Roxy Mews's Blog, page 7

Snow Day!

Today is one of those rare days that I didn't screw up the adulting thing. I got out of the house early yesterday and got some shopping done. I didn't have a ton of time, but I knew that there was a fairly heavy snow coming through, and the entire world would panic and run to the stores after they got off work.

So now that the road outside my house looks like a poorly maintained parking lot, I'm staying in my pajamas and not moving from this spot. 

I don't get to see my RWA buddies today, but I'd rather be safe and watching YouTube than sliding off the side of the highway and forcing other people to come rescue me. 

I'm taking a snow day!

As adults, especially one who works retail, the snow days are pretty much non-existent. (My evil day job is open today, but luckily it's my day off.) So imagine my surprise when both of my extracurricular activities canceled today.

I dawdled with my Miracle Morning, and I'm taking it easy with this blog. But don't think I won't be working today! Because that's just what we do as grownups. I just get to work in PJs and slippers. So I'm not mad at it. But if you're looking for ideas on what to do today, I thought I'd share my top 5 things to do on a day when you're trapped in my mother nature.

1. Hot Beverages

Sure, many of us start our day with coffee, but on snow days...I get extra. So this morning, I added cinnamon to my coffee grounds. I drizzled caramel in my coffee cup before pouring the coffee in. And I even have a little whipped cream to dob on top. We have some extra time. Let's make ourselves something fancy! And if you're not a coffee drinker, make a killer hot cocoa!

2. Journal

This is part of my miracle morning anyway, but I love taking out a notebook and jotting down what I'm thinking. For some reason, doing some writing by hand in front of a window while watching the snow fall, is incredibly romantic to me. So it's always something I do.

3. Dance Party

I love my Amazon Echo. And I tend to blast some happy upbeat music during a snow storm. We use a lot more dishes when we're trapped at home all day, so I put on music while I get the chores done. I also challenge everyone in my family to a game of "Song Quiz" on my Echo, which is my favorite Echo skill ever. Basically, some bumpin' music makes the time at home more fun.

4. Pet Project

Making time for the things I want to do, instead of all the things I have to do is key to making me feel less behind when we finally start digging out of the snow. At least I can accomplish something while I'm here. And it's the perfect excuse to devote time to the things I've been pushing back as "not urgent". So today, I'm working on an online class, and getting some extra writing time in. But I'm also going to spend a few minutes crocheting a scarf while I watch YouTube. This is the time for all the stuff I WANT to do.

​5. Enjoying the pets!

We have a dog and a cat, so seeing both of their reactions to the snow always makes me smile. My dog is older and isn't a huge fan of being cold or wet, but get her outside with some snow and she can't resist shoving her little nose in it.  

My cat is completely indoors, so he never gets to see snow. So we thought we'd share some of the white stuff with him today. And we were laughing like crazy as he batted at it, shook his paw, bit it, and basically tried to figure out what the fuck we had just put in front of him.



It's all the little things in the day that make up the best moments. So I plan on spending my snow day, enjoying them! How do you spend your time stuck inside during inclement weather? I'll need some ideas for the next snow day. 

~Roxy

A Full trashbag is a beautiful thing

Sometimes a trashbag is a beautiful thing. 

No. I'm not talking about that weird kid videotaping a shopping bag in that one movie. That's just littering. What I'm talking about is taking out the trash.

I've been working a lot on my internal garbage. The negative self-talk, the imposter syndrome, the horrid things we have to absorb from the news...all of that sucks. Getting rid of, replacing with good, and gaining new coping mechanisms for these things is important.

But what I wanted to chat about today is an actual garbage bag. Filled with actual garbage. 

I took one out of my office space today. I'd been tripping over things and stumbling to get to my office for months. It cleared out a little after the holiday when we could get the stash of gifts and wrapping paper out of there, but you don't notice how much STUFF accumulates until one day you stub your toe and can't take it anymore.

Little bits of paper, trade magazines you're actually going to read this time, planner shiz, electronics cables, and tons more all seems to center around where you do the most work. For me...that's my office. Or it used to be.

During the holidays, our whole house tends to flip. We make room for a tree, so furniture moves. We have extra things we buy, so those get stashed random places. The things we use everyday that aren't pretty, get moved (to my office) so they aren't in the way of visitors.

