Personal

Streak Broken

It is 2:30 am and I just realized that I didn’t get a blog post out yesterday. So naturally, I jumped out of bed and grabbed my computer. I may have broken the streak officially, and I will need to start fresh, but at least I can keep with the spirit of the goal and get up and write something before the new day really starts.

Normally, I would have gone back to bed. The blogging streak has been broken, I can start fresh in the morning and save my energy now. However, I know myself and I know that as soon as I just let it go and allow myself to put off writing until morning, I am giving up and much less likely to stick with that goal.

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr day, Fiona did not have school and the weekend continued. I did manage to read a little bit, but for the most part I was extremely busy. I was putting away Christmas, cleaning and organizing, and spending time with my kids. Even when I did manage to read in tiny spurts, I was doing so with a four year old in my lap talking to me the entire time. I can’t write like that. I have been trying, but it leads to more frustration and unfinished sentences than it is worth.

Does that mean that it was impossible for me to write something on my blog yesterday? No, I could have found the time, particularly after my children were both in bed. The problem is that at the end of the day, when I finally had a child-free moment, I completely forgot about blogging or writing of any kind. I thought about writing throughout the day, I even had plans for a fiction prompt that I could write about, but then I didn’t have the time or space to write. When I finally did, I forgot. That is what my writing goal seeks to change. If I focus heavily enough on this writing streak, I eventually won’t be able to forget when I finally can sneak a minute of writing in. I need for writing to become such an established habit, that I couldn’t possibly forget to write something before I go to bed for the night.

Some days that is going to be harder than others. Sometimes I will be completely exhausted and barely able to utter a word by the time I have a moment, but if I don’t push through and make myself get something out then, I am allowing myself to make excuses and every busy day will be an excused writing day, until I find myself not having written for another year.

I am going to stick with this. Already since returning to focus on writing, I feel myself being happier, thinking more clearer, and with more focus in all aspects of my life. I know that making this commitment is important for me and will pay off if I see it through. So here we go again.

Day 1 of blogging daily