Marcus Lopés

LGTBQIA2S+ Author, Blogger, Runner

writing life

Days 3 & 4 Recap: 30-Day Deep Work Challenge

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Day 3 Recap: 6 April 2022

The challenge for me is to become who I dare to believe I can be. To do that means I have to stay focused on my ultimate goal: becoming a bestselling author. I see the words on the screen and I still think, ‘Who am I to dare to set such a goal?’ But I love writing and I love words and telling stories.

I kept the trend going this morning in not picking up my phone until I was ready to leave for work. That mean that my time writing and reading early in the morning was deeply focused. I’m energized and tearing myself from it to get ready for my day job is the last thing I want to do. And getting out of bed at a time that, for a lot of people, is a the middle of the night, has taken on a different energy, too. I’m excited. I’m believing a little more in myself.

Screen Time: 1H28M

Read the Day 2 Recap here.

Day 4 Recap: 7 April 2022

I had the day off from work, and while I managed to not pick up my phone for the first 90 minutes or so of the day, everything really went down hill after that. I didn’t know where to focus, and I couldn’t get into that focused state like I did during the first three days of this challenge. There was this overwhelming feeling that I was missing something, which had me repeatedly picking up my phone. Tomorrow I’ll update my screen time for today, but I know it’s already over 4 hours. While I’m not happy about that, or the lack of progress today, I know I can — and will — do better going forward.

On a positive note, I ran a 5.98 km this afternoon.

Screen Time: 5H18M

 

What is my 30-Day Deep Work Challenge? You can read about it here.

Day 2 Recap: 30-Day Deep Work Challenge

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Yesterday and today, I did not pick up my phone until I was ready to leave for work. That’s important for me because I’m up around 3:00 am, first to write my Morning Pages, then to read (currently The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport). Then I get about 60-75 minutes of writing time. With no distractions, I managed to finally finish the edits to a chapter of my current WIP (note: I started the edits to that chapter last week!). [Read more…] about Day 2 Recap: 30-Day Deep Work Challenge

Do the Hardest Thing: Begin Again

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the hardest thing

Day 1

As the end of March neared, I realized something: I wasn’t where I wanted to be. Or, perhaps it was more so that in the first three months of 2022, I hadn’t achieved what I’d set out to do. Somewhere, and somehow, along the way, I’d lost sight of my raison d’être. Not just in terms of my writing, but who I believed I could be/become.

Too many days unfocused. Too many days wondering in the hinterland of doubt and despair. Wondering more, ‘What’s the point?’ instead of asking myself, ‘What must I do to become the best version of myself and live my best life?’

And then came the realization, as I participated in a coaching session with Jeff Fajans, that the answer for the past three months was right in front of me. It always had been, but fear held me back from seeing it, from acknowledging it.

The answer, yes, was simple: Marcus, it’s time to do the hardest thing and begin again. [Read more…] about Do the Hardest Thing: Begin Again

The Scary Part of Goal Setting

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I’ve been consistent about setting goals and writing them down for the past three years, maybe a little longer. But there’s one thing I never did.⁠
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I never shared them.

Why?⁠

Because I was hanging on to limiting beliefs. Afraid that people would laugh at me. Mock me. Tell me I’m crazy.⁠
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But at some point, you have to stop running from yourself. I had to stop running from myself.⁠
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If there’s one thing I took away from Gary John Bishop’s Unfu*k Yourself, it’s this: “I am not my thoughts; I am what I do.”⁠
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There are, for me, two parts to “I am what I do.” One, I am a writer. That is what I do. No other job in this world will give me the high or a stronger sense of purpose and self. Second, showing up every day to write, and to share it with the world is also what I do. If I don’t do any of those things, if I don’t take action, then there’s no possible way I can achieve my dreams.⁠
[Read more…] about The Scary Part of Goal Setting

1,578,240 Minutes and Counting

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Or 1,096 days. Or 36 months.

That’s how long it’s been since I stopped drinking on 17 January 2018.

“Why?” many of my friends and colleagues asked with bewilderment as much as curiosity.

Most didn’t like the answer: Because I wanted to change my life.

No one pressured me to stop drinking. When it came to alcohol, I knew my limit and respected it. Alcohol wasn’t ravaging my life. “Then…why?” people continued to ask. [Read more…] about 1,578,240 Minutes and Counting