It's been said it takes 21 days to break a bad habit. Yikes! That is a long time. This time frame kept playing through my head this morning as I re-read a chapter in Page after Page by Heather Sellers. The chapter discussed the old "butt in chair" theory and how one needs to sit quietly, butt in chair, and write without distraction. Not do the laundry, answer email or the phone, wash dishes, etc., or any other of the multitude of time sucking tasks on one's long list of things to do.
Now, I, for one, and am all for the butt in chair phenomenon; however, I also don't function well with chaos around me--to include dirty dishes, laundry, dust bunnies or any other issues staring me in the face. Thus, I deal with those things first but then, voila, the day is gone--poof! How? Where do those minutes and hours go?
I'm now determined to break my bad (one could argue good given it is cleaning) habit of organizing my environment to death before writing. I'm going to give it the old college try anyway. So, today is day one (of the LONG 21 day stretch supposedly necessary), and I will report in along the way. As the old saying goes...where there's a will, there's a way.
Happy writing to all of you as well!
Good luck. You can do it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Beverly, I aim to do so!
ReplyDeleteKudos for the your 21 day pack! Wishing you all the success! Please do keep us posted your journey!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donna, for your ongoing support and encouragement!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny how we profess to love doing a thing (writing) and then procrastinate our time away by doing something we claim to hate (cleaning)? (though, like you, I much prefer a clean, tidy environment) Reward yourself FIRST and write! :)
ReplyDeleteTerrific advice, Jane! I am trying...it is an ongoing process!
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