More on my steady pursuit of happiness...March 2010: Writing my way to calm
More on writing...
Now that March is here (or, halfway over by the time this post will go up), I have started cultivating habits that allow me to structure my finances (January's resolution) and make time for fitness (February's resolution), my confidence is rising and I am getting better at exercising willpower. So my next step toward future happiness starting now, is integrating a better writing routine into my life.
Why writing? This goal is largely to help me get onto a faster track toward defending my PhD. Now that I have passed my exams and jumped through all of the correct hoops successfully, I am All But Dissertation (ABD). So the next step to graduating is essentially locked up if I can't literally write the book on my research topic.
According to Joan Bolker, Ed.D., a steady writing habit, and the ability to stubbornly stick to a writing schedule, are the keys to finishing in less time. This sentiment is echoed by writers in nearly every discipline; very few technical writers, nonfiction authors, or fiction masters suggest that aspiring writers should work only when inspiration strikes. Across the board, the vast majority of writers recommend a daily writing habit. They say you'll make it by the sweat of your brow. Even my favorite writer, Stephen King, locks himself away in a room and writes at his huge desk EVERY DAY until he has met his goal of producing x number of pages (see On Writing). And in a recent reading of B is for Beer, Tom Robbins told the audience (which included me and the man, leaning forward over the railing to catch this wordmeister's every quirky syllable) that he sits down every morning and writes, longhand, for several hours regardless of whether his lovely lady inspiration comes. ("I show up every day so that she'll know where to find me.")
The funny thing about grad school, and I am sure about plenty of jobs outside of academia, is that there are so many daily commitments and tasks that it is very easy to focus on the urgent but not important items on your to do list, and let the important but not urgent (read: finishing dissertation) things languish in the not-panicking-yet region of your professional life. Until that day that you realize 2 months have gone by, and you haven't progressed on your research writing (even if you have made strides on your actual research). It's a terrible feeling to be frantically busy all the time but feel like you're not moving at all.
Anyone who has read some previous posts in this blog will know that I am interested in creative activities other than science. I would like to be a fiction writer, for instance. I am also really enjoying the writing practice I get by writing this blog. So for March, I figured I would roll all of these disparate yet similar aspects of my wants and needs into one general goal: to write every day.
The plan:
Why writing? This goal is largely to help me get onto a faster track toward defending my PhD. Now that I have passed my exams and jumped through all of the correct hoops successfully, I am All But Dissertation (ABD). So the next step to graduating is essentially locked up if I can't literally write the book on my research topic.
According to Joan Bolker, Ed.D., a steady writing habit, and the ability to stubbornly stick to a writing schedule, are the keys to finishing in less time. This sentiment is echoed by writers in nearly every discipline; very few technical writers, nonfiction authors, or fiction masters suggest that aspiring writers should work only when inspiration strikes. Across the board, the vast majority of writers recommend a daily writing habit. They say you'll make it by the sweat of your brow. Even my favorite writer, Stephen King, locks himself away in a room and writes at his huge desk EVERY DAY until he has met his goal of producing x number of pages (see On Writing). And in a recent reading of B is for Beer, Tom Robbins told the audience (which included me and the man, leaning forward over the railing to catch this wordmeister's every quirky syllable) that he sits down every morning and writes, longhand, for several hours regardless of whether his lovely lady inspiration comes. ("I show up every day so that she'll know where to find me.")
The funny thing about grad school, and I am sure about plenty of jobs outside of academia, is that there are so many daily commitments and tasks that it is very easy to focus on the urgent but not important items on your to do list, and let the important but not urgent (read: finishing dissertation) things languish in the not-panicking-yet region of your professional life. Until that day that you realize 2 months have gone by, and you haven't progressed on your research writing (even if you have made strides on your actual research). It's a terrible feeling to be frantically busy all the time but feel like you're not moving at all.
Anyone who has read some previous posts in this blog will know that I am interested in creative activities other than science. I would like to be a fiction writer, for instance. I am also really enjoying the writing practice I get by writing this blog. So for March, I figured I would roll all of these disparate yet similar aspects of my wants and needs into one general goal: to write every day.
The plan:
- Write about my research 15-30 minutes every weekday (5x/week): Even if there's not much to write about I have to write. Even if it's just free writing, I need to develop the habit and gain confidence in my writing ability, and the focus needs to be on research, because it is a particular type of writing and thought process (at least, for me it is really different from creative writing).
- Have a creative writing session at least 1x/week. This part of the writing goal will allow me to feed the creative side of myself that I feel suffers all week long when my brain is fixed on pure research. This could be short stories, poetry, or even song lyrics. Whatever wants to come out. I figure at least 1 hour a week.
- Update this blog 3x/week. This will be my additional practice and accountability factor. I don't think there will be a problem setting aside time for the writing I want to do (the creative), and I am only hurting myself if I don't work on the career-writing (research). But I like to have some sort of accountability built in. Besides, it might be nice to look back and see how my writing changes as I stick to this goal throughout the year. Let's hope the improvements are significant. These posts may not always be really in-depth and may just be recaps of stories that I have heard that week (let's face it, I spend a lot of time in my office modeling, not much interesting happens to me every single week). But at least there will be a habit forming, and if I can remain consistent, only good things can come from the effort.
- Finally, I will write in my gratitude journal every day. I feel this small but daily activity will further reinforce the writing habit. Beyond that, I think it will encourage me to look every day for things that make me happy, or for which I should be grateful. In the end, I am doing all of this to make myself a happier and better person. And practicing gratitude is an excellent way to create a more positive outlook.
Image from artslink.wordpress.com
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment