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Tracy Baines

Tracy Baines

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You are here: Home / Writing / Writing Discipline – No is a full sentence

Writing Discipline – No is a full sentence

Did January go by in a blur for you too? Is February heading the same way? I don’t want to panic anyone but next Sunday it will be March!

I have no idea what happened for the past few weeks and yet I get the feeling that the start of the year is always like this. That horrible drained feeling that follows the sluggishness of Christmas – and added to that most people seem to fall ill with coughs and colds. 

That said, it’s so easy to feel totally derailed when you don’t feel tip top and I have to be careful not to lose sight of what I really want to achieve on a day-to-day basis. It’s easy to be busy – but so much harder to be productive. I’ve started logging where my time goes for the past few days and I’m beginning to see the error of my ways. I start well, get distracted and then go totally off the rails.  Pinpointing what those distractions are is helpful. I can work out how to avoid them and am already changing certain routines after only three days. It’s hard to make excuses when the evidence is there, in black and white.

 

We all have busy lives, and it’s difficult when you work from home. When you travel out to an office or shop you are already leaving all the household chores behind you. Your children (hopefully) don’t turn up at the office for a quick cuppa and a chat and neither do your friends.

The thing is I really like the interruptions (most of the time) but it has to stop. If you really want to achieve something you have to make choices and that can make us uncomfortable. We don’t like to say no, don’t like to offend, especially not those nearest and dearest to us but there are tough choices to be made. If you want to write a novel or a short story you have to say YES to it, make it your priority and say No to everything else.

What are you going to say NO to this month?

 

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