Month: June 2019

Posted on

Commit to 10-minute Baby Steps – and get the First Book Written

In my last post I revealed how I’m trying a new process or habit, to help me write my book.  Simply, I’m committing to working on my book for a teeny tiny period of time each day. 

A tiny commitment

What time period did I choose to commit to?  Just 10 minutes. I know, it sounds ridiculous.  Ten minutes a day is nothing.  Exactly! The reason I chose such a tiny amount of time is because it is so easy to do.  

I set an alarm that goes off after 10 minutes of writing time – it has a lovely, uplifting chime. When I hear that chime, my writing work for the day is done.

Of course, after 10 minutes, I’m usually in the writing-flow and want to do another 10 minutes.  That is what happened on the first day.  I did 40 minutes of writing in total. 

A week of 10-minute commitments – summary: 

Tuesday: Wrote for 10 minutes. It was easy and it flowed, so I continued.  

Total writing time: 40 minutes

Wednesday:  Similar feeling of flow and wanting to continue.

Total writing time: 70 minutes.

Thursday: The writing flowed again.

Total writing time: 90 minutes

Friday:  It was a struggle to do 10 minutes.  I spent most of the time cutting out great swathes of stuff I’d written previously.

Total writing time: 10 minutes

Saturday: I wrote nothing.

Sunday: I didn’t feel like doing it.  I told myself I only had to write for 10 minutes, and anyone can do 10 minutes, so I did.  

Total writing time: 40 minutes.  

10-minute sessions add up

So far, I make that 25 slots of 10 minutes.  This equates to 250 minutes, or about four and a quarter hours of book-writing in a week – with little effort and no overwhelm.

Monday: After days of endless rain there was a dry-weather window, so I spent the afternoon at my allotment. Deeply satisfying.  

Later, instead of my book, I worked for several hours on this blog post (too long, methinks, but equally satisfying).  Then I left the blog post overnight to percolate.  

So, zero book writing time on Monday.

Today: I cut this blog post by three quarters, leaving a quarter remaining.  (I must get better at writing shorter blog posts).

So far today, I’ve spent 20 minutes working on my book and may do more writing later.  The thing is, I’ve achieved double my 10-minute commitment and that is a cause to celebrate and feel good about myself.  

Keep it going

I know it’s important to keep the energy going, of any project that’s dear to our hearts, to engage with it and give it our energy.  

I also know that starting a writing session, whether for blog or book, is the hardest part – hence the tiny 10-minute writing time commitment.  However, once started and the momentum is going, it’s easier to keep going.  

Once that happens, you can see progress and everything feels easier.  You feel like you’re getting somewhere and that you are in control of the process.  With that, comes a feeling of increased self-esteem, satisfaction and confidence.  

And don’t we all want that?

Take breaks and enjoy!

To sum up, I think this new practice is working for me.  The only mistake I made, was trying to increase my time commitment too soon – and I forgot to take short breaks.  This created a slump on Day 5.  Lesson learned.

So, enjoy your creative projects. May you have time for all of the things that give you joy, satisfaction, and increased self-esteem.  🙂

Note:  Thanks to Joseph Michael for his course, Writer’s Block Relief, and the ideas he outlined there.  Taking his course shifted my first-book-writing stumbling blocks.  The teeny tiny time-block commitments were just one idea in the course that I’m finding valuable – and liberating.

Posted on

Writer’s Block? No problem.

When your biggest and longest-held (lifelong) dream and goal has not come to fruition, but you’re still trying, how do you feel?

When you remember each morning that you still haven’t achieved your longest-held (lifelong) dream and goal, how do you feel?

I will tell you.  

Yucky.

Only, that is, if you allow yourself to get carried away on a wave of despair.  Some days you might feel despondent, scared, or worse, we all do. Don’t give up.  

I’ve been through a little stuck-patch, but I’m not allowing myself to go down that road of doom and gloom.  

We all feel scared at times and despondent.  The trick is, to nip it in the bud before it runs away with itself and takes you with it. 

On a Down Day, I always know an Up Day is on the horizon.  The new day will dawn, I’ll wake up, get out of bed and start again.  I will read what I’ve previously written (feeling pleased that it’s better than I remember) and continue writing and editing my book.  

I keep my faith, my hope and my optimism going.  I trust myself and bolster my belief in my ability to complete the task.  The task I set myself; remembering, that no one else set it for me, this task of writing, finishing and publishing a book.  

Lately, it has been a little difficult. 

– I stopped working on my book.

– I stopped blogging about working on my book.

However:

– I continued to write daily in my journal, as I always love to do (and it’s always easy).

– I worked on other (easier) creative projects, to keep my spirits up.

– I bought a course on Writer’s Block.  

I must tell you, I do not have writer’s block and never have.  I can always write and do it every day.  

What I do have is first-book-writer’s-block. I also have blog-writer’s-block.  I’m hoping both of these are a thing of the past – since my Writer’s Block course, because I have new strategies.

The course I took is called Writer’s Block Relief, by Joseph Michael.  It gave me some new techniques, tips and tools to try. It also gave me renewed hope.

Using what I’ve learned in the course, I’ve decided to take a different tack: 

  • For the next week, I will work on my book and my blog, every day.  
  • Each day, I will focus on turning up for the process and will not focus on results. (Not yet anyway).
  • At the end of this week, I will then review my writing progress.  

I don’t think it’s fair to Joseph Michael to reveal everything I learned on his Writer’s Block Relief course. But I will say, that I’ve learned enough to feel a real shift. Wonder of Wonders, I am champing at the bit to get back to writing the book!

My main takeaway from the course means that I will approach my writing time differently. My commitment to writing both book and blog will be for a teeny, tiny period of time, each day. I will then celebrate and reward myself for that achievement, and my success in showing up.  If I want to spend more time working on my book or blog, (beyond the daily time period I’ve set and committed to) that is fine.

I’m choosing to focus on what I am getting done, what I am achieving and on the progress I am making. No longer am I focussing on what isn’t yet done (as I started to do at the beginning of this post).

Okay, so the book, the project, the life’s work isn’t yet completed. So what! If progress is being made and you’re enjoying the process – hoorah! Cheer yourself on.

Previously, my book and blog-writing pattern had been a hard slog, working over long, unbroken periods, followed by the need for a complete break from writing.  Working too long and hard without breaks, meant enthusiasm and inspiration faded, and the creative well ran dry.  

Not any longer!  

I’m starting my new (less is more) writing process today.  I’ll let you know after seven days of using this new tactic, how I get on.  It has to beat spending a whole day, sometimes two, trying to write one paltry blog post.  I will never write for long periods, without a break, ever again.  Unless I’m in effortless flow of course!

I realise that I will work better, incorporating scheduled breaks into my working week – at regular intervals throughout the day.  This will keep my energy fresh and my mind clear.  All I need to do then, is be open, receive the inspiration and write it down. 

It feels so good to be back on track.  I’ll let you know how I get on with this new way of working. Am hoping to prove, that in doing less, I will accomplish more.  

See you in a week!