dry, fold, and put everything away.
I check to see what's for dinner. (Can't write unless I know that!) Okay, tonight we can have leftover spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread.
Then a visiting baby boy, four months old, eyes of blue, and smelling of Johnson's baby lotion needs to be rocked. That takes at least thirty minutes to satisfy my nurturing gene. I come away smelling of baby - what a lovely scent.
Next, it's on to yoga for strengthening and limbering my body. Feels great. Thanks, Rodney Yee, for coming up with moves I can master.
Then I MUST read my Daily Bread and tend to my spiritual side.
Oh, I forgot to eat this morning - well a banana and a slice of apple bread didn't do the job. Okay, a piece of toast and I'm now good to go.
I notice my hair could use some attention and so could the kitchen floor.
I stop there. No more excuses. I'm pulling up my story on my laptop and sitting down.
Bon Voyage. I'm off to feed my creative side.
Happy writing.
I can't write when the sink is full of dishes. So I do the dishes.
I can't write when the bed is unmade. So I make the bed.
I can't write when there are wet towels. So I wash a load of laundry, dry, fold, and put everything away.
I check to see what's for dinner. (Can't write unless I know that!) Okay, tonight we can have leftover spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread.
Then a visiting baby boy, four months old, eyes of blue, and smelling of Johnson's baby lotion needs to be rocked. That takes at least thirty minutes to satisfy my nurturing gene. I come away smelling of baby - what a lovely scent.
Next, it's on to yoga for strengthening and limbering my body. Feels great. Thanks, Rodney Yee, for coming up with moves I can master.
Then I MUST read my Daily Bread and tend to my spiritual side.
Oh, I forgot to eat this morning - well a banana and a slice of apple bread didn't do the job. Okay, a piece of toast and I'm now good to go.
I notice my hair could use some attention and so could the kitchen floor.
I stop there. No more excuses. I'm pulling up my story on my laptop and sitting down.
Bon Voyage. I'm off to feed my creative side.
Happy writing.
That sounds familiar. Okay, maybe not the baby or yoga part. Just the list of other things to do first part.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Alex, I get it - you're too manly for those things! Just like my teen age grandson turned up his nose when we offered him the baby. But isn't it true that we will go out of our way a mile to find something else to do. Or is that just me???
ReplyDeleteI even pulled some weeds today. That's going way far.
Now I'm facing the blank page.
I am familiar with all this excuses to avoid...I call it sidetracking and I am quite good at it.
ReplyDeleteLOL Oh that hits here so often too! But eventually you will say, "Writing comes first!"
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth! There's always something to delay writing . One thing that's helped me lately is that I've promised myself one hour a day. It doesn't sound too daunting, so I can always sit myself down. And knowing it's only "one hour" let me ignore the dishes. The one hour usually expands to two--or sometime more--but I start with the one hour. I can't believe how much progress I'm making on my third rewrite by doing it every day.
ReplyDeleteYes, but think of all those ideas you can get from all those distractions!
ReplyDeleteYou're so right about the distractions. I hadn't thought of it that way. We can't write continually. Still, I need to be more focused. I think Liz has the right idea. Trick yourself by saying one hr and then one turns into more.
ReplyDeleteKeep writing all!
Yes, sometimes I feel like certain things have to be "just so" for me to be able to sit down and write.
ReplyDeleteAre you peeking into my life window. I also have to have things just so before I put pen to paper. I think we sometimes need to be selfish and just take that time for ourselves, it is a gift of ourselves to share with all!
ReplyDelete