I started the year with a clear plan to notch up several accomplishments I listed late last year. One was to be more consistent with AYRT but that hasn’t been the case lately. I in fact have experienced a dip in output over the past four months compared to the first four months of last year. In terms of productivity I have been busier than ever but the challenge I am facing is putting out pieces which I used to do almost seamlessly in the early days of this Newsletter.
Granted, I shouldn’t be too hard on myself considering the other responsibilities I have picked up lately, but I owe it to myself to uphold the standards I began with.
I’m currently working on a short story but as soon as I started I got stuck. Just when I had thought I was ready to churn out 15 paragraphs for this thing I realised halfway I wasn’t making so much sense. I think there was a point I took on the advice of Stephen King, or was it Neil Gaiman who said ‘Just write’? I had gotten to this point about 8 paragraphs in when my brain started feeling like mash. I tried to power through but the outcome was a disaster.
I’ve had to go back to the start and re-evaluate the process I approached this writing exercise with. I began purely based on the energy of a good premise playing around in my head and felt I could power through but as I continued to navigate the plot with my words it increasingly became obvious I was writing a very different story to what I was used to.
You see, I’m typically good at writing fantasy, sci-fi and horror. Those have been my strong points for a decade, but I probably can’t say I’ve written something dramatic or a bit more grounded. As I realised this it became more apparent I needed to change my approach.
This current predicament mirrors itself in my other venture as a consultant, as I increasingly realise I can’t work with my various clients using one template even if they all function in similar sectors. I’m finding myself needing to take a step back to better understand the uniqueness of each client, getting a better read on them to figure out their approaches and motivations. Once I get a picture of these things, that’s when I begin to tailor an approach I can use to help us achieve our agreed objective.
I’m being open about this because as always, I hope this is something someone can relate with and maybe find helpful. The things you learn in a gym that you find yourself applying in other aspects of your life are numerous, and I’m enjoying the process.
My latest obstacle is figuring out how to bench above 90kg on the bench press. I could use some pointers if anyone has some to offer.
Have a great weekend.
Take care, and love yourself.