In the past few years, I have learned that I get more done when I work on an every-other-day basis for the heavy-lifting type of “stuff”.
Yesterday I spent a lot of time on the how to write when you don’t feel like writing book… And I do need to think of a shorter title or a more appropriate title.
I did some outlining and thinking about this as a series of books. Each book would be complete unto itself so that you don’t need a whole big book if you’re only interested in one aspect of solving the problem.
I outlined 2 chapters but I wasn’t happy with those… so I took a break and worked on prompt ideas and what I’m calling “asides” which is where I make commentary on some of what I’m writing about – almost like an alter ego for the person reading it. I’m thinking of what to call that and what it could look like as an avatar…..
I was reminded of when I was a therapist, and some of my clients said before they’d start to do something stupid their head would go “I wonder what Lynn would say about this” and then they would not do it because they knew they knew how THAT conversation would go!
I’ve said before that very often when I want to write, I often start with images and that’s what happened with the avatar. I began to play with the idea of what an avatar could look like – it could help me ultimately think of what I’m going to call it – or the other way around – if I find a picture, I like then I may know what to call the avatar.
I’m moving at the literal snails pace, although I sometimes think the snails are faster than me.
Slowly – day by day – I am getting things done for the upcoming “how to write a book when you don’t feel like writing” book. It will have a better title than that, but I’ve been thinking through some ideas like maybe including worksheets or prompts or somethings that work for me and hopefully work for you and/or don’t work for me but might work for you.
I’m enjoying the thinking process, but that’s me.
I always enjoy the thinking process.
It’s the get it down on the computer process that’s hard for me.
And while all this is going on, we had another heat wave along very dangerously dirty air. I got used to dirty air when I lived in Portland, Oregon. Certainly isn’t fun when you’re subjected to the smoky air, but I feel worse for the people up in Canada where the smoke is coming from because they’re losing everything.
Hopefully, we will have a lot of rain soon, which will help slow the fires and clear up the air.
These images reflect my daily routine, the first 2 cups of coffee come with something in them. I guess they are called bulletproof coffee. I change what I put in them, but there’s always something good in there – but not milk.
Then I exercise. It used to mostly be yoga or a HIIT exercise or something like that, but I got this vibration plate about a month ago and I’m loving it – so that has become my morning go to exercise and I’ll explain why after I do the 3rd cup of coffee, which comes with nothing in it – just black and that is followed by go out and play with dog time. [We’ve already been out a couple of times by now, but that’s just to do her morning constitutional.]
I got into this routine many years ago and it seemed to work then but I got away from it and now I’m back to it. I’m trying to remember things that used to work for me. I got a little off kilter when I did this last move, but I figured it’s time to get back to what used to work.
Until I got the vibration plate, I had been doing my usual yoga, HIIT, Pilates and things like that. I still do those, but they’re not part of the morning routine anymore. The vibration plate has replaced the between the coffees morning exercise.
Of course, this doesn’t happen on days where I have to get out the door within an hour or two of getting up – unless it’s summer when I get up early. I’m a light/dark sleeper. If the sun is shining, I’m usually up which means in the summer I am up earlier than in the winter.
Back to the vibration plate. I’ve seen these online with what I considered “influencers” yammering about them and my thought was oh yeah, right and I would scroll by it, but then I saw something that sounded more legitimate than an influencer, and I started reading about them and decided to get one.
Being a long time Costco member my first look was at Costco and no they don’t have them at my store. I don’t think they have them at any stores that I’ve seen, but they had one online. And I figured if I don’t like it it’s a quick drive to Costco to take it back – anyway it came very quickly and I’ve been using it ever since it.
I won’t go into all of what I like about it because I’m one of these people who thinks results vary. I know people who hate these. I know people who love them.
What it has done for me, it may not do for you, but I am very happy with the way I feel. I have more energy. My flexibility has improved, and I am actually doing more of the other exercises over the day!
I have a smart watch which measures many functions – and every one of those is moving in the direction that is considered good health. I’m healthy to begin with, but my watch is telling me I’m getting healthier.