I realized sometime after Christmas, that I'd stopped even trying to go into my office. It made me sad that the place I'd set aside for just me, had been overrun with everyone else's crap. And today, when I walked in again to do my affirmations and visualization practice, I'd had it.

Ever heard the term "Rage Clean"? Maybe you do this, or know someone else that does. But I tend to avoid a lot of household chores until I just can't take it anymore and then rip everything that's pissing me off down, throw it away, or scrub the hell out of it. And I can't stop until it's done. At least it's cardio, because I get my heart pumping being so mad at every piece of junk that has made its way into my space.

I've been known to throw things a time or two, but mostly I can contain myself by stuffing the shit I want gone into a trashcan with extra force.

Why is my blog a little late today? Why haven't people heard from me this morning? WHY HAVE I GOTTEN NOTHING ON MY TO DO LIST DONE DAMMIT I'M SO FUCKING BEHIND!

ahem.

I started cleaning to get a space to work and my finish-it-itis kicked in. There was no going back. I've spent the last two hours re-organizing the office that has to function as planner land, household management land, bill payment land, and author land. All in a five foot by six foot space. 

So taking out an entire bag of items to throw away, along with a few other things that somehow filtered in from the rest of the house, made a huge difference.

I literally took the trash out of my space today, and I feel so much lighter.

Forget spring cleaning. I'll take post-holiday cleaning any day of the week. Getting rid of all that stuff makes the weight of the holidays seem to vanish and I feel like I can breathe again.

Are you a naturally tidy person who doesn't have this problem? Or are you like me and have to tackle one room at a time due to budget or schedule? Or does you family tend to undo every single scrap of progress you make? I'd love to hear about it.

And if you're looking around and feeling a little closed in, I recommend grabbing an empty garbage bag and filling it up from anywhere in your house. Take that full garbage bag out to the dumpster. Get it out of your space. It's so damn satisfying. And nothing is ever prettier than a full bag of trash you don't have to look at tomorrow.

~Roxy

Redefining indulgence

I am a girl who likes to indulge. I'm all about a rich dessert, or a shopping spree, or wearing the softest slippers on earth all day long. But even I have to admit that the reason these things are labeled "Indulgent" plays into the fact that I know darn well I shouldn't do them everyday.

But as I'm heading down this Miracle Morning path, and working toward completing a full year of my SAVERS, I need to redefine what I feel is an indulgence. Because I realized this week that indulging doesn't have to be bad for me.

No, I'm not kidding. Stick with me here.

This morning, it took me almost three times as long to do my Miracle Morning, because I let myself get swept away by it. I was enjoying my book, so I read longer. I was enjoying the audiobook I was listening to during my exercise, so I grabbed an extra glass of water and listened for a few extra minutes before I moved on. I was enjoying playing with my planner during my visualization time, so I browsed a few web pages to get ideas on what to plan for next week and get excited about it. I even let my meditation time stretch on, because my cat had curled in my lap during the meditation, so I spent a few extra minutes in silence just petting him and feeling him purr.

I indulged in things that are good for me. I was able to be in the moment and mindful of each step I was taking.

I indulged yesterday too. 

My local grocery store has started carrying pre-prepped meals ALA Blue Apron or Plated style. I've always wanted to try one, but my hubby is a steak and potatoes kind of guy, and there were always ingredients inside he wouldn't go near. And spending the $15-$18 on a meal that was just for me seemed like kind of a waste. We're on a tight budget and I couldn't justify it. 

Well, what do you know, when I was out at the store this time, on a day when hubby was going to be gone all night for his job, they had marked a couple those same meal kits down to just $5. They were approaching the "prepare by" dates, and were being clearanced out. So I grabbed myself one, because I could indulge just this once.  The ingredients were some I'd never cooked with due to local availability and the fact that hubby wouldn't touch a mustard-based sauce with a ten foot pole. The mealcard looked amazing, but I am not a chef. By any stretch. I have messed up burgers to the point that I don't know I'd have called them meat by the end of it.

