Each day I sit down to write for a couple hours and afterwards it feels like I got absolutely nowhere. I probably made things worse, in fact. Day after day I get nothing done and/or make things worse. Then at some point, I realize that somehow, inexplicably and against all logic, I have written a whole book. That's what doing the little things feels like.
I also had a medical procedure earlier this month (also fine, just recovering) and I had so many grand plans of what I'd use with my week off from work. That's coming to an end tomorrow, and I'm still having to square with the fact that what my body needed (rest, lying on things, not moving) is at odds with what my brain wanted (to do all the things.) So a very prescient reminder to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and do the best I can. Hope you're feeling better!
I LOVE YOU! Yes, trans (and all the letters) are real, and here, and good people. I'm going to do what I should have long ago...become a paid subscriber. Thank you for your wise words, for providing a Thursday chuckle (or a needed kick in the pants). Carry on!
and things break .. and they need fixing .. and it takes three trips to find the parts . which do or don't fit .. and in fixing one thing, something else that needs attention comes to light .. and the water runs out and the trucks are too busy to come because the water's been off for four days because the whole plant went down .. and instead of 1 cup of flour we mistakenly put in 2 cups .. so now the desert cake had become bread .. we do what comes front and center - list be damned. at the end of the day, i'm simply grateful to still be standing .. and celebrate my breath
This is wonderful!! I love this and I love the rhythm of the words: chop wood, carry water. It will be my mantra for this spring for sure! Thanks for a really thoughtful and useful text.
I enjoyed the book 'Chop Wood, Carry Water' by Joshua Medcalf. Time to re-read. So often, it is about the journey. Your post has encouraged me to solidify my goals for the year.
Good words from life as it is, Kate. I have a plan going into every day, even more necessary since retirement last year. It's not about word counts, it's about application to the planned tasks. For example, I lead a morning stretch class at my local Y; normally, we have anywhere from a half-dozen to a dozen people, sometimes more, sometimes less. Well, at 12 degrees after a rain, freeze and snow, I walked in to find... no one but the Y staff present. I ran the 45 minute class anyway, for myself and for whoever else might show up. No one did, but after the class I ran into a young woman who had been attending and stopped. She told me she had hurt her hips, which led to a discussion of incorporating her physical therapy into alternate moves for her in the class, where she could get the benefit of both while listening to her body. We roll with the changes, and keep on.
I always encourage my writing friends to aim low. Instead of vowing to write for two hours seven times a week, I urge them to write for 30 minutes three times a week. When they succeed, they feel great and keep going. They usually accomplish much more. But the feeling of failing to succeed has derailed me more than once, so I aim low too these days...
This year, I did not make a list of everything I wanted to do because I got too busy with the champagne and the grapes (Spanish tradition), so I found myself at 2 am on the first of the year exhausted and listless.
Two days later, after cleaning the kitchen and facing the scale (the scale won), I decided to do something other than "just" write and live with my family: I signed the contract to publish my novel next year.
That's what I did. Now, I have eleven more things to decide (one per month) and squeeze them into my everyday life... easy :)
Each day I sit down to write for a couple hours and afterwards it feels like I got absolutely nowhere. I probably made things worse, in fact. Day after day I get nothing done and/or make things worse. Then at some point, I realize that somehow, inexplicably and against all logic, I have written a whole book. That's what doing the little things feels like.
Well said. Thank you.
I needed this reminder. Thank you!
I also had a medical procedure earlier this month (also fine, just recovering) and I had so many grand plans of what I'd use with my week off from work. That's coming to an end tomorrow, and I'm still having to square with the fact that what my body needed (rest, lying on things, not moving) is at odds with what my brain wanted (to do all the things.) So a very prescient reminder to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and do the best I can. Hope you're feeling better!
I LOVE YOU! Yes, trans (and all the letters) are real, and here, and good people. I'm going to do what I should have long ago...become a paid subscriber. Thank you for your wise words, for providing a Thursday chuckle (or a needed kick in the pants). Carry on!
and things break .. and they need fixing .. and it takes three trips to find the parts . which do or don't fit .. and in fixing one thing, something else that needs attention comes to light .. and the water runs out and the trucks are too busy to come because the water's been off for four days because the whole plant went down .. and instead of 1 cup of flour we mistakenly put in 2 cups .. so now the desert cake had become bread .. we do what comes front and center - list be damned. at the end of the day, i'm simply grateful to still be standing .. and celebrate my breath
Chop wood, carry water. That's just perfect :)
Thank you for the necessary encouragement!
Well done you, setting up my goal trackers this week!
2 books read, but 0 words written so far.
Thanks for that reminder. Needed to hear it.
This is wonderful!! I love this and I love the rhythm of the words: chop wood, carry water. It will be my mantra for this spring for sure! Thanks for a really thoughtful and useful text.
I enjoyed the book 'Chop Wood, Carry Water' by Joshua Medcalf. Time to re-read. So often, it is about the journey. Your post has encouraged me to solidify my goals for the year.
Good words from life as it is, Kate. I have a plan going into every day, even more necessary since retirement last year. It's not about word counts, it's about application to the planned tasks. For example, I lead a morning stretch class at my local Y; normally, we have anywhere from a half-dozen to a dozen people, sometimes more, sometimes less. Well, at 12 degrees after a rain, freeze and snow, I walked in to find... no one but the Y staff present. I ran the 45 minute class anyway, for myself and for whoever else might show up. No one did, but after the class I ran into a young woman who had been attending and stopped. She told me she had hurt her hips, which led to a discussion of incorporating her physical therapy into alternate moves for her in the class, where she could get the benefit of both while listening to her body. We roll with the changes, and keep on.
I always encourage my writing friends to aim low. Instead of vowing to write for two hours seven times a week, I urge them to write for 30 minutes three times a week. When they succeed, they feel great and keep going. They usually accomplish much more. But the feeling of failing to succeed has derailed me more than once, so I aim low too these days...
This year, I did not make a list of everything I wanted to do because I got too busy with the champagne and the grapes (Spanish tradition), so I found myself at 2 am on the first of the year exhausted and listless.
Two days later, after cleaning the kitchen and facing the scale (the scale won), I decided to do something other than "just" write and live with my family: I signed the contract to publish my novel next year.
That's what I did. Now, I have eleven more things to decide (one per month) and squeeze them into my everyday life... easy :)
Yup! I'm with you on the dumpster fire chaos. Let's all chop wood and carry water.