Sprint Plus One

Pixabay

For two years now, I've been trying to sprint with Ramona each day. It's been a fabulous addition to my writing life, with the unexpected benefit of nurturing connections with other writers who are doing the same, and the very much anticipated benefit of squeezing more writing into a full schedule.

My sprints aren't as dedicated as Ramona's -- I'm not a morning person, so the early birds who sprint at 7AM have finished their sprints before I've even started mine. But, I check in late, after I've finished my hour, happy to be part of the group, and motivated by the thread that I know is there even if I haven't yet arrived.

Pixabay

In addition, I'm more loyal in the summer. During the school year, sprints sometimes get edged out by class planning and teaching, both of which require a portion of the same creative energy that I give to my writing. I'm working on finding my balance, but some days the sprints win and other days, it's the classroom stuff.

After spending the weekend at Pennwriters and being reminded that other writers clock their progress, so to speak, in terms of words, not time, I decided that maybe I needed to update my plan. I love my sprints and the sprint crew, so I'm not ready to jump ship.

Still, there are days that I write, but don't "count" my writing as a sprint because of the way I've defined the sprint itself. Blogs, for example, have never been a part of my sprint time, despite the fact that they make up a substantial chunk of my writing time.

After some deliberation, I've decided to combine my sprints with my previous word count system. I used to keep track of words written each day, but once I started sprinting, word counts fell by the wayside. Over at Organizing by STYLE, I'm constantly talking about celebrating small steps and tracking progress, no matter how small, yet, here at home, I was completely dismissing progress that occurred on an almost daily basis. Silly at best and self-defeating at worst, it constituted a flaw in my plan.

So, as so often happens after Pennwriters weekend, I have a new plan. Sprint? Absolutely. Word count? Yep, that too. After all, when a person writes five blogs a week, she ought to "count" them, right?

It's about time to practice what I preach.

freepik.com

Saturday Special: Parting Words and Good Stuff from HGTV

freepik.com

I've been writing about time management a lot  lately over at Organizing By STYLE, and at CatholicMom.com. Last Thursday's post in particular, along with the planning that preceded it, nudged me to take a look at my blogging habits. I've done so before, but now, with proof that blogging sometimes overshadows the other writing I want to do, it was time to look at my schedule with an eye toward change.

When I first spun the organization posts off  this blog and onto Organizing By STYLE, these Saturday posts were a great way to continuing sharing my love of organization here, as well as featuring people, places and articles that inspired me. Julie Morgenstern. Marcia Ramsland. A Perfect Mess.

Sometimes, though, it's time to focus on that L in STYLE and let it go. I've featured all my inspirations, along with quite a few fun finds I made along the way, which brings the organization- themed Saturday Specials on this blog to a natural conclusion.

So, for the moment, at least, I'm stepping away from Saturday posts. You can still find me here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and at Organizing By STYLE on Wednesdays and (3 Keys) Thursdays. I've been posting a STYLE Savvy feature at CatholicMom.com, as well, also on Wednesdays.

Meanwhile, since HGTV got me inspired to walk down this road in the first place, it's only fitting that I conclude this feature with something from them. Over at CatholicMom.com, I've been writing about containers, and this HGTV feature on organizing mistakes to avoid fits perfectly into the Organizing by STYLE philosophy.

See you Monday.

Friday Freebie: Organizing Our Thoughts

In honor of the new year, I've been writing a lot about calendars and planners over at Organizing By STYLE. Whether your preference is the traditional paper planner or a high-tech electronic version, a planner is one of the simplest memory joggers there is.

I've reached the age where I'm in favor of pretty much anything that improves my memory -- whether it's writing things down or any of the other memory tricks in this article from Prevention.

I have to admit, though, that my favorite tip in this piece is the first one: take a break. What's yours?

(Photo created with Canva)