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7.12.09

The Power of Routine

No one ever wants to get into a rut, but for me, for many things, I need to do them the same way over and over again everyday for them to "work."
Take writing for example.
When I first started writing, when it was a hobby, and something I didn't really believe I could do, I only wrote sporadically. I only wrote when I was inspired. Writing was mostly fun, but I didn't revise most of what I wrote, and none of it was ever really good, though some of it was promising.
When I finally was hit with a burning desire to really write, to try to write something worth having written, I decided to see what all the fuss was about writing every day, the BIC (butt-in-chair) method. It's much harder, in a way. There are many days I don't feel "inspired" and I sit at much computer feeling as though it takes a monumental effort to type each word. But lately I've noticed that these days happen more often if I'm not writing every day. Even if I write only one paragraph, it's still easier to sit down the next day to write another paragraph than if I hadn't. It's a habit.
I know I'm not the first person to make this observation, and I didn't even make it for myself. I've certainly heard others talk about it before I felt it. But some things are like that. You can hear them over and over, but then one day you live them, and it means something completely different.