One Day at a Time

Yesterday was such a long day that I couldn’t publish anything. I sat down to write at night and almost finished a piece of fiction. I was happy to have penned something in my book, but before I could complete it, I got a phone call that lasted a while. By the time it ended, it was already 10 p.m., and I was so sleepy that I chose not to push myself to finish the story and publish it before bed.

And that’s okay. No regrets. No disappointments. I’m not blaming it on “life happening” either. We shape our days based on how they unfold, and yesterday, writing simply slipped through. That’s absolutely fine.

I decided I would get my writing done the next morning and publish it before evening. So here I am.

When I said I was committing to write and publish every day, I never meant it as a kind of self-imposed torture. What I wanted was to rediscover the joy of writing, just as I once did.

Lately, I’ve also been thinking about starting a creative routine that combines a little artwork followed by writing. Art feels like a meditative process for me. It often opens up new perspectives and ideas.

I haven’t started that routine yet, but whenever I picture how it might unfold, I feel butterflies in my tummy. It makes me feel both relaxed and excited. And that’s always a good sign, isn’t it?

Normally, I write my thoughts in my scribble book, where I jot down anything and everything before it makes its way here. Recently though, I’ve been typing directly into Google Docs as my first step, and I’m actually enjoying the process. It feels a bit like returning to my early blogging days, when I would type everything straight into the blog editor and do all my proofreading and editing there.

Over the last couple of years, I switched back to writing in my notebook first before typing things out. Looking back, I realize that created a kind of resistance. The notebook—my scribble book—is perfect for sketching outlines of a poem before refining it, but writing a full post that way felt heavy. My mind flows better when I type. Random lines on the page help me open the creative flow, but once it’s there, typing on the laptop helps me keep going.

We often think we’re learning something new, but more often it’s the reminders—the relearning, the rediscovering, and sometimes even the unlearning—that form the bigger lessons in life.

Now, I’m off to finish the fiction I started yesterday. What are you up to today?


4 thoughts on “One Day at a Time

  1. You know what I appreciate about you after reading this post and also generally is that you didn’t beat up yourself or talk negatively to yourself for missing your one day of writing and publishing because things like that phone call happened. You stayed optimistic about the next day and you did it by writing this post and finishing of the fiction piece.

    I wish the best for your creative endeavours you are excited about. Becoming excited about something/anything is such a great thing. It keeps us alive while living our lives.

    We often think we’re learning something new, but more often it’s the reminders—the relearning, the rediscovering, and sometimes even the unlearning—that form the bigger lessons in life.” – You won me on this (not that you ever lost me 😃). I have to applaud this thought of yours. I couldn’t have thought on these lines. Such a fresh perspective!

    What am I upto today? – I am fighting between the need to do 2 kanji lessons and the urge to finish off reading a book which at the moment is going nowhere but I want to carry on reading to find if something of a plot twist or an important development/discovery will happen as I inch closer to the ending.

    And with this ends my microblog 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I love your microblog always, Anamika.

      That line was the aftereffect of the thought that I am always thinking the same old stuff. I realized it’s the same old stuff that gives me the boost to keep going. I need reminders and I get that when I need them the most.

      I think I will do Mundane Monday next week. That tag takes off a lot of pressure from me to come up with something spectacular. 🙂

      I am sure Kanji lessons won the fight yesterday, Anamika. You can’t disappoint your Kanji lessons in the wait of a plot twist, can you? I hope Kanji won. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

Share your thoughts, Please!