What Keeps You Away From Doing What You Want To Do
My struggle in the year to start writing again. There are ideas and reasons to write, but still millions of distractions to handle.
When I joined Medium I thought I could write an article once a month, if not once a week. But this is my actual outcome.
7 in three years ago, 1 in two years ago, 3 in last year, 0 this year. Should I blame the Covid pandemic or economic crisis or war in Ukraine? No, I can’t.
There were 21 unpublished drafts. So I am happy to jump into the draft list, hoping that could explain something. Amazingly, half of them are great ideas, some are still useful to me, and some have already forgotten what I want to write ;)
What makes a writer write?
I mean, at least finish what they started.
May be a quiet environment. After breakfast with a cup of coffee and a detox water?
I tried. With my favorite aroma coffee, I hope that will bring up my mood. It works for five paragraphs and then stops there.
The next day after I brew my coffee, I am still not in the mood to write. What can bring up the mood that I lost?
the home environment is distracting, and family and then neighbors don’t understand their everyday actions are creating noise to a wanna-be author destruction for writing a good article. I read some authors went to France, Cape Town, Cebu, or Bali Island for their next assignment. I might need an escape to write.
I chose a place that is reachable by two and half hours train ride and spent a few hours writing, a day trip is quite good for a five-minute article in Medium.
I like my plan.
The day trip to a nearby mountain is a refreshing experience. Reading and listening to music, and pod-cast give me some flashbacks and new thoughts.
For lunch, I walked around the small town and found a local shop that was run by a family. The father does the cooking, the mother helps in the kitchen and the daughter does the servings.
Then I start climbing the mountain. According to the mark at the base, it is about 2 kilometers. So 3 hours for up and down, a few hours on top to write, what a good mini mountain!
The climbing experience is so chilling for me. What can I say after seeing the clouds moving, hearing birds and the bush cricket buzzing, smelling the tree and flowers, and even stepping on the ground make me happy?
On a normal day, I work 9 to 5, taking an almost hour-long commute, the escape is an experience.
It helps with writing, too. I thought and drafted a few down, took some photos, texted some friends, post on social media. The environment is so amazing, why not enjoy the present?
The next day after my escape trip, I realized that I hadn’t done one article.
Then something pops up in my mind.
Habit
I used to read the book by James Clear. In Atomic Habit, James said:
It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis. Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action.
I am taking my writing into a big mission that needs massive action.
James Clear wrote about tiny habits in the following way.
improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable — sometimes it isn’t even noticeable — but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run. The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding. Here’s how the math works out: if you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Conversely, if you get 1 percent worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero. What starts as a small win or a minor setback accumulates into something much more.
All I need is the small changes in my weekly routine.
How about putting 15 min in my weekly schedule so I have time to write? I am flexible it can take up to 30 min or 45 minutes. It should be better on weekdays for me, as I will need to attend family, friends, and the dentist on weekends.
reserve a time
My concept is if you want to get anything done, make sure you have time for that.
I can feel that I like to write, from the quality time I spent on my escape I was so amused to flashback to the time I published my article on Medium. Writing should have and it’s worth to have such a slot in my schedule.
If I don’t come out with any idea, I can still visit the twenty-plus drafts that I put out during these years, connect the dots back, and see which one feels right. Then just continue writing on it. It becomes Simple enough and just get writing something.
Reduce destruction
Stop looking at all the pop-up notifications and put away the mobile phone. Turn off the TV when you are working from home. Any destruction should be removed and focus on the writing.
I like to play background music, the default is Jazz. But don’t let it overwhelm you, it should be supporting to get focus.
My writing turned out to be not bad, thanks to my ability to create an environment that I like and the tiny little habit that I started building.
I am now more comfortable to write than ever.
