My 100 days plan suffered from inadequate planning.

 

This is the new plan.

 

I have about a month* until my black belt test.

 

I am taking a course in getting my mind around time (calling it time management doesn’t begin to cover how comprehensive this course is.)

 

I have a new exercise plan with a lot more cardio.

 

AND, most importantly, I have finally wrapped my mind around how to write more.

 

I have always had this disconnect with my writing. I can write thousands of words a day under pressure. When I have an idea or a plan I can go mad with the typing and what comes out is not awful (at least most of the time). But then I will have these long periods of time where writing just doesn’t seem to fit. I don’t feel like I have much to say, it seems like a waste when there are other concrete things to do.

 

When I teach writing classes I remind people that all writing is useful and it’s like practicing lay-ups in basketball, each practice session brings you closer to where you want to be, and it’s not wasted. I understood that intellectually and believe it fully, but I hadn’t really seen how to bring it into my daily practice.

 

Now I have. I am going to methodically work my way through my writing advice books and do the exercises (at least the ones that seem ‘right’ to me), and consider them the same way I consider practicing my patterns in taekwondo – steps towards my eventual goal. And the thing is, like with exercise or practice (activity generates more activity), the more I write, the more things I think of to write about. So, any writing practice that I do will automatically help me get my writing work done because I will already be in the writing mindset. It’s win win.

 

So, here I am, with a plan for my writing, a plan for my exercising, a plan to prepare for my black belt, and a plan to get the biggest challenge area of my house done. This is the part in the movie where the heroine (that’s me!) starts working bit by bit and makes her way to where she wants to be. It would be boring to watch, of course, so the director puts in a montage – a collection of scenes (with music) that show her changing rapidly, her pages and muscles piling up, her house getting sorted. In real life, you don’t get to speed through that part, so here I am creating my montage, piece by piece. When I look back, it will seem pretty damn fast.

The key though? I actually enjoy the process of exercising, and the practice of writing – I hate THINKING about writing or exercising, but when I can actually sink in and just do it? It feels good.

 

The other thing I am currently working on is being better at just showing up, and being there imperfectly. So while, like the montage, this blog will get better as I go, some of the entries are going to be a bit meh in the meantime. These things happen. 🙂

 

*I’m really good at doing things for just a month, so this should work just fine.