On the bright side, the wheatberries (what the hell is a wheatberry BTW?!?), were already cooked, or boiled or whatever the hell you do to those things. So I wouldn't screw that up. Even the chicken was already cut for me. But did I think it would turn out as pretty as the picture? Umm...nope. But hopefully it would taste good. It had bacon crumbles on top. It couldn't be totally bad. Turns out it was one of those low calorie meals too. Only 550 calories for half the entire box. Serious score. I ended up having it for both lunch and dinner, because it was so damn tasty. And I have to say, it came out damn close to the picture too!

I was pretty sure by way the broccoli-looking thing's stalks were browning that I was screwing it up. Not to mention the fact that I had to add my own salt and pepper, so there was all that pressure.

But in the end, when I dished it out and crumbled half of the bacon that was left over it, I was impressed. (I ate a few pieces beforehand. It was bacon, don't judge me.)

​I've missed my calling as a pre-prepped food chef!

Or it could be that it's a good product that looks like the picture no matter who the chef is. Either way, I did something I don't do often enough, and cooked a special dish just for me. It was definitely indulgent. 

And I didn't even mind the extra dishes.  I'm starting to realize that I have to begin thinking about indulgence as something other than a vat of something bad to wallow in when my day sucks. I need to treat myself in little ways throughout my week, that can actually serve me well in the long run.

Except for exercising outside of my Miracle Morning. I'm not going that far yet. 

Do you have any positive ways to indulge that you treat yourself with? I'd love to hear all about them. I need more ideas!

​~Roxy

She's a Storyteller

I don't give book recommendations very often. And aside from some writing craft books, I don't think I've ever given a shoutout to a biography. 

So make not on the calendar, because this isn't likely to happen again for quite a while.

I'm going to give a quick shoutout to Michelle Obama's Becoming . 

And yes...I linked the audio book instead of the Kindle book. Why? Because Michelle Obama is reading her own book and it is a fucking magical experience.

I've always been impressed by the way my fav FLOTUS was able to string words together. She has a strong voice, with the ability to inspire while still giving you that momma side-eye and call you out for your own bullshit.

I have not finished this audio book yet, mainly because it is NINETEEN HOURS. If you have audible credits available, this is the book to cash it in on. You'll get your monthly fee worth with this baby.

Some people might read this book to get Michelle Obama's true opinion of Donald Trump. But seriously...if you didn't catch the screen grabs from the current POTUS's inauguration you have your head in the sand. We all know her opinion already.

For me, what was truly fascinating was the story of her growing up. The story of her family and living with her mom. The story of her demanding Barack use a phone even if he wasn't a "phone type guy" was one of my favorite. 

This woman is a storyteller. She picked key points about each memory and took me along an emotional ride. Her voice felt like home in my ears every time I turned the book on, and I loved it.

You know that point in a singer's performance when you get the chills because you feel the emotion in their performance? I got chills multiple times while listening to this book. Michelle Obama doesn't just read her story, she tells you about her life. Part of me has this image of her in sweat pants, kicking back in the recording booth with a cocktail. I feel like I'm chatting with a new friend and she's just put her feet on my coffee table to tell me what really happened.

Every time I open my Audible app, I'm sucked back in. 

If money is tight, tap your library for a listen. I can't recommend this book enough. And for once...it's an audio book I can listen to over my Amazon Echo with other people in the room. LOL. It's kind of nice.

Are there any books you've read outside of your normal tastes? What book has surprised you recently? I'd love to hear about it.

....After I listen to a few more chapters from Michelle Obama, of course.

~Roxy

Wait...my nose gets erections?!?!

Let's start this little internet wormhole story at the beginning.

This morning I woke up and got my day started with meditation. I'm using Audible's 21 Days of Meditation by Aaptiv. Today was day eight, and the type of mediation involved opening and closing one nostril at a time.

Turns out my right nostil is an asshole that only sucks in a straw stirrer's worth of air at a time, and I spent my whole meditation time wondering if I was going to pass out or hyperventilate from lack of oxygen while snuffing through only that bastard nostril.

via GIPHY

We finally get through the breathing torture and the girl, Jess, who is the voice of this whole thing starts to tell me through my earbuds that we have a dominant nostril. Well, it's pretty obvious that my left nostril is the bitch in charge. Then Jess tells me that our body rotates dominant nostrils through the day.

