Day 23: Sustainable Writing

Do I have to write every day? What if miss a day? Can I make it up?
Building healthy, sustainable routines is always more important than your specific productivity. Writing is a long-term mission, and healthy routines will get more out of your weeks, months, years, and lifetime than what you accomplish today.
Today, let's talk about some strategies to get the work done and keep your head in the right space.
ASSIGNMENT: Write for one hour.
If you’re still working up to writing for one hour, that’s OK. Make sure you’re consistently challenging yourself to increase your writing time, so that you’ll get to one-hour writing blocks soon.
Write for the time period you’ve assigned for yourself, and then use the remainder of your hour to continue to build out your Novel Matrix plan. If time remains, read something that you love.
FOR FURTHER STUDY: Check out "How to build a sustainable writing routine" on Brad Pauquette's website: bradpauquette.com/2023/11/how...
Find more strategies for completing a novel project with The Novel Matrix book at NovelMatrix.com, or the Novel Matrix classes at Writers.Company.

[@NextLevelTherapy]

Great tips! ❤

[@bradpauquette]

I'm glad this was helpful!

[@katherinec2759]

Do you have suggestions for when young children consistently make writing for an hour difficult? Even breaking it into a bit here and a bit there and a bit more after bedtime, I often find that I only get 30-45 minutes each day. Do I just accept that I am in a less productive season right now, or are there things I can do to find a bit more time or make better use of the time I have?

[@bradpauquette]

Such a good question. I have six kids of my own, so I can definitely relate. To put 100 hours into this will require real sacrifice. Not just from you, but from the people around you. Putting 100 hours into this means that you're going to put 100 hours less into something else. Is it worth it to you? Are you willing to make that sacrifice? (Honestly ask yourself this question, it's ok if the answer is no.) If the answer is yes, you're going to have to do some really hard things to make it happen. There are two things I think are worth considering: 1. Communicate with your family and make this a family goal. When you're in that season, you're going to need someone else to agree with this goal. Communicate what you're trying to do, and emphasize that it's a short-term commitment. For the next ten weeks, mom needs one hour per day. For that to happen, husband, in-laws, whoever, is going to need to agree with that goal. Sorry, husband, for the next ten weeks, 8pm to 9pm after the kids go to bed belongs to this project, no excuses! (Of course, I don't know your family situation, so this might apply differently to you, I mean no disrespect.) But own that goal, be proud of it, communicate, and defend that time. 2. I find that the only time I can "make time" in the day is first thing in the morning. The longer my day goes on, the less likely it is that my plans will work. By the time the evening rolls around, there are too many opportunities for things to get derailed, or my head is just full of distractions, and I'm way more likely to not follow through. If I get up early, before anyone else, I own that time and can put it on target. I know how hard that it is. But sometimes that's the sacrifice it takes. That choice is sometimes what it takes to win. Either way, I think that you can make the time. If this is important to you, don't resign yourself to an unproductive season. But it will take some real determination, communication, maybe even awkwardness, to make it happen. But you can do it! And years from now, it will have been worth it. (But it's also OK to decide that this is the season for this level of commitment. There's no shame in that.)

[@katherinec2759]

@@bradpauquette Thanks for your encouragement! I would love to be able to get up early in the morning, but with certain health issues, that's also inconsistent right now. As much as I hate to say it, I do think that if I'm being honest with myself, I have to say "this is important to me, but these other things are more important." Thanks for helping me clarify that! I'll keep learning and practicing for now, and then maybe in a few years, it will be time to try to really push.

[@bradpauquette]

@@katherinec2759 That seems totally reasonable to me. In Luke 14:28-29, Jesus talks about "counting the cost." Of course, he's talking about our faith, but I think the wisdom still applies here.