-originally written on May 6, 2023; edited on May 13, 2023-
As of this writing, I am on Day 19 of doing daily writing practice sessions. It’s been interesting, and let’s talk about it.
The fact that I’m already up to 19 days feels weird to me. Like it’s become a habit, or very much like one (I haven’t hit 21 days yet, though I will on Monday). Posting on TikTok did wonders for me. A mix of the videos, the validation in the form of likes, comments, and saves, and just the growing number of videos on my page all worked together to keep me motivated. Ah, and I should remember that by writing and filming, I get content for both my blog and social media. That also helps because it makes me feel extra successful.
I have debated posting the videos on Youtube as shorts, as reels on IG, and on Lemon8. But I am still deciding. I have a clear(ish) vision of what I want to do with TikTok, but I haven’t sat down to figure out what I want to do with the other platforms.
Introducing the Problem Habit
Ah, yes, my good old friend, the standstill. How I love and hate this particular habit of not sitting down to do the thing. You know that motivational story of a woodcutter in the woods from the 7 Habits book? The woodcutter was sawing down a tree, and looking exhausted because he had been at it for 5 hours. When asked why he didn’t take a break and sharpen the saw, the woodcutter replied, “I don’t have the time to sharpen the saw; I’m too busy sawing!”
I am currently the woodcutter. Or somewhat like him, metaphorically speaking. I plan some things, but I don’t plan everything. And what I don’t plan is often what I end up doing, thus keeping me worse off than if I actually had spent the time to plan it all out.
Wow, have I gotten myself way off course from the original point of this post.
Well, it kind of ties in, as I have come up with blog post titles to choose from when writing. Still, there are several blog posts that I have on my list to write for the month of July (which is when you’ll be able to read all of the blog posts that are part of this challenge), and some of them I’ve been postponing because they require a bit of research and I haven’t wanted to do that yet.
This could be a two-parter. Oh, what am I kidding? There’ll be multiple parts because this will be an ongoing series. Why? Because a daily writing practice is something that I have wanted in my life, and I have always struggled and failed at accomplishing it. If this adds extra motivation to continue writing daily, I will take it.
So back to the update itself.
It really has been going well. My fingers fly across the keyboard much more easily than before, though no matter how much I practice or warm up my fingers, if I struggle at coming up with what to write, it doesn’t help anyway.
Also, as today (that I am writing this) is Saturday, I am listening to music again, which is my ideal focus for Saturday sessions. I say that, fully knowing that the previous Saturday, I had put on a movie because music was not going to be enough for what I needed to be able to write.
One major obstacle lies ahead of me, and that is editing all of these pieces. I could spend years writing every day, and while there’s no shame in that, that’s an incredible accomplishment, that won’t help me here.
Because I’m writing blog posts.
The fact that I’m creating content while writing during my filming sessions helps me stay motivated. But I need to sit down and edit; otherwise, what good are any of these posts? They’ll just sit, not useless, but certainly not living up to their or my potential.
What is working for me when writing?
Definitely having entertainment playing. That’s been a big one, even when I do get distracted by it. Partly so that I can share my likes and interests with people online, and partly so that I can stay focused and write. And when I say focused, I mean so that any extra thoughts get blocked out, and I can just focus on whatever show or song is playing and also focus on what I’m writing.
Showing up every day, and having essentially outside pressure to show up (my videos), has been really helpful. I won’t send myself down the “what if” path and think of the past. Still, I will say that while the practice has been beneficial in helping me pump out words. Seriously, I used to have days where I maybe cleared 100 words. It wasn’t good.
I will only be able to label this as a real success once I get these posts live and on my website. Not that I don’t feel successful. I am, and I do, but I want to get these posts live because I want to be a writer who writes AND publishes her pieces. And since there are other pieces that I would like to write about in the future, in order to write, I need both the practice and the online presence. That’s the only way I’ll truly be able to make this into a career. At least, that’s my thought process right now.
I may or may not have another daily practice update during July to go along with this one, but you can expect more in this series. Even if only to let you know how many days I’ve been writing consecutively. No, I do plan on going into more detail and what is and what isn’t working for me with my practices.
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