Full disclosure I didn’t want to write anything today. I haven’t had a bad day and nothing is wrong, I just wasn’t feeling it. I also have struggled to come up with something I wanted to write about. I’m exactly a week in and I’ve hit my wall! Some threshold I have!
As I was driving this afternoon, I thought about the fact I didn’t want to write today and determined that I “just wasn’t motivated”. That thought turned into, “I’m not motivated because I don’t have anything to write about”, which turned into “I’ve got too much going on today, I just don’t have time to write, especially if I don’t have a topic”. Cop out and excuse complete!
My thoughts spiraled down that negative excuse hole for awhile then I realized my mistake, I hadn’t planned my writing time. Today consisted of meetings and appointments so I planned my day around those and neglected setting time aside to write.
Committing to something takes planning. We plan our trips, our games, our appointments, and our days. It’s important to spend time in that planning phase so you’re not just working on the fly. If you just fly by the seat of your pants, something I’m very guilty of, then you can feel scatterbrained and find yourself making more excuses. Yes life happens and things can throw us off, but having a plan helps us adapt.
Plans can also aid our motivation. Sure you may not feel like it, but if you plan ahead you have an easier time sticking to your commitment. So if you’re committing to a new habit, such as writing, spend time planning it out and avoid that cycle of excuses.
Will Drumright, M.S. 