With a new week ahead of us, today is a perfect day to get started on whatever we've been putting off starting. You KNOW you've been putting off SOMETHING. Isn't that always the case?
No? I envy you then. Unfortunately for me, I have too many irons in the fire all the time. I don't actively put anything off; procrastination is just what happens on my way to something new & exciting.
This week I am fired up, however. I have decided to finish my first draft at all costs this month. You may recall that I have been confronting my obstacles over the past year in an effort to become an author. I set big goals and made big mistakes, but I learned so much about myself and how to overcome my limitations.
Setting big goals is the easy part. To make this new goal happen I am knuckling down on Distraction and turning the screws on Insomnia. Life has a tendency to get in the way of goals that require dedication. I figure life will continue on getting in the way unless I do something about it now. That means controlling how I spend my free time. I can't do anything about Random Acts of Family, but I can do quite a bit about myself. Here are ten ways:
- I will read my scriptures daily. I'm going to need help from a Higher Power to pull this off.
- I will always think positive.
- I will not watch Netflix. (Recently due to illness inactivity, I have slipped into old zombie habits. C'mon. I actually started watching Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus before coming to my senses.)
- I will not read news, thus drastically altering my morning routine. I will remove apps from my iPad & iPhone if I have to. (Good bye, Flipboard…)
- I will only monitor Facebook and Twitter twice a day, killing all clients that pop up alerts. I may have to remove apps from my iPad & iPhone to make this possible.
- I will only update Twitter and Facebook twice a day, at the beginning and end of my work day.
- I will be a good dad and husband, not ignoring my family while I work towards this goal, and not being grumpy.
- I will retire to bed at midnight, tired or not.
- I will only read books when retired for the day.
- I will blog my progress. I'll need your friendly words of encouragement.
You can check my progress over at my writing blog, http://douglascootey.com.
I invite you to pick a large goal of your own to complete this month. Tell me about it in the comments section so I can root for you. Better yet, blog about it, giving us the goal and 5-10 things you're going to do to bypass your ADHD, Depression, or whatever to help you reach that goal. Link back to this blog and leave a link to your blog here in the comments. I'll include your blogs in my next post so others can root for you, too.
An aside: Since I'm having difficulty blogging here regularly while also writing a book and being a full-time dad, I've decided to do one last blog to finish my observations on the Splintered Books Project. Expect it later this week. Then it will be a closed chapter officially. I need to focus going forward, not continually look backward. This will clear my slate so I can blog on fresh topics. I hadn't realized it, but writing about the project one point at a time had become a subconscious obstacle that was preventing me from blogging. Gotta love ADD…
Follow me on Twitter for my ADHD escapades at @SplinteredMind or my novel writing project over at @DouglasCootey. And if you're a glutton for punishment you can friend me on Facebook as well.
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