New year, new page
Last year I intended to write a lot. Journaling and freewriting. Essays and articles—I even had ideas for them. Mostly, though, I wanted to draft the memoir I’ve been working on for years.
What happened?
I put my book project last in that list, just like I put it last on my to do list throughout 2014. 
I wanted to do it, but it felt frivolous. I had other work to do, paying work or potentially paying work, that had to come first right?
My kids needed me. I had other family stuff to deal with. Dinner to make. Laundry to fold. Running. I was too busy.
It made a good excuse. The truth was that I was stuck. I had written lots of material, but I couldn’t quite figure out the scope of my story. I had an easy answer, but it wasn’t the book I wanted to write. So I let the project fall to the bottom of my list every day. Until it wasn’t even on my list at all.
Sound familiar?
In the fall, energized by a new schedule and the new start of September, I asked one of my writing teachers for help. She looked at some of my recent work and made a few suggestions.
I started to see the pieces come together. I was eager to jump in. And then work deadlines loomed and the project sat neglected. Again.
Now, here we are, a new year, a new page, a new chance to focus in on a goals.
Tomorrow morning, before I check email, before I jump into client work, I will focus on this story. I’ll sit in the chair whether the words flow or flounder.
I’ll come back next week and do it again. I’m starting small. Once a week. More than last year. A start.
What are your goals this year? What are doing to put them first? What do you need to make them happen?
I needed time, which I now have with my kids in school. I just need to use it well.
I needed inspiration, which I got originally through classes and writing challenges.
I needed help getting past my own hurdle—what do I do with all this writing I’ve done, how do I mold it into something more than a bunch of scattered files? I got that from my writing mentor.
Now I need to do the work.
What project will you focus on this year? kind of help do you need to meet goals? What will you do today to get started?
