Hello y’all,

I’m sorry it’s been an awful long time since I last posted something. I drafted, but haven’t  published yet, a post regarding Sherlock again, and another one regarding this gem of a radioplay that I discovered recently (3 weeks ago, actually), named “Cabin pressure”, by and with John Finnemore, with the übertalented Benedict Cumberbatch as Cpt Crief. And yesterday I happened to share my enthusiasm with a talented blogger who writes plays and scripts in France (latetearire.canalblog.com   in French).

I felt a bit , huh… disengaged or disconnected with the blog, engulfed that I was in the strange thought that I needed maybe to change the main topic of my blog, allowing my fed-up self to rename it “Rawfoodista with a serious TV addiction”, because I’ve just been trapped by the alluring charms of Raw Food, while still most evenings being glued on my screen, watching MI-5 (old, I know, but this is the Netflix magic, or NorthSquare, or Silk, and To the Ends of the Earth, and Michael Palin’s series, and Breaking bad, etc), sparing just enough time to write and still being able to deserve  the label “author”.

I even did not visit some of the blogs I like most, that I follow and enjoy reading. Or maybe it’s because I have to come to terms with this perfectionism of mine, leading me to edit again and again, and again, and, yes… again (to be sure that I chose the right words, you know). Fortunately, the contests I participated to require to shut up the  perfectionistic chatter and get going, delivering texts or scripts on time! So, Hoorray for contests, harsh on   our oddjobber’s ego and wonderful on our capacity of commit ourselves to give the best and go the extramile for excellence. I also started to attend yoga classes and to hit the gym on a more regular basis, too. I discovered this horrible thing : barbell, and strengthening  the core.

So lately, while focusing on my sore muscles buried deep down under this belly fat I decided to get rid of  (some people have chocolate tablet abs, mine are MELTED  choc tablet abs, if you must know, yeah, you can say it : Nutellalike), I thought that I might as well build a writing strength. Yeah! And the core, in writing, is the decision to start, sit at the table and ink those pages, type on the laptop and see the amount of pages being numbered increasing, at the bottom of your document.

While on the treadmill or on the whateveritsname machine, as I see the distance I’ve just run becoming bigger, I focus more specifically on my decision to achieve a particular goal : today I write one COMPLETE chapter, or today, I achieve a character bio, but so thoroughly, it looks like a FBI file, digging as deep as the colour of its first pair of sneakers !

And so as I sweat and breathe (“breath in  peace in mind motivation”-“breath out negative vibes procrastination”), my attention gains in strength (because of the focus) and I can switch my thoughts onto what I need to get written. I can plug useful steps in my routine, like “another 1/4 mile on how to raise the stakes, another 1/2 mile on developing the subplot, another 1/4 mile on figuring out why she is dissatisfied with her life and how in 5 words I can describe her?”

My  feet firmly on the ground, I imagine how good it feels like, to go home in a moment, my head full of useful ideas and knots being untied, my body feeling lighter and energized and my thoughts being refreshed both by the exercise and by the strength I put on my work (and in my workout).

I do not allow my thoughts to be distracted by any other fancy idea (coffee with friends later today? oh, the bookshop’s not so far, I need new shoes for this wedding I attend in June…).

I stay focused, I take steps, I climb into my own schedule of work and get things done, I ink those blank pages and I go on. And I do it again. And in the end, I win. Just as I finish my workout program (5 miles on the tread after one hour yoga), I finish my writing goal : having written one chapter.

I build strength, I build discipline and I build habits, healthy habits and I get things done.

As simple as that.

Super bonus : I get a toned body.

And I relaxed my mind….

So, folks, today it’s : Hooray for barbell strengthening the writing habits!

How do you build strong healthy habits?

Drop me a line, I always love to hear from you.

Floreva, stronger and (hopefully) wiser 😉