Writing Time, Part 63. Supporting Systems, Galloping Time

Now and then, a moment arrives, when hardly anybody wants anything from us. Maybe something was cancelled, leaving a serene empty space, or it’s the day after a holiday, ditto.
I used to go mad at such moments. Quick, this is my chance to write 5400 words. But, what if, instead of typing up a storm until the next serendipitously empty timeslot raises its noble head and invites us to gallop away upon it (…okay, that’s a tempting thought to me too, so if you love that idea, leave this paragraph in your dust and ride away on inspiration)… but, what if we use this little moment of peace to redesign the systems and reset the components of our lives to create timeslots of our own? And perhaps ask 3 questions:

1. If my perfect life and writing career were here, what would it look like? (hint: every day includes time for relationships and for kicking back)
2. What am I using up time for that I don’t like much, and that doesn’t serve me or mine? (hint: we all know what to do, so, how to do it?)
3. In the area of life where things seem so crazy they’re sucking my creative energy, is there any system, perhaps over the course of the week, that I could set in place to make things less onerous? (hint: systems are not about achieving perfection, they are about our present selves doing something in a few minutes to save our future selves an hour for writing.)

I don’t want to use my creative powers to deal with It’s five pm and there’s nothing to eat, what magic can I perform? I like cooking, but I’d prefer to use the magic on my manuscript and have food in the fridge and a plan in the kitchen. Then, come the weekend, I don’t want to take that big beautiful 3-hour drafting timeblock and use it to shoulder through crowds at Costco. If we can generate a system or two, we can support our creative powers without shortchanging our lives and the people we adore.

I hope you’ll have another brilliant writing week. Cheers Mel

This week from @yourwritingmuse: Whatever the weather, you keep writing. Your persistence, endurance, and strong talent move your career along beautifully. Your Writing Muse