Life gets in the way

I wish I could say I’ve been neglecting this blog because I’m hard at work on my novel edits or learning ebook formatting. Something productive.

Nope. Just been busy with life stuff. Work’s been a bit more demanding than usual, the kids have activities, the batteries have been running low. Life stuff.

After a couple of weeks of “just not feeling it” on the novel, I realised what the problem was: I’ve strayed from The Plan.

I need one of these

For the past couple of years I’ve been pushing myself to get writing done by creating weekly, monthly and annual plans. (Apparently I respond well to the dopamine hit of putting a line through an item on a checklist). From a master list of Stuff To Be Done, I’ve taken a little time every Sunday to revise my plan and figure out the list of Stuff To Be Done Right Now. For a good year now, that approach has helped keep my on track and moving.

But since I came back from overseas, I’ve been running just to stay in place. The weekly planning ritual was just one more thing, where I needed to economise on one-more-things. So I let it slip.

Productivity, as they say, went out the window. I don’t know if I’m unusual in this regard, but I find it hard to build new habits – the good ones, at any rate. On the other hand, I’m world-class at letting them unravel in a heartbeat.

The realisation that I had dropped the ball on the writing coincided with the eventual break in the other stuff. Or maybe it was not a coincidence – maybe I just didn’t have the space to figure myself out until I had a bit of breathing room.

Either way, the weekly planning session is now firmly back in place. I’m making a checklist of old projects to finish and new work to explore.Just as soon as I’ve taken the kids to their swimming lessons and vacuumed the floors.

Forward!