Wait...what? This can't be a thing. I'm thoroughly convinced this can't be a thing. This has to be some woo woo hippie crap. 

So what do we all do when we find out new information? I googled that shit.

via GIPHY

After a few missed topic searches...

No, Google, I don't need to know how to use a Neti Pot to unclog my sinuses.

I found a topic on non-allergy non-illness related medical reasons I might not be able to fully utilize my right nostril. Of course this was a medical site, so I automatically have cancer. *sigh*

But alongside the polyps, and cancerous tumors, there was also the glory of deviated septums. 

Hubby actually had one of these, and surgery for it. I don't have this.

Back to google, I went until I found an article from a site called "Science Alert". (I'm not reading the whole article for you, but if you want to get actual sciencey facts, go HERE.)

Okay. Right up my alley. Now this site will tell me that Jess from the meditating woo woo world was wrong and my nose is reacting to something in my diet and I should cut out caffeine.  

Not that I'd ever do that, but I swear...every damn article I read tells me all my health problems are caused by coffee. But those same experts also said lettuce was good for me, and all the damn leafy greens are now recalled for salmonella. I'll keep my coffee until they decide it's healthy again. But nope. It's not coffee. This article AGREED with Jess! Not only that, but it said we go through a "Nasal Cycle" several times a day. 

What. The. Fuck.

How did I never learn about this in health class? Did I sleep through this part? Is this common knowledge?

Then the science folks dropped this one on me...That's right, folks. Our noses get erections. Good gravy. Does everything have to act like a dick these days? Even my nose cavity is going through puberty?

Surely this isn't a thing. I would have noticed it by now.

So what does a woman of the world do? I tried the alternating breathing technique again. If this is really a thing, and we go through these cycles every day, my nose should be on a different cycle by now. (Now it sounds like my nose is menstruating. Great.)

Scientific worldly woman that I am, I did the same technique that was in my meditation. I was going to prove that my right nostril was a bastard and the low hole on the totem pole. 

I closed off the left nostril with my left thumb and inhaled.

My right side was totally open. It was performing like a champ. 

Huh. Maybe I was stuffed up this morning and didn't notice? I put my right thumb to my right nostril and inhaled.

AND MY LEFT SIDE WAS NOW THE WEAK LINK. I COULDN'T BREATHE.

​Guys...my mind was blown.

via GIPHY

At this very moment...my left nasal cavity is all engorged. My nose is having erections. My brain is switching the dominant nostril and I'm really not sure how I didn't know something so basic about my body.

So if you ever see me out and about and I have my thumb against my nose, I'm not about to shoot a snot rocket. I'm just trying to see which side of my face is having a nose erection.

Did you know this was a thing? Am I the only clueless person out there who didn't know this was something our bodies did? Or do you have any wonderfully weird facts about our bodies that I need to know about. Obviously, someone needs to educate me.

~Roxy

5 benefits after one week of Miracle Morning

I'm a week into my New Year's Resolution of doing my Miracle Morning every day, and today was a struggle. I work 12 hour shifts every Sunday, so my body was not too happy with me when the alarm went off and I had to get my butt out of bed.

But instead of wasting time on my phone until it was time to get head into work for the day, I started with my seventh day of Miracle Morning in a row. Here are some changes I'm already noticing after a week.

1. I feel my body settle quicker when I start meditating.

I'm only doing ten minutes of mediation to start out my day, but I may add an afternoon or evening practice in as well. I don't want to add onto my morning because I want to make sure what I'm doing is sustainable all year, but I'm feeling the benefits. I feel my muscles sink into the couch where I close my eyes and breathe deeply every morning. I am able to let the million and one thought bubbles pop a little easier. And I can focus on things more than I'd been able to before this week began.

Not only that, but when I sit down and close my eyes, my shoulders drop. My jaw unclenches. The pressure behind my eyes softens. I'm incredibly grateful I picked up my mediation practice again.

