Jump Right In

 

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I'm pretty disciplined with my morning writing session. I get up, get ready, let the dog out, then settle down to write with a cup of tea. I reach my goal for the day before I get up from my chair.

The problem sometimes is any additional writing sessions during the day. The reason I protect my early-morning writing time so much is because there are so many different ways a day can get derailed during its course. You know what I mean: everything from family crises to mundane things like errands that need to be run or cleaning and cooking to complete.

I've found that what works for me is telling myself to get started with a writing session before I'm really ready to do so. To jump right in.

There I'll be, trying to figure out when I can squeeze in more writing time. I'll look at my to-do list and start thinking that 3 p.m. looks good. Apparently, my muse is an imp because she'll say, “How about right now, instead? This minute? Only a short one.”

As I've mentioned before, if I bring out my loyal timer, I'll do it. I can convince myself to do anything if it's just in 5 or 10 minute increments. I'll usually blow right through the timer and go an extra five or more minutes.

By jumping in before I'm ready, I think it's a way of decreasing my own expectations on my performance. I'm lowering the bar for myself. Giving myself a little grace. And I'm always relieved that I squeezed in the time.

How about you?  Do you throw yourself into your writing when you're not ready? How do you motive yourself to write (or to do anything that requires effort?)

Writing Sessions: Jump Right In
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&Image by Pexels from Pixabay;

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