Battling the Disease of Being Busy - Article/Blog

There's talk recently of the effects technology has begun having on our human bodies, poor posture from cell phone use, disrupted circadian rhythm from blue lights, and even being too busy can be seen as a disease.  All of which I agree with.  Just like any other addiction, moderation is the key to battling anything, removing it completely is not always a necessary response.  My addiction is organization, and in 2015, I am working to channel my addiction into helping guide me, not create more anxiety.

I love schedules.  I have schedules for my schedules.  Really, I do.  I have my 9-5 calendar for work and at 5 it switches to my home calendar.  I have paper calendars, whiteboard calendars, digital calendars, multiple email ones, and sticky reminders and digital ones too.  And to answer your question, yes I know I have a problem.  Over the years I have tried many different ways to streamline my schedules and consolidate, even give them up entirely, but I can do it.  I'm a coordinator for a group of people whose job it is extremely important, and that makes my job valuable and my scheduling fascination an asset.

So what does this have to do with writing? Everything.  People use calendars for two reasons, to keep track of both habits and chaos.  In my case, my writing is in chaos and I need to work on making it a habit.  That's where a schedule comes in.  Before I get to how a schedule can help, let me tell you a few things I have learned over the past few years.

Write, write, write, and then write some more.  You can never write enough.  Write all the time, and try to do it everyday.  Even if it's a short stream of consciousness, write it down.  Writing improvement requires practice and even though it may fill silly sometimes writing about nothing, do it anyway.

Keep a notebook (and a pen) on you at all times.  Technology has helped enrich our lives in many ways, but there is nothing quite like the feeling of scrawling inspiration down in a fancy leather notebook when it hits you.  Keep one near to hand at all times, and you'll never miss that juicy novel tidbit or special blog topic.

Create a schedule.  Yup, you heard me, a schedule.  Knowing that every Monday I have a commitment to publishing a blog/article/news post for you keeps me on track 90% of the time.  I have those events scheduled, giving me some boundaries.  But I've also created a few more relaxed boundaries too, such as at least one book review a week.  This commitment I don't have tied down to a day of the week, but a seven day range is plenty enough of a guide rail to keep me going.

The moral of the story is a short one.  Everything in moderation, even your "busy" time. If you remember this and never loose sight of your goal, you'll accomplish something amazing in no time.  By the way, if you're not too busy... you should check out, "The Disease of Being Busy" by Omid Safi, the article that inspired this blog post.  The author is witty and honest, unafraid to say what we're all thinking when it comes to our busy lives.  Honest, words to live by.