Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer's Support Group,
where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was
founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our
posts the first Wednesday of the month.
Over the past few weeks, my
motivation levels have flip flopped as much as the weather here in Oklahoma. I
took a week of staycation in the middle of December which did not involve as
much staying home as I’d hoped. I enjoyed some time with friends and family,
though, so it was still a worthwhile time. When I was home, I had so many cleaning
and organizing tasks to catch up on that I did not have much time to write. I
guess taking time off is not necessarily the solution to my writing-time
problem because my time gets booked up fast. I started the New Year feeling
slightly motivated because I was off for the weekend and I felt refreshed and
ready to start a daily writing session…then I went to work on Monday and all
motivation was gone. I finally felt reenergized around 12:30 that night, which
was terrible because I had work in the morning, so I had to stifle my
creativity in order to wind myself down to go to sleep. Are there any other
night owls out there who are forced to get up early for a day job? Add
introversion and having to unwind after dealing with people all day and that is
why I don’t have much energy to spare.
Tuesday night, after another life-sucking
day at work, I decided to find some New Year motivational articles to read and
remind myself of the goals I would like to accomplish this year with my
writing. Inspired by the articles in this month’s IWSG newsletter, I think my
main goal for this year is to start a daily writing habit. Even if it is just a
little bit of journaling, I need to write every single day. I know this will be
a tough undertaking at first, but it will be rewarding once it becomes a
regular part of my daily routine. I hope each of you find success in your goals
for this year! Happy 2017!
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| Time to fill this notebook with stories! |
I think that is great to make it a point to write daily, even if it is just a little bit. I bet you will succeed with this goal in 2017! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeletebetty
Thank you, Betty! Happy New Year!
DeleteGood luck with your goal. Discipline is needed here as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tamara. You're right, I do need to work on disciplining myself and how I spend my time.
DeleteHonestly, I don't know if I could seriously write if I was still working full-time. Work took most of my energy and then life chores took the rest. Well done to you trying to balance everything.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ellen. It is a very difficult undertaking, trying to find balance, but I am determined to make it work!
DeleteDecember was an awful month for me. I was going through a lot and had no motivation. I'm finally starting to get it back.
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled the articles in the IWSG newsletter inspired you. You will slay your goal. I know it. :)
Happy New Year!!!
Thanks Chrys :) I'm glad to have found some motivation this week. I just hope I will be willing to continue to seek it out!
DeleteMaking it a regular habit and part of your day will help. Sorry, no longer a night owl, but I don't like mornings either.
ReplyDeleteHappy 2017!
Alex, ugh...mornings are the worst! That is my plan: to make writing a habit that I immediately do out of routine instead of trying to work it into my schedule.
DeleteWe put too much stress on ourselves when the new year begins and feel horrible when we don't start what we were thinking of doing. I'm certain you will start and you will let your creative juices fly.
ReplyDeleteBirgit, I agree that making resolutions is usually just a set up for failure. That is why I like to call them goals. When I think of a goal, I think of something I am striving to obtain instead of something I am trying to keep up with.
DeleteAll the best with your writing goals. Finding time to do things can be tough.
ReplyDeleteQueendSheena
2017 IWSG January Co-Host
Thank you, Sheena. I agree that time can be hard to find!
DeleteI did the writing daily thing for a while. Is there a reason why you can't write for maybe a half hour at 12:30? It might help you wind down after a hard day.
ReplyDeleteLiz, that is probably when I will be writing most of the time. Most of my blog posts are written between 11:00pm-1:00am. Although, I wouldn't mind trying to bump my writing time up simply to try to get more sleep.
DeleteI am a night owl who doesn't enjoy getting up early either. I don't get to work on my fiction everyday but I still try to do things related to my goal to be a published author everyday (e.g. reading a book, researching a topic).
ReplyDeleteCynthia, I do include some daily reading in my schedule, and sometimes listening to audiobooks. I find the works of other authors to be some of the best research out there :)
DeleteHappy New Year and all the best for 2017.
ReplyDeleteBeing a night owl is not easy. I am a mixed between early morning bird and night owl which means I get tired around 4 p.m and need to rest until around nine, when my body wakes up and I am full of energy. It was not easy finding a plan for my own writing, but I found it after trying out several things and also finding acceptance within me about being a little bit difference than others.
So my wish is that you find a comfortable time where you feel like this is my writing time and then just write.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
Thank you, Pat! I have experimented with various daily and weekly plans and the hardest part is finding one that works the best for me. But I believe I can find it, I just need to be a little more determined and a lot more disciplined :)
DeleteToo often we push our priority to write down the long list of other priorities. But we need to write to maintain a level of sanity. I've found that the longer I stifle my creativity, the grumpier I get and the harder it becomes to gain that creativity back. I still put write low on my lists, so my plan, too, this year is to practice putting writing first...or maybe second ;)
ReplyDeleteLynda, my main focus is definitely to keep God first in my life :) I love how you worded that about creativity and that is how things end up going for me sometimes.
DeleteLife-sucking job, eh? Or is it just some days are life-sucking while others are pretty good? Progress is tough, and even tougher when you have inspiration but no opportunity to write. I suppose we must seize what moments we can!
ReplyDeleteAs far as being a night owl, nope, not here. I think I'd be best suited to sleep from 9PM to 9AM. Too bad it usually turns out to be 10PM - 5:30AM with a couple of dog/children interruptions in between. :)
Loni, I may have slow days at work sometimes, but sadly my job overwhelms and drains me more often than not. I do still try to seize those moments of energy and motivation that I can!
DeleteIf I could set my own schedule, I would probably sleep from 2AM-10AM :)
I set that goal once--to journal. It started with an effort to write 1000 days consecutively. It took about 4 years to finally reach that goal, but you'd better bet it's been a solid habit my whole life because of that effort.
ReplyDeleteCrystal, that's an awesome goal to reach! I haven't quite made it to daily writing this month, but I have done more journaling since I wrote this post and I am beginning to see where my ideal writing times are :)
Delete