Keep Your Writing Momentum After 30 Days Of Writing
When I committed to a 30 day writing challenge it was more writing than I had written in the previous ten years combined. Yes, you read that right. I took on a “just do it” attitude, the very beginning of forming a writing practice.
Here’s what I discovered about what happens after the initial “high” of 30 days of a writing challenge and what you can do to keep up your momentum of writing.
Where is your time really going?
I was stoked to have welcomed regular writing back into my life in such a big way, and I was high on the feeling of keeping such a big commitment to myself. As I neared the end of the 30 days, I challenged myself to think of ways to keep the momentum going and worked to figure out some way to keep my writer's mindset beyond the project.
I started to take an honest inventory of where my time and attention goes on a daily basis. Not my perceived time, but actual real time available in my everyday routine.
Here’s what I found:
Monday-Friday = 12 Hours Total Real Time Available
Personal Hygiene/Sleep = 9 hours
Work/Commuting = 10 hours
Exercise = 1 hour
Life/House Chores = 1 hour
Social/Connection = 1 hour
Remaining = 2 hours per day
Saturday & Sunday = 6 Hours Total Real Time Available
Personal Hygiene/Sleep = 9 hours
Work = 6 hours
Exercise = 4 hours
Social/Connection = 2 hours
Remaining = 3 hours per day
Looking at the actual time I have to work with was eye opening for sure. Time is truly life’s most valuable and finite resource.
But I actually do have time. It may not seem like much, but when compounded over the course of a week, I have 18 hours per week - almost an entire day minus sleeping time. Wow! I did not expect that!
What am I doing with my whole extra day?!? Where did that time go?!?
I needed further investigation and obviously, better time management. Yikes! I didn’t need to go far for my investigation. If I’m being honest, I knew the culprit from the start.
After coming home from a long day of work and tending to life’s pressing matters - yes, dishes can become a pressing matter in my household, what was I doing with my hours? I was spending that precious time propping my feet up and tuning into a black hole time suck of watching tv and scrolling on my phone, mostly at the same time.
Did you know that when we split attention like this, especially with the screens/media, the information we take in isn’t actually being processed completely because it’s coming at you from all directions?
“The irony of multi-tasking or bombarding yourself with multiple media at once is that you are choosing numbing out as self-care,” psychologist Robin Horstein Ph.D. says. “The human brain is capable of splitting the work or attention up to a point, but it does not do all of those tasks well.”
She doesn’t believe that multiple inputs can be calming in the long term. The muti-tasking screen/media situation meant no information was actually being processed since it was coming from all directions, and I wasn’t really doing anything but numbing out from my day.
An hour here or there doesn’t sound so damning until you calculate it up. Over the course of a week, I was literally spending an entire day of waking hours in front of a screen. It wasn’t even a screen for work. This was of my choosing! WTF?!?
I don’t think that’s the
“Turn on, tune in, drop out.”
that Timothy Leary had in mind. Color me astonished.
Breaking up is hard to do.
I made the drastic decision to get rid of my television, because, hello 2 to 3 hours back in my day feels like a pretty sweet deal.
Well, my first attempt at separation resulted in covering my tv with a colorful scarf, but the barrier proved unsuccessful to stymie the hypnotic pull of series binge watching. I doubled down by canceling my Netflix account and having my landlord relocate the tv in my apartment.
Extreme? Yes.
Effective? Beyond!
Has my separation from the electronic time suck that for so long sat front and center in my living space helped me write the next great American novel in the last month? No.
But has the removal of the boob tube catapulted me into a world where my time is now spent focusing on how to get there? Absolutely.
My time is now spent in what I would most effectively refer to as a “world of words.” Gone are the evenings of zoning out until Netflix asked me “Are you still watching?”
I now spend my time away from the page focused on activities that support me when I get there: reading, playing word games, listening to writing focused podcasts, and just all around surrounding myself with words. I recently killed an NYT crossword mini in less than 30 seconds!
Where do I spend my actual time now?
Armed with this new lasso of time (and truth), I have morphed into my alter ego – Word Woman. Please note that I do not yet have a cape to accompany this persona. Cue IWN merchandising and marketing team.
By unleashing the power of Word Woman, I have:
Read more books in the past 60 days than in the first 6 months of this year combined.
Encountered so many new words that I have created a personal dictionary for myself that I now carry with me like the proper word nerd I am.
Utilized my screen time to race against the clock on NYT word games like Strands, Wordle and the crossword.
Started my own Lichtenberg inspired “Waste Book,” and am keeping a list of writing inspirations so that when I come to the page I am never at a loss for where to start – solving one of the biggest mysteries I had when I first began the 30 Day Writing Challenge.
Most impressive of all, I am still writing.
I have relinquished the daily writing goal, but it is not with shame or defeat. Instead, I find myself coming to the page during my actual time on a schedule that fits me.. My will to write is inspired by what I have read and listened to and words I have encountered in my games. There is no longer the strong push to ensure that I get to the page every day.I know that when I put my butt in the chair and crack open my laptop I have something to say and it seems to flow in a way it never did before.
Leveling up my practice - and beyond!
This new insight into the actual time available in my days and commitment to using it in a way that aligns with my goals and values has brought about real change for me. The most obvious is that I now have beautiful green plants on the shelf in lieu of my television. The least obvious is the lighter, more satisfied feeling inside.
I would never have imagined that focusing on my writing practice would have the power to influence my entire life for the better. Isn’t it funny how sometimes the smallest changes in focus and attention can lead to the biggest impact?
In keeping up my momentum after the 30 day writing challenge, my life has pivoted in three major ways.
My writing practice is more consistent, more creative, more idea driven, and I am spending more of my actual time with my butt in the chair and words on the page.
I am overall a better person. I use my actual time to live my values and goals rather than numbing out and that leads me to being more positive and authentic in all areas of my life.
My life is better in general. With my time accounted for, and an honest view of the available hours, I now make the conscious choice on how my valuable minutes are used. I am no longer passively watching the clock ticking away the moments. The time in my day now moves me closer to my goal, not the other way around.
What could an honest assessment of your actual time do for you and your writing practice?
What writing goals could you reach if you compound your available hours over the course of the week?
I dare you to break it down, set some goals, and see!
Written By: Stephanie Shepperd
A consummate raconteur, Stephanie works to translate the engaging stories she tells into living words on a page. She is a professional educator, published author, and enthusiastic editor. Stephanie prefers to write first-person essays on what she knows from her life, relationships, and travel. She just might make you laugh while you stop and question yourself and the world around you. Based in DaNang, Vietnam she can be found spending sunny days scooting around to secret beaches on her Vespa with a hammock in the seat.
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