Brenda is hosting at Friendly Fairy Tales!
Lately I’ve been playing a mind game with myself: no social media unless I’ve written a poem. (Given it’s required for my job, I may be more motivated!)
Guess what? I’m writing more. (Thanks, Diane, for the Wonderopolis reminder — I’ve been getting ideas there too!) And I’m still on social media less, because, whether it’s real or imagined, I think my concentration is better. That’s something I’m eager to improve! Even if I write first thing in the morning and therefore have “permission” to check . . . I’m still trying to leave it alone. I even took Facebook off my phone!
Here is one of bits I wrote. (I’m not saying they’re all good, but I’m going to take care of the quantity and let the quality sort itself out! And I wonder if I will ever feel confident in distinguishing between haiku and all the other forms!)
Hmmm, this sounds like a good idea! I waste far too much time on social media, especially when I convince myself that it’s “for work” or “for research” when really it’s for procrastination!
Research is my worst form of procrastination. I simply CANNOT put a _____ or an X to come back to later, even though I know it’s for the best!
Love the poem and the idea of no social media till you’ve poemed. I’ve recently also realised I need to shift my day around so that writing comes closer to first. There’s science that says our brains are more creative and productive in the first four hours of day, so that’s the best time to start writing.
This is something I should do. I get up in the morning and check my email while I drink my coffee. Before I know it, time is up and no writing was done. I need to change this habit. I love the word condensation. We have lots of it in the humid south.
Let me know if it works for you!
Yes, that is a great way to push yourself and work those writing muscles. Yesterday I wrote a poem while sitting in the car waiting for Elena. There’s something about being in the car that focuses my mind!
Props to you for making the most of your time!
Good goal, to take care of the quantity and let quality take care of itself. It isn’t easy to just keep writing and put off other things. I’m finding things getting in my way lately, too and haven’t been around much for commenting. Trying to do better at both!
Love the haiku and the image. Nice pairing.
Sounds like such a smart plan, Keri. I’ve found that when I tell myself I’m going to get some writing done before social media that I’m much more in the zone! Even a 30-minute commitment makes a difference because at the end of 30 minutes I’m usually into my writing and I stay at it much longer than 30 minutes 😀
A friend of mine who is a second-generation immigrant had this phrase she would use all the time. When I asked her what it meant she said, “It doesn’t really translate, but the gist is 5 minutes is a good start.” Like you have found, getting started is the trick! Hurry for being in the zone!
I am impressed with your daily writing. I would be much better off to check social media less. I’ve been trying to write every day, but too often put it off until late in the day when it’s too easy to talk myself out of it. Maybe I’ll try joining you in the writing first. Who knows where it might lead. It led you to a lovely poem and image paired together.
We could all imagine we’re having coffee and poetry writing time together in the mornings! Thank you for the compliment.
I am writing more, but am not an early morning person, so better later, & I do have the choice because I’m not working all the time. This brings me back to my early time in Missouri, Keri. That “condensate” use is terrific, yes, the windows did do that. Best wishes in leaving the social media out, too.
I’m glad you have the choice! (And I can’t get off of Instgram or I’ll miss your posts!) 🙂
I’m spotting a trend here. : ) I wonder if those of us who want more time to write should try out “Facebook Sunday” or “Twitter Tuesday” like “Poetry Friday” and try to contain our browsing of others’ lives and work to more like one day a week! But your rule works too: write first, internet last. Thanks for condensing that awareness for us, Keri. I’m pretty sure that quantity leads to quality.
One day a week would certainly reduce the dependence on it, I think. I found that just taking Facebook off my phone reduced my mindless scrolling quite a bit. But yes, there is a trend, and I’m happy to have company on my journey!
Quantity first. That’s what I expect from my student writers, so I should apply the rule to myself. I’m trying to make my dips into social media intentional. I’m very aware of the drug-like surge from the likes on a post or tweet, so I try not to feed into that with regularity.
You are wise to outsmart the tech creators — they know we are easily addicted, I’m afraid! And I agree with the idea of intentionality. Otherwise it’s a rabbit hole!
Yay for more writing getting done! I love your maxim: Take care of the quantity and let the quality sort itself out. (And I also love your haiku, and how it puts me in a different climate in so few words.)
I wish I could claim that maxim but I think Julia Cameron said it first in her books!
I am considering doing NaNoWriMo for November and going cold turkey on everything but my blog. No news, no twitter, no Facebook, no news and no news!! I don’t know if I have the focus, but I’m not getting enough done. I’m spending my outrage and losing the bigger picture for my life. I can’t keep doing that. I wish you lots of poetry. I like your haiku. Haiku have so many rules, that you just have to bend the rules here and there.
You are so brave to consider NaNoWriMo! I’ve always been intimidated! Good luck, Brenda! And yes, we are all spending our energy on things over which we have no control.