A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

The number one way to improve your experience is to do the thing!” and “If you do ONE thing each day, you will make progress and pacify the guilt gremlins.

I know I know. But seriously.

It’s impossible to do All. The. Things. I know you want to do all the things. But here’s what else I know.

That ONE thing that would change your life? That’s the one to do. Make it number one. Rather than focusing on all the stuff that you can do first, or that you think would make your main thing more likely or possible… go straight to the MAIN thing—the top priority.

Let me give you an example.

You say you want to homeschool. So you put all your energy into curriculum shopping, organizing materials, discussing teaching methods, arranging a school room… and yet you feel like you never get around to the actual doing of the home educating.

Flip it. Dive into education first.

• Grab a book and start reading it aloud in the middle of the mess.
• Go ahead and write times tables on the window with window markers.
• Call out the sounds of the letters while you roll them into play-doh shapes.
• Talk about why the leaves change color in the fall.
• Walk outside and look at, touch, hold, and examine leaves.

Let the activity of the main thing lead the way (rather than endlessly preparing to do it).

Same goes if, say, you want to be a writer. Open the laptop, open a word doc, and type. You don’t need a better office, candles, wall hangings, plants, or an agent. What you need is words. Get them out! I conducted my entire writing career on a laptop on a kitchen counter for twenty years. You can too!

If the Main Thing is organizing your house for a move, start tossing stuff and don’t worry about homeschooling while doing it. This is a short-lived season. Go all in and get it done.

The point is: whatever the main thing is, you will feel better when you do the substance of it rather than the preparation for it. Cook the food, go for the run, hang the painting, repot the plant, buy the plane ticket, do the science experiment, start the math book. Do whatever the thing is.

Make progress. Feel better.

What’s your one thing today?

This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!