As a working mother, a chronic struggle I have with writing is finding time and space in which I’m not vulnerable to interruption. Occasionally I’m able to get up early or stay up late, but usually I’m just too tired. So, what writing I get tends to happen in brief spurts when things are relatively quiet at home or at work.
This situation can further compound on itself in times of burnout, when my nervous system is too fragile to try writing when there’s a risk of interruption.
Obviously, I need to keep trying to get myself some solid, reliable, interruption-free writing time.
But in the meantime, here’s one thing that has helped: rebranding my writing sessions so that the goal is not “to write,” but “to do a try.”
(I know, I could just say “try,” but the quirky, ungrammatical sound of “do a try” helps my brain to remember/pay attention to the concept.)
Just “do a try”—that way, even if I get interrupted, I will have still met my goal! That in and of itself is soothing to my nervous system during burnout.
And if I don’t get interrupted, then I get writing—a.k.a. food for my starving inner child (“Writer”)!
Thanks for reading. May you get some food for your inner child today, too!
I love "do a try" and totally get why it sounds better than just "try" or even the seemingly (but not quite) equivalent "make an attempt." I need a little bit of this, as lately my energy has been strangely lacking. Thank you so much for sharing this! 😁✨