Another Saturday evening.
At the end of the work week I finally find time to write a little bit. I have not been as focused on writing as I’d like to be. Most of my evenings are spent watching a little bit of YouTube and then going to sleep.
Finding time for a hobby is often one of the more difficult parts of it. You might have more time than myself. Or less. Squeezing in a few paragraphs here and there might be all you have time for. Scribbling down new names for the character with a bio in short hand just so you don’t forget it.
Regardless of how much you do – it’s important to do something. To keep the momentum going. Today one paragraph. Tomorrow two. Or two pages. Put down a few ideas on what you’d like to write about in your next newsletter.
All the small sessions tend to add up. You find an idea in something you wrote earlier during the day. As you look back you discover a gem hidden away in your Keep notes. Or a post-it note stuck on the corner of your computer screen with a cryptic phrase on it.
These tend to keep us going. The bursts of excitement during a long idea drought. It nourishes our attempts. It says “stick with it. keep doing what you’re doing”. Perhaps it is for your latest novel. Or a newsletter. It might be nothing more than a hobby. An attempt to create a career as a writer / photographer / painter.
On consumption
I’ve slowly stopped reading Substack on my computer. Mostly because while the tab is open my mind tends to wander – first YouTube and then Pinterest. Then a myriad of other things which randomly jumps into my mind. I open Substack on my computer only when I write something [comment / note / newsletter].
I’ve cut down on my YouTube watching. The amount of “X things to do to make your Y better” videos I watched was too much. Honestly I didn’t learn as much from the as the creator hoped. All I managed to do was fall into comparison traps.
Reading is one thing I try to do but I curate a whole lot more. What value does this newsletter add? Can I gain some knowledge which I didn’t have before? A different insight into a problem I might be experiencing.
With that said, I think we should [on occasion] read / watch something which has nothing to do with our particular craft. It’s a reset for us. Like putting your camera down and not taking photos for a week. Or not writing. Blasphemy I know but sometimes the lack of something makes you see it with a renewed vigor when returning to it.
Thanks for reading : )