| Friday
Time Challenge
Susan Meier, author
of over 30 books, created the popular writing workshop,
The Ten Minute Solution.
"For
fifteen year I worked full-time and wrote popular fiction
novels. After the first six (years and novels), I was
published. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered this didn't
mean I could afford to quit my day job. But I also wasn't
willing to give up my dream – not when I had finally
opened the door to publication! So I kept writing.
Working
and writing.
Working
and writing.
Notice
there is no life in there. Only work of one kind of
another. It seemed like a never-ending cycle.
Does
that sound familiar? Probably. You may not have two
careers running simultaneously, but if you're reading this
you probably have children, a spouse, and commitments to
your community and maybe your aging parents.
Even
after I quit my day job and became a full-time writer, I
was still overwhelmed with work, including public
relations and advertising tasks for my books, and family
demands. And let's not even talk about housework. It
simply wasn't getting done.
I
tried scheduling. I tried prioritizing. I made lists.
Nothing worked.
I
found myself running around like a fiend during the day
and collapsing on the sofa at night, feeling that I hadn't
done enough and without the strength or energy to do
anymore.
Then,
one night, when I realized I was wasting a valuable block
of time flat on my back, staring at a television show that
really didn't interest me, I asked myself if I couldn't
just do one thing. One thing. One little thing. Maybe one
thing that wouldn't take more than ten minutes.
I
did. I cleaned the sink in my bathroom. The next morning,
when I brushed my teeth before going downstairs, the clean
sink cheered me. So, while waiting for the coffee to brew,
I washed the eight or ten glasses, dessert plates and
utensils that had accumulated from snacks the night
before, then wiped off the stove and counter tops. That,
too, cheered me. Not because I had accomplished something,
but because that little thing made my kitchen appear
cleaner. I didn't have to fear that I would get company
who would see I wasn't doing my housework and to whom I
would have to render excuse after excuse.
I
was tired of excuses.
Analyzing
how my house had gotten to such a state of disorder that a
couple clean glasses made me feel like a Princess, I
realized that to "save time" I was always
waiting to do things until they were "worth" the
effort.
The
ten-minute solution worked so well for housework I decided
to try it on writing. It takes a long time to write a
chapter. It takes a long time to proofread a book. It
takes a long time to create a synopsis for a new book. But
you can proofread a page in ten minutes. You can spiff up
a description in ten minutes. You can tighten a paragraph
in ten minutes."
When you join MotivateYourLife you'll receive
weekly Time Challenges directly to your email from
Susan.
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