Happy Sunday, friends! I feel like I start so many of these blogs with “What a week!” But truly, this one has been extraordinary. Obviously it’s been exceedingly hard to work without unplugging the router from the wall and putting the phone in another room. (Actually, the universe did that for me three days in a row in the form of rolling power outages which rebooted my iMac multiple times a day. This baby isn’t young and takes AGES to turn on and run properly, so it’s been an exercise in frustration trying to accomplish anything.) Election days are hard ones for us to do anything but stay glued to the statistics. When day turn into days with the possibilities of weeks, well, I’ve forced myself to look away and ask those I know who are still glued to the moment by moment coverage to text me when something happens. 

Finding flow during a time of great distraction is nigh on impossible without some sort of external accountability. I have several layers of this in place naturally, deadlines and the like, and I’m a self-motivated person in general, but 2020, with the pandemic and the chaos and the constant background noise, has tested me.

The only way to conquer this, of course, is to work through it. I have become an expert at creating places and scenarios that shut out distractions so I can work.

I took this week to start getting a handle on what’s to come for the rest of the year creatively.  I started the new book. I worked on the short story. I had a nightly check in with some of my writer besties to share what I’d done and what I planned to do the next day, and they shared their accomplishments and plans as well. There is comfort in accountability, yes, but even more in community. Knowing everyone is sharing the same set of uncertainties and is finding their paths through it keep me on track.

If you ever need to get through something, recruit some like-minded friends and hold each others’ feet to the fire. It really works.

And so, that’s it from me, because if I can’t share that I’ve touched the book today, I’ll be in all sorts of trouble this evening!

Onward!

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That’s it from me. Find some accountability this week, and let me know how you do! I’ll see you next Sunday!

Peace and hugs,
J.T.