The Dirty, The Clean and The Writer
I'm a slob. Let's start there. I know this about myself, but since no one has to suffer it but me, I figure - no need to change.
Last night my mom told me I need to clean my house. I know this, but she made a good point after I quickly got over being butt-hurt about being called on my lack of housekeeping skills. Her point was that my energy, my feng shui if you will, needs cleaned so I can be more productive with my writing. I agree. The clutter of my house is cluttering up my brain and I am not being as productive as I want to be or need to be. So, I'm sitting in my pajama's looking at my coffee table that has a foot and a half of stuff stacked on it and the floor covered in old (but clean thanks to my dogs) plastic food containers from the frozen dinners I live on thinking that maybe I need to clean my house. I should, perhaps, stop dwelling on my lack of writing, take a few days off and clean. De-clutter, throw out things, file, organize - you know - Clean - with a capital C. I still have boxes stacked in my kitchen from two (maybe three) Christmases ago. Yes - it's that bad.
Knowing myself as I do, I have all the best intentions in the world and I want to clean my house, but will I? Will I really do it? If I have enough pressure and/or reason to - yes. If not - oh, hell no - I won't. This leads me to my proposed solution. Pressure. I do work well under pressure.
I'm thinking an experiment - I tell all of you that I will clean my house. No, I promise, I will clean my house. Then we see together if I can up my writing production by next month's post (any writing would currently up my production - but I'm talking more than that). Next month I report to you on my progress.
Here's the baseline. Right now. Professionally: I'm writing a couple hundred words a week at best, I'm not sure where my story is going and I'm avoiding writing. Physically: I'm tired and naps are my best friend. Mentally: I feel overwhelmed by all I have to do and really don't want to do anything except take a nap. Personally: My love life is great, my family is pretty good, and my secondary passion and education is wonderful.
I am now committing to cleaning my house over the next two weeks and then we shall see if that helps with my energy, focus, and writing ability. I think I will keep a diary over the next month and we'll see in the next post what happens. A little menacing and/or cheer-leading from ya'll might help :)
4 comments:
I hear you, Clancy. I am in a very similar space right now, both in my head and in my house. I do agree that de-cluttering your surroundings can help de-clutter your mind, but it can be so hard to do! I wish you much luck in your challenge. Go, Clancy! (Imagine pom-poms here!)
Pom-poms imagined. Cleaning will commence shortly. THANKS
Hi Clancy,I'm with Marin. I'll cheerlead...but with guilt, because I really need to de-clutter, too. Especially my mind, where my next story is concerned.
As for the rest--I've developed a theory (My friends quail at that phrase--but that's another story.)
I figure that time is precious and the number of hours in the day, limited. So we should prioritize. Cleaning is waaaay down on my list.
Writing, reading, friends are at the top. (And the job, too. But fortunately I love teaching.)
Those lucky ladies who still have children at home have other priorities, of course. It just takes the weekend of my granddaughter being here to remind me how much clutter a 12-year-old can create in no time flat.
So Clancy, I'm brushing off my cheer outfit and with Marin's pom-pons, we'll have you motivated in no time. If nothing else, just to quieten us down.
You go!! And good luck.
I just vacumned and am this close to getting laundry done. I guess I should add dishes before the day is through.
I'm already tired. (grin)
Post a Comment