Marcus Lopés

LGTBQIA2S+ Author, Blogger, Runner

stay focused

Easy Does It

by 2 Comments

I have a driver’s licence, but it’s been over five years since I’ve sat behind the driver’s wheel and navigated a car through the streets. There’s no need for it. Living in downtown Toronto, everything I need — grocery stores, banks, the public library, restaurants — is within walking distance. And choosing to get around the city on foot keeps me active as part of a healthy lifestyle. It also reminds me that sometimes, charging through life, the best approach is easy does it.

Easy does it, though, was hard advice to swallow when I finally learned to drive a standard. The jerky movements, the black smoke that one time billowed out from underneath the hood, the embarrassment of not being able to get it right.

One morning especially. I just couldn’t get the coordination right and, struggling to shift gears, the car got stuck in reverse. After a few unsuccessful attempts — and feeling like a failure — I called a friend for help.

Don’t Give Up

There will be days when we feel like we’re stuck in reverse as we pursue our creative dreams. (I’m in one of those periods now, trying to figure out the next right thing to do without driving myself crazy.) No forward momentum. No obvious signs of success. And no third-party validations.

So, easy does it becomes my mantra and I stay focused on the why in what I’m doing. I write every day because writing is what sustains me. But I don’t worry about how well my last book, Everything He Thought He Knew, ranks on Amazon or if it will become a bestseller. I write, taking Steven Pressfield’s advice to heart: “I cannot permit my professional or personal self-conception to be dependent on external acceptance or approval, at least not of the ‘mainstream recognition’ variety.”

Yes, easy does it.

We’re on a journey and, one step at a time, we’ll get to our final destination. Don’t necessarily expect an easy ride. Just be ready — and committed — for the long haul.

Are you feeling stuck? What’s the one thing you can do right now to move forward? Do that one thing now, then click Reply, or leave a comment in the section below, to tell the world all about it.

When is Your Most Productive Time to Create?

by Leave a Comment

The ticking of the wall clock in the living room. Outside, the rumble of cars on the nearby Gardiner expressway. The staggered snore crashing through the bedroom wall into my office space. Apart from those noises, it’s quiet as I sit down to write. Of course, it’s 4:00 am and most normal people are in bed. But I’m not ‘normal’ … don’t really think I’ve ever been. Being up in the early morning hours for me is perfect, though. It’s an awesome time of the day when I can hear myself think. It’s just me and the words flowing through me. It’s a little slice of heaven here on earth. It’s my most productive time to create.

My Most Productive Time to Create

While I’ve always been a morning person, it took time to figure out when I did my best creative thinking. I had established a writing routine, which always started early in the morning. But I also had to learn to write anywhere and at any time if I wanted to finish a project. I didn’t want to be the author who took ten years to write one book. So, when I was trapped in the nine-to-five world, I wrote on my lunch hour and again after work, holing myself up in a local coffee shop. I wrote in airport lounges and on the train. I didn’t have any more excuses. I wasn’t waiting for inspiration.

What I’ve learned over the years is that the early morning, as the rest of the world is still lost in their dreams, is my most productive time to create. It’s the time when I can quickly produce a draft, hold my focus as I rewrite a challenging scene, see what’s working in a piece and what’s not. It’s when I’m at my best, when there’s clarity in all things.

Find Your Rhythm

We’re not all same. And we’ll find our most productive time to create at different points throughout the day. Maya Angelou wrote early in the morning … in a hotel room. For Stephen King, “Mornings belong to whatever is new—the current composition. […] Basically, mornings are my prime writing time.”[note]Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Scribner, 2000, p. 152[/note]

Take a moment to look at your day — the moments when you’re creating and see if you can pull out when you’ve been the most prolific, the most juiced. Was it in the evening, the afternoon or at one o’clock in the morning? Where were you? In your home office? At the local coffee shop? In bed? When you’re able to pinpoint that moment in your day when you’re doing your best work, and then stick to it, you’ll feel like providence just moved. You’ll feel like Stella, and you’ll get your groove back.

Be Open to Change

Things change. When I first found my most productive time to create, it was in the morning, between nine and noon. I don’t know why, but after a while that period became less productive for me. It was too easy to be pulled away. If it was sunny, I’d go for a run. The traffic noise seeping into the condo frustrated me. Friends who had the day off would text, “Let’s grab lunch,” and I’d bolt out the door. Learning to focus on what matters most, I started getting up earlier. Nowadays, I’m up around 3:30 or 4:00 am, and quickly get into the ‘zone’ that has my pen gliding across the page or my fingers dancing across the keyboard.

If you see your creative production slide, maybe it’s time to re-examine your schedule and change things up. It may help you get back to basics, help you to push on and finish something.

When is your most productive time to create? Hit Reply or leave a comment in the section below. I’d love to hear from you.