While I like to talk about the times when I have a solid early morning routine, getting up pre-dawn, going for a run, and getting some writing done, all before the sun rises, there are periods when this just simply doesn’t happen. This is one of those times. I have to admit that since our second daughter came along a …
It happened (or didn’t happen, I should say) yesterday: I missed writing a post for the first time in 82 days. I realized it this morning when I awoke and was still laying in bed. “Maybe I can just get up real quickly and write a quick post and call it good.” Sure, I could have done that, but I’d …
A few months ago I started a trial subscription to Audible.com and downloaded Atomic Habits by James Clear. I had started reading a hard copy of this book some months before, but never really made much progress on it, as was the case with many of the books I had picked up over the past few years. I would get …
Just a quick reminder that maintaining a regular writing habit doesn’t mean that you have to write a 500 word essay every day. If you’re just getting started as a writer and writing every day is your goal, build that habit first. Write a brief, short, even micro post, every day. Hit publish, and move on to the next day. …
I’ve always considered myself to be a night person, and I’ve never liked getting up early. I usually stay up late, usually doing nothing useful. As someone who likes to work out a lot, and train for uber long events like Ironman triathlons and ultra-distance trail runs, I’m always trying to find balance between spending time with my family and …
Everyone loves doing hard work when it’s exciting or fun. It’s when work gets challenging or boring that true professionals stand out. Reading James Clear talk about this this morning really struck a cord. I find myself often bored with my day to day work, but I know that I have to stick through the boredom because it’s my job. …
Often times when someone wants to achieve a goal, they focus on what the actual goal is; what the finish line is. When they think about how much work they’ll have to do to get there, they become overwhelmed and discouraged. I’m guilty of this, too. Rather than focusing on where you want to be (goal – finish line), focus …
In the quest to build better habits, one often overlooked ides is repetition. Many people focus on how long it will take to build a good habit. Will I need seven days? Two weeks? 21.5 days? Rather than worrying about what workout you should do, just do something. Rather than worrying about what you should write about, just write something …