Do It Anyway

I’m taking Kristina God’s Medium Kickstarter Boot Camp, and one of her first pieces of advice is “Do it anyway.” Her message reminds me of the popular self-help book Atomic Habits by James Clear. He tells the reader that routines eventually become boring, but that is precisely the moment to keep pushing forward. He also recommends incorporating novelty, but that ultimately, learning to reckon with boredom is part of achieving your goals.

Because some days you just don’t want to do it.

I’m having one of those days/weeks. Often I go through my to-do lists to pull out the things that are consistently not getting done or are nearing a deadline. Every single task on my list for the rest of the week are items I’m avoiding–not because I’m bored, but because I’m a little scared of what I decided to show up for.

Did I really make the commitment to write a Medium post every week for a year? Why? Did I really want to seek out writing gigs and submit my work regularly to publications that I admire? What about that new grant I’m working on or the interview I’m editing? This is precisely the fullness I ached for, but now a little piece of me is resisting this concept of project managing my creative life. I just want to go back to bed and watch Netflix.

Only I won’t… I’m more likely to decide that it’s time to clean out the drawers in the bathroom or wash the sheets or find some other meaningless productive job. A mentor once warned me I had the tendency to be distracted by domesticity. She told me that before I had kids, and life was still a little like playing house.

Whenever an item winds up stagnate on my to-do list, there’s usually a reason I’m having a problem pushing it forward. If I chunk it, break it down to more manageable tasks, it becomes less intimidating. It’s amazing the things we don’t get done in life because we don’t know where to start or what the expectations are. Often, if I slow down and articulate to myself the underlying question preventing me from accomplishing a project, I’m able to find an answer or identify a solution.

SHAMING myself into being more creative or prolific NEVER WORKS. But “shame” is a learned go-to for women, particularly when we are feeling overwhelmed.

This week I’m doing it anyway. Even though I’m nervous, even though a small piece of me regrets tricking myself into accountability by joining a Boot Camp, even though the things I don’t know seem insurmountable.

I joined Medium because I liked the stories I found, because I’ve always believed that writing is about leaning toward the mysterious “other” and creating community, and because contributing to the platform is a viable piece of moving my writing life forward.

And because when I was dragging my feet, having a simple goal of posting weekly, would force me to do it anyway. Even if I’m scared, lazy, over scheduled, uninspired or bored.

And of course I’m glad I joined Kristina God’s Medium Kickstarter Boot Camp. I’m excited to meet new people, learn strategies, and follow other writers pushing themselves forward.

Shout out to the other course members! I look forward to sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee and reading your pieces!

Dawn :), Scott Ahlsmith, Megan Llorente, Lucy Socha, Sarah Lyall-Neal, Melissa Marietta, Patricia Ross, Bill Holmes, Teresa Morillas

I know I’m missing a few of the boot campers! I’m still learning everyone’s handle and will add you. Happy writing everyone!