2. I'm able to let more shit go instead of holding onto the anger or pain.

I was feeling really sad, and any horrible thing tended to send me spiraling. All the awful things piled on and my tears or rage would spring to the surface easily. After just one week, I can feel a space forming for me between those extreme reactions. Don't get me wrong. When an asshole cuts me off or drives fifteen under the speed limit, I still test the magnitude of my cursing abilities. Road rage is real, y'all. But when I turn off my social media for the day, I'm able to let some of the awful things go. Certain things chase me down and find me anyway, but I've got some armor on. I've got the knowledge that I'm working on making things better by starting with myself.

3. I can go up and down the stairs multiple times without getting winded.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not signing up at a modeling agency or to run a marathon, but even just 3 minutes a day of movement has made a difference in how I am able to make it around my house of many stairs. I'm interested to see what happens when I make it up to 5 minutes a day.

4. My confidence is experiencing a nice boost.

There is something about journaling on a regular basis that pumps me up. I always seem to end on a little pep talk to myself, and it seriously gets me ready for the day. Don't get me wrong. A customer service job tends to knock the wind out of your sails pretty soon after, but I get that fresh start all over again the very next day. I don't enjoy my job, but I can already tell, I head into work hating it a little less.

5. I want to do more.

I'm on the lookout for personal development classes. I'm wrangling people to write with me. (And we're starting tomorrow, ladies, so get your shit ready!) I am thinking of adding in some afternoon and evening items to my week. Now, don't get me wrong. I have been a victim of the crash and burn before. So I know better than to pile on too much at once. But I think I'm going to put together a list of items I can do if I'm feeling particularly on top of things that day.


I'm even finishing up my blog before I head into the evil day job. Look at me go! Did you make any New Year's Resolutions? Now that it's the 7th day of the year, have you kept up? Or have you realized the thing you wanted to do most wasn't right for you? I'd love to hear how the first week of your 2019 is going. Tell me in the comments!

~Roxy

Old Resolutions that I'm still working on

A long time ago, on a platform far away, I sent an email to the amazing Mary Hughes. I told her I adored her books, and offered her a beer if she was ever up my way.

Amazingly she didn't kick me to the curb for being her stalker, and we struck up a friendship. She's far too good to me, and I miss chatting with her more often. 

Last year Mary started turning old blog posts into videos and asked if I minded if she used mine. She chose a blog post from years ago, that I posted regarding trying new things in the new year.

I was just about to release my first ROBOSEX book, and I had the last book in my Hart Clan trilogy about to release from Samhain Publishing (RIP). My publishing world was a very different place than it is now. But one line from this caught my attention...

"I want to be more like the strong female characters I write about."

When this video popped up in my feed for a group I was reviewing, I realized it's so damn true. I want to have the ability to go for what I want, no matter who says I can't do it. Even if that someone is me.

So being that this whole week was about my New Year's Resolutions, I figured I'd share it with you. And if you enjoy this format, check out Mary's YouTube Channel. She has a ton more of these.Do you find inspiration from the characters you read or write about? Or are you inspired by the authors that write them? Who is on your list to pick up when you need a kick in the ass? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

~Roxy

Tracking your writing

The theme of this year so far seems to be, "Listen to the good advice you've heard a million times, and follow it for once."

One of those bits of advice that I begin with the greatest of intentions but never follow through on is the idea of tracking my writing in a spreadsheet to figure out when and where I am the most prolific. 

I SUCK at this.

The only time I'm ever able to record my writing on a consistent basis is NaNoWriMo, and even then, I only get the word count, I don't get any other information about where I was writing, or what time of day it was. Since I'm working on new habits and consistency, evaluating where and when I write best will be great information to have about myself. I kind of have an idea on this, but concrete evidence to back up my theory would be nice. 

Not to mention the fact that wanting to write "more" this year doesn't mean shit if I have no idea how much I wrote in the years prior. (And I seriously have no clue.)

So when I read the passages about tracking writing in The Miracle Morning for Writers...again...I realized I should shut up and figure something out.

I've tried a few different techniques over the years, so I thought I'd share some of my failed attempts, almosts, and gonna try nexts. They all kind of meld together, so here are my Top 3.

1. Put it in the Planner

I've been on a planner journey, and whether it was in my bullet journal, my traveler's journal, my Happy Planner, or a random notebook I deemed worthy of the job, I have used lots of paper in trying to figure out what works for me.

