Started From the Backstory Now We Here

I took a break.
I stopped writing.
I stopped creating.
It wasn’t planned.
It just…happened.

I barely cracked open my laptop which is a rarity for me. I honestly took a month-long break from writing and creating, which felt like an eternity and still hard for me to believe. I’ve yet to decide if the decision was a necessary one or a needed one (yeah, there’s a difference), but I do know it definitely felt…strange.

To not write, create or even think about writing or creating felt like I lost a part of my identity for 30 whole days. At the same time, I felt as if I needed those 30 days to clear my mind, redirect my thoughts and refocus my energy. I have yet to determine whether or not the sabbatical was worth putting a hold on my creativity, but it did help me realize how much I value the time I have and how I spend it (and those who know me know that I hate wasting my time).

A lot of my so-called precious time was spent soaking up all the social media info I could find like a sponge, socially distancing via text, playing mobile games, random online shopping, streaming shows I wish I wrote, contemplating life, reorganizing my life, journaling about my life, and coloring with my daughter while nurturing her creativity (wait…is that considered still being creative but indirectly?).

I also found myself mentally preparing for all the things I wanted to do once writing and creating commenced. As I was mentally preparing for this day right here, I realized that I needed more structure when it comes to my writing and creativity (in all honesty I could probably use more structure in my personal life as well, but that’s neither here nor there). I have all these miscellaneous projects in various stages of completion that I would really like to finish as well as make room and time for new projects I have lying around.

Talk of independence may have been the expected word for the month of July, but the word of the month is: SELF-DISCIPLINE. I’ve always had self-discipline but I can fully admit that it could use some refinement. Ultimately, I would like to pursue my pending and future projects with 3 C’s in mind: clarity, certainty and consistency in order to follow through from conception to desired completion.

I loathe “unfinished business” and I seem to have a lot of it writing and creative-wise.

So, to clear off the “unfinished business” shelf I figured it would be a good idea to practice some much needed self-discipline. Creative habits and writing routines have never been something I’ve felt the need to apply in my life, but my “unfinished business” shelf is getting full and quite dusty and there’s no time like the present (so they say).

The objective is to lay my “unfinished business” out on the table to visually see what I have to work with…

The first step to practicing self-discipline is:
Determine what you want to accomplish
This reminds me of the “what do you want to do with your life” question that everyone asks. When it comes to this you have to be very clear with yourself or else what you want to accomplish could get lost in the sauce of all your other ideas or situations occurring in your life.

The second step to practicing self-discipline is:
Make a list of goals or mini-milestones
Create a list similar to a “to-do” list that you can check off each time you reach or complete a milestone related to the goal(s) at hand. Being able to physically check things off a list will give you a sense of satisfaction as well as visually allowing you to see how much more you have to do in order to achieve your goal(s).

The third step to practicing self-discipline is (a two-parter):
See what changes you need to make and identify what your obstacles are
Think about what are the things holding you back from accomplishing your goals. Is it time? Is it money? Is it support? This is your opportunity to make the necessary changes needed in order to conquer the obstacles that may stand in the way of accomplishing your goal(s).

The fourth step to practicing self-discipline is:
Develop a plan of action
Your plan of action should account for all the: who, what, where, when, why and how’s of your main goal. Make it as detailed as possible so that nothing gets overlooked or missed on your path to accomplishing your goal(s).

The fifth step to practicing self-discipline is (another two-parter):
Establish a routine (organization) and make use of time management
If you’re anything like me — routine is a foreign concept to you and time has never been your friend, but in order to practice the fifth step of self-discipline, you must learn the language of routine and make time your forever frenemy. When you establish a routine you begin to form a habit towards achieving your goal(s); it starts to become second nature and part of your everyday life. While time management forces you work on your goal(s) without interruption.

The sixth step to practicing self-discipline is:
Form a support team
I consider this step to be optional simply because not every creative likes to be micro-managed or announce what their projects are before they have even begun. But if you do — having a support team that can be objective, keep you focused on your goals and cheer you on in the process can be highly beneficial to your productivity (and your ego as well).

Once you get into a groove and you are able to manage all 6 steps to practicing self-discipline on a regular basis – you’ll begin to see the results of the three C’s I discussed earlier. You’ll gain clarity and you’ll be able to pinpoint exactly what you are truly wanting to accomplish. You’ll be filled with so much certainty of what it is that you need to accomplish to the point where it will become second nature to you, which leads to you being able to maintain consistency when it comes to producing and ticking off your goals one by one with confidence; the fourth C.