The last two weeks I've found myself struggling to write. Why is that? I would say it isn't a lack of inspiration, but a lack of discipline. No writer can live purely on inspiration; it is unreliably irregular and does not give enough depth to balance a book or collection. So the question is clear, how do I regain my discipline?
I need to decide when I will begin taking steps. It's tempting to speak of tomorrows or next weeks, but the correct answer is certainly TODAY. Today I will write myself a basic to-do list, it will look something like this:
- Write a single-verse poem
- Read a new poem
- Work into one poem for your Fables, Depths, and Heights collection
- Write 250 words towards a blog post
Now I need to understand what has been stopping me from writing. Has it been higher priority things like Bible reading, or prayer, or caring for others? No, for I struggle with wasting my time in leisure and watching too many things. These things may be fine in themselves, and leisure is useful in measure, but I definitely take liberties with my time-management. It will be difficult, but I must stop watching these things so much.
To help me with this I'm going to post a weekly update on my writing at www.smallsmilingprincess.wordpress.com so I have some accountability.
I'm facing my discipline problems by:
- Starting TODAY
- Establishing what needs to happen
- Understanding why it doesn't happen
- Finding people I can be accountable to
How do you face your work related discipline problems?
Published by Andrew Davies