The most successful I've been included a few week streak with a sprinting buddy. I sectioned off one of the daily boxes in my Happy Planner and left it specifically for words. I wrote how long we sprinted for, and how many words I got in that time. Since we were racing, it was easy for me to take the total I reported in with and jot it down.

My problem was in that I didn't write every day. I broke the chain frequently, and that pretty little writing section sat blank and ate away at my soul. 

2. Excel Spreadsheets

I've created a few of my own excel sheets to track my writing. I love Excel and enjoy fiddling with the equations to make pretty graphs, so I was always able to enter totals with these, but again, the where and when weren't part of it.

If you've never made your own sheet, I found a blog explaining it by author Ava Jae. She does a much better job of explaining it than I ever could. So check out her blog. 

I also found a great looking chart made up for you with lots of tracking and time management and calculating capabilities. She's charging $10 for the file, but if you want to download and not deal, you might check out Jamie Raintree's tracker on her website.

I'm a tinkerer, so I'd probably try and customize someone else's template and screw it up anyway, but the options are out there.

I haven't been able to stick to this, because I tend to give myself a set amount of time to write, and then have to book it to the next place I have to be. Opening up another document and jotting down more info after I've just written to the point of my brain is oozing out my ears, isn't something I keep up with. 

That being said, I'm still going to try and set up one today. I'm thinking of setting aside time at the end of the week to input the data after jotting it down on sticky notes or in my planner. But I'm not going to beat myself up if it doesn't work.

​3. HabitBull

This is the app I'm using to help with motivation for my Miracle Morning too. I'm only a couple days into using the app and I'm not at the point where I automatically pick it up yet. 

The problem with any phone app for me is that it's not immediately visible. I have my calendar on the wall. I have postit notes in front of me. I keep my main planner open. Those things are visual and let me know what's coming up next, or what I still need to do for the day. Apps tend to disappear. Unless I turn on push notifications, but I'm trying to get away from that to be more mindful of what's going on around me.

The nice thing about this app in particular, is that there is a spot for notes to go along with word count. So you could totally include information like the when and where your writing time took place. All your data is exportable to CSV files from the app as well, which could make it more manageable. I'm not sure how easy it would be to manipulate in that form, though. I don't have enough to export yet. 

Below is the video that made me give this particular habit tracker a shot.
I'm trying to remember that change doesn't happen over night. I'm also trying not to add too much to my plate at once. I'm one of those people that keeps heaping on the To Do's to the point of needing a clone to complete them all. It's hard not to keep adding in new habits when you see such good things happening with the one's you've already implemented. 

What about you? Are you an author who tracks your writing in a spreadsheet? Or are there other habits you want to keep track of in the upcoming year? Tell me how you keep tabs on your own progress. I'd love to hear about it.

~Roxy

Don't Break the Chain

No, I'm not talking about those chain letters that tell you to pass a sparkly .GIF on to five people to get good luck. Anyone who has sent me one of those...they always die with me. Sorry, not sorry. So you might as well stop. Please.

The chain I'm talking about today has to do with habits, or resolutions. Whatever you want to call them, I'm talking about something you want to start doing every day. This doesn't include cutting out sugar or chocolate, unless you're going for a shorter chain. 

What I want to accomplish this year is to integrate habits into my morning routine. Every morning. The Miracle Morning I posted about isn't something that would ever be bad for me. Even if I'm sick or turn up injured, every one of my SAVERS could be modified to fit new restrictions or breakthroughs. 

The phrase, "Don't Break the Chain", has been simmering in the back of my brain for a long time. I'm sure I've heard it in many self-help or productivity guides, but lately it's been resonating with me. Because it takes something shiny and techy to get my attention, the first place I really started to think about this was with Simone Giertz's kickstarter for the everyday calendar. She wanted to mediate everyday, and made a gadget to help her keep track visually for an entire year. 

While I love the idea, I'm not in a position to drop $400 on a calendar. Do you know how many planner stickers I could buy with that?!?!

If you've never heard of the "Don't Break the Chain" idea, below is a short video about why it works.This idea for me, is like the red car phenomenon. You know how you buy a car that's red, and suddenly you see red cars everywhere? That's what the chain method has been for me over the past few days. I know I'd heard the idea before, but it seems to be everywhere I turn now. I've seriously run across it at least once a day for the past week. 

