Writing Off the Grid

On Saturday, 6 May 2023 (the day I sat down to finish writing this blog post), I started the day with three intentions. First, finish rewriting the chapter of a novella I started earlier in the week. Second, edit and schedule this blog post. And third, run at least five kilometres. And at the end of the day, I’d have to ask myself: “Did I accomplish what I set out to do?” The answer, which I’ll circle back to later, offers a glimpse into how I have come to define productivity.

Looking Back

When I started writing, I was always starting something—a short story, a poem, a novel—but struggled to finish anything. With lots of ideas popping into my head, I always ended up chasing the newest idea. And that meant I left a lot of thing started but unfinished. When it came to productivity, my first lesson learned was to build writing into my daily routine. That allowed me to finish something. Suddenly, the first draft of whatever I was working on was done. It might have been crap, but it was done. And as time went on, I finished more writing projects. What a great combination: writing daily and finishing things. Still, I didn’t feel productive. Writing around a full-time job and other commitments, I was constantly chastising myself for not doing more. All because I was defining productivity on someone else’s terms. [Read more…] about Defining Productivity

As a kid, I thumbed my nose at a lot of things that society told me, as a boy, I should like. I didn’t like model cars, baseball, hockey, basketball or soccer. I hated Cubs and Beavers. My parents signed me up for baseball and basketball. After two seasons of me feeling ‘ill’ or purposely striking out so I’d be benched, they got the message. I found my footing in music, baking/cooking and writing—anything that kept me away from a team setting.

Because I’m more introverted than extroverted. I didn’t understand why, as a kid, being around other people left me exhausted.

But as I leaned more into my writing, and understood more about my introversion, I became interested in how to be more focused and increase productivity. [Read more…] about Chasing Productivity