Motivation

Hmm, I've noticed it has been quite some time since I added to this blog so I figured I'd take some time out today to write a bit about the motivation to write, as it links in nicely with the very reason I have been absent from participating in this blog.

Most of my time nowadays is devoted to work on my brother's website, Varanasi Estate, leaving me little time to work on my own creative writing as well as the blogs I contribute to. Yet, there is another factor which does cause some laziness on my part, that being a lack of motivation.

When it comes to writing for Varanasi Estate, that is something that I must do if I hope to get paid at the end of the week. So regardless of desire, passion or motivation, I glue myself to the seat and force myself to keep typing. Yet as much as I enjoy creative writing and expressing myself, when it comes to actually writing it, it can be one of the hardest things to get me to do and it is because of this simple lack of motivation.

I've been forced to find ways to ease into writing. I can no longer wake up, jump on the laptop and write a chapter of a novel or a short story. I procrastinate instead, usually for the entire day. So I find ways to look forward to writing. I start by taking my dog for a walk, then doing the dishes and finally cleaning the study or my bedroom before I actually sit down to write. Walking the dog gives me time to think about what I want to write while she's running round having the time of her life at the park. Both doing the dishes and cleaning are things I hate doing so writing, in a way, becomes a form of procrastinating from chores and I start to look forward to it. It's a simple way to kind of ease into the writing process and it works for me.

So next time you realise that you've played too many video games or watched too many movies when you should have been writing, remember to just ease yourself into it. Start with tasks you hate, but aren't time consuming or too demanding and continue until you're just begging for time to write. Hope it works as well for you as it does for me.