Maybe that has to do with the New Year and resolution content being so prevalent, but either way, I took notice.

Since I want to start doing my SAVERS everyday, it's the perfect time for me to get in on the chain action. I bought myself a cheap but pretty calendar from Dollar Tree, and I'm going to be marking off each day with a big pen slash. I would use a red marker, but I bought this shit at the Dollar Tree, and that paper isn't thick enough for marker. ;)

I'm also testing out HabitBull on my phone. I was thinking about writing out all the SAVERS individually for separate habit arcs, but that's too much effort. I already mark off the acronym in my planner as I go. So I only get to click the little button on the day when I complete all six aspects of my Miracle Morning. I'm also going to play around with the writing/blogging aspect of my goals. I'd like a way to differentiate between fiction writing and blogging without technically breaking my streak. So I've combined them for now, and I'm going to count each blog as only 250 words. That way, on days when I only have 250, I'll know it was a blog day. We'll see if I find value in the app. If not, I'll just stick to the calendar. 

What do you think about the idea of doing something EVERY DAY no matter what? Do you think it's a good idea? Or are you in the camp I used to occupy where you think it's too much pressure? I'd love to hear what you think.

~Roxy

One Word To Rule Them All

I like to start out each year with my "One Word". I've talked about this on my blog before. If you're interested check out my "My One Word" post. That will tell you a bit about where I heard about the idea.

My word for 2018 was "Execute". Frankly, it took me a few days to come up with last year's word, and I didn't feel the same connection I'd had in years past. Last year was a hard one for me, and frankly, I'm grateful to send 2018 into the past, and move on. I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to. I didn't follow through on as many things as I wanted to, and nothing seemed to land right.

Frankly, near the end of the year, I was ready to toss the whole author shebang in the trash and find something else to do with my life. But writing is one of the hardest addictions to kick, and the idea of publishing another book still has me drooling like Pavlov's dogs. So I'm still here.

What I did realize through my year of missed deadlines, and unreached goals, was that consistency and getting started are the hardest things for me. Once I sat myself in front of the computer, and once I let my fingers fly across the keyboard, it wasn't as bad as I worried it would be. I didn't always accomplish what my overly ambitious goals were, but I did get something done. The real sucky part was, I never saw it that way. I saw the bit I did as not enough. I saw the forward progress as too little to matter.

Minimizing my accomplishments was stupid, and it pushed me into a state of sadness that I'm still working my way out of. 

But it's a new year, and it's a new opportunity. Which is why this year, I want to focus on forward progress, rather than arbitrary numbers or quantitative goals that I put in place to keep pace with other people.

This year, my word is....

START

In 2019 I want to start everything on my To Do list each day. I want to start every day in 2019 with the Miracle Morning. I want to start each day without the baggage from the past, or the pressures of the future. 

I'm not saying I'm giving up on long and short term goals. And I'm not saying I don't have deadlines to meet, but what I am saying is that this year I'm going to put my focus on consistency. Because getting those 5k writing days are awesome, but then falling into a funk because I can't replicate it three days in a row and not writing for a week... Well, that will net me far fewer words than simply giving myself permission to show up and see what happens.

This is a year I want to give myself a fresh start without comparing my successes to what I've experienced in the past. I want to give myself permission to dunk a foot in the water and test the temperature. I want to have fun again.

I'm hoping I give myself a strong foundation with my Miracle Morning and more frequent blogs. My goal for this year is to either blog or write new words every day. So I'm not going to sit here and guarantee there will be new content on this page daily, but most likely it will be at least five out of seven days in a week.

I'm hoping to take some self-development and writing classes this year. I got it in my head that I wasn't good enough to learn from some of the excellent folks offering classes. But now I'm going to start and see what happens.

I couldn't be more excited and hopeful for the year ahead. I can't wait to START.

Do you pick a word for the year? What was your word? I'd love to hear about it in the comments, or tweet it to me @RoxyMews. I'm on twitter far more than other social media streams lately. Let's chat and get started on a fantastic 2019.

​~Roxy