Essential, Not Urgent

Whew. I’m tired. Lots of little challenges this week, and I’m behind on my to-dos, and that could be a great excuse not to write. I have too many other things I must get done and not enough time, yada, yada, yada.

But this is exactly the kind of day when we must write.

And then tomorrow.

So instead of going straight to work, I poured a cup of coffee, warmed my fingers around the mug, and spent 20 minutes writing in my journal with a TWSBI fountain pen.

Then I went into the office, and instead of tackling invoices, administrative correspondence, edits, and the rest of my to-do list, I worked on the novel.

Here’s the thing: the other stuff, the so-called essential stuff, will always get done. We are responsible people. We tend to our business. We pay our bills and meet client demands. Make shopping lists.

But the writing will keep getting pushed aside if we don’t tend to it. If we don’t see it as essential.

And it is.

Because this morning I felt stressed and disappointed over a cancelled trip, exhausted from a late night consoling a broken-hearted kid. I felt frustrated and grouchy.

And then I wrote.

I left it all out there in my journal, then gave some of it to my character in the novel and kept going.

As I wrote, I became grounded. I settled. Remembered what I’m capable of and who I am.

The rest of the day got better.

Write. The reward isn’t only in getting the work done and published. It’s in the process itself.

Simply Write,

-p