I’ve worked out my own vibration plate routine – as I said I do it every day between coffee cup two and three, but I change what I do every day and I’m still learning it – and nope – I haven’t cranked it up to its fastest paces.
And by the way, that’s my almost 14 year-old lab. I’ve never had a dog get this old – so not only am I learning about my own aging. I’m learning about her aging.
I know, we never use the term ides except to talk about the Ides of March, but it means the 15th of several months, including July. So I decided to make a graphic because I couldn’t find one that did this.
I’m having trouble writing, but I can play with images.
And one of the things I’ve learned over time is that if I play with enough images or download ones that speak to me – they do something in my head that helps me write.
For those of you who have trouble writing sometimes maybe this is something you could try. In fact when I get around to writing that book about having trouble writing, I am going to put this in for a suggestion.
Another thing I used to do and the challenge is helping with that is when I was supposed to be writing my thesis, and that was a long time ago, I had the issue of not being able to sit and write it.
Everything was done except the writing – so I sat at a friend’s typewriter in her office late at night and I typed something like Mary had a little lamb on line after line after line and after a time of doing that words started to flow that had something to do with my thesis, which was psychology and a research project I had done. I finished the thesis and I got my PhD – so it worked.
That’s what this challenge reminds me of – I’m trying to put words on a page almost every day whether they’re published here or they are texts to a friend of mine about why I’m not writing. I am trying to put words out every day just like I typed Mary had a little lamb because I know from past experience that sooner or later the book about not wanting to write a book is going to get done.
And when I think about it, I have now written about two behaviors that one can do to start writing. Yay – I got two parts of the book done!!
I’ve often said I am in need of sunshine because I have a solar powered brain. There’s very little sun today. Therefore, my brain is not going full speed. It’s getting things done. Just not a lot of the brain work needed for the book project.
But starting tomorrow, we creep back into another heat wave – at least it’s not supposed to hit 100 this time and I am more ready for it [I hope].
One thing I have learned this summer is there’s a reason I left the mid Atlantic the first time and the heat waves will make me leave the mid Atlantic for the second time – and that thought feels good. It won’t be immediate, but thinking about moving to a cooler climate will motivate me and keep me happy in my “looking ahead to a move” mode. [By the way, I hate moving, and I’ve done it a lot!!]
But the thought of a cooler clime near cool water will help me during the next hot/humid/buggy spell….
For decades, I wrote in steno pads. Took them with me all the time, especially when I was riding public transportation. But then I started taking my phone and dictating into it, which was good, and it was still mostly on public transportation.
With my current move, I am now in an area that lacks public transportation, and I don’t use my phone when I’m driving [except for google maps.].
So I’m back to computer and phone and no longer use steno pads. I miss them. There is something about writing words out on paper. I remember hours I spent in the museums in D.C. with a cup of coffee and jotting down words, or what I was thinking about, or whatever – but I was always writing.
In fact I can’t remember a time in my life I didn’t write. I think I was born with a pencil in my hand.
Over the years there have been times where I don’t feel like writing – and I remember someone once saying if you want to do something, you can’t have moods.
Well, I have moods. I’ve always had moods and some of those moods tell me don’t write today and I live with it because I’ve never figured out how to work around that mood. What I’ve learned is when the writing mood strikes get all the writing done that I can because I know another “let’s not write today” mood is coming along.
Thus my thinking I’d write about indoor gardening has gone to “I don’t wanna do that until I’m ready to have my own window garden and I’m not gonna do that till it gets colder out” – so that book will be on track to be started in the fall. I promise.
I promised – but that doesn’t mean it’ll get done. I often break my own promises to myself. That’s me. I live with it!
So – I had a great conversation with my head and said – I sort of feel like writing, but I don’t know what to write about and I’m getting into in “one of those moods” – and my head said back what it often does in these days of technology: “go play online with your ideas.”
The result? It’s going to be a short funny book about how to start writing when you don’t feel like writing.
I figured I’m not the only one who thinks this way – so what is coming up next is not gardening, not the other topics that I thought I wanted to do, but this one – which has popped up frequently in my head.
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