One of the many benefits of having a holiday is taking the opportunity to stop my usual day-to-day activities and consider what I’d prefer to be doing instead. It’s a bit like having a new year or a birthday as a review period.
Having recently returned from a fantastic trip and also having just had a weekend staying at a friend’s place in South Lantau, I’ve had the opportunity to do this twice in quick succession. The first was a big review of what I wanted to be doing with myself, the habits I needed to change and how to get started. The second was reviewing my success or otherwise of these changes.
During the 2015 New Year review, I decided that I wanted to consistently write again, beginning with this blog every Sunday. My aim was to use the Jerry Seinfeld approach of building a chain as then it’s not about how far you’ve come, it’s about not breaking the chain. This idea appealed to me and I have been consistent though at times, a topic can be a bit of a challenge to find.
Sitting in various cafes in Paris and wandering around galleries was quite inspiring for my holiday review. It reinforced my desire to write and I had an epiphany – I should just write. Yes, it’s obvious, if you want to write, write.
I needed to work out what was stopping me from beginning.
I wanted it to be more than this blog.
The challenge was / is how daunting a blank page can be, how good a blank page looks and how ink sometimes taints it and then there’s the scary aspect of people reading it and possibly not liking it. And I need an idea to write around.
Then the second thought hit – who cares?
I decided if I wrote for my own benefit first, that’s better than not writing at all. If people subsequently read it, they might like it. If they don’t, who cares? It’s not like I have to share all my writing either so this is quite an irrational fear.
The next problem was just getting started. Same as blogging, I decided I needed to make it a habit and so my evening writing program was born. I could write about my day or whatever was on my mind for at least 30 minutes and I wasn’t to censor myself. This might then generate ideas. I could also use online writing prompts.
I decided that I should start this habit once the jet lag was finished and I was running regularly again. No point putting myself under too much pressure, especially since I’m meant to enjoy it.
With a new fountain pen (thanks Gran for this updated graduation present) and some notebooks, because good stationery motivates me, I was ready.
For the past two weeks, I’ve been running and writing. It’s also coincided with my drinking more water, often not having a morning coffee, less alcohol and eating smaller dinners (in general).
Time for this weekend’s review.
I have gained from this experience so far without feeling like I’ve made any sacrifices. There have been nights where I’ve been out and missed writing and have caught up the following night.
I’m on track and could potentially do more though I may then negatively impact my social life. I can be a bit of a recluse at times since I like this time to write and think about things. I’m considering joining a writing group so I can be social, write, get some feedback and learn.
I may also add photography to this mix so for the Easter long weekend, I’m having a creative period where I mix the two and tour HK at the same time. Fortunately we also have the Tuesday as a public holiday this year so it’s not like I’m trying to cram a ridiculous amount of things into a short period.
I’ve also started to research writing on LinkedIn. While it’s work-related and a totally different style to what I want to write, it is still writing and good practice. Perhaps this is where I’ll mainly end up writing since I am not locked into anything!
The changes I’ve made to my day-to-day routine has had some unexpected benefits. Aside from being healthier in general, I’m sleeping incredibly well and I have no afternoon dip in energy at work. I have been able to reflect on my day, consider the following one and go to bed still with a lot of energy so I can read for a while.
On top of this, everything I write is one step closer to something worthwhile to share.
I’m quite excited about all of this.
Baby steps…
* Thanks to Birds of Tokyo for the title to this post.