15 Minutes
15 minutes ago, I was sitting on the couch staring at my phone. It was around 8am on a Saturday. A Saturday that I had carved out to write and had a goal of finishing a chapter by the end of the day. Every part of me wanted to sit there with my coffee, and just enjoy the morning. I didn't want to get up. I didn't want to write. Frankly, I didn't want to do anything. There was nothing good on my phone, and even though I knew that sitting at my desk writing would make me happy, I still didn't want to do it.
Do you know what got me to move? A few weeks ago, I had added a Book Updates section to my Sunday Starter Email. Anyone that read it last week you know that I committed to finishing Chapter 4 by the following week. It was a very small way to commit, and yet it worked for me. As a person that doesn’t like to let people down, this small act created accountability for myself that helped motivate me in a moment when the carrot wasn't attractive enough to get me moving. A moment when my mission was there but the comfort of the couch was winning over my willpower. It was knowing that someone might ask me the question – did you finish chapter four?
So, I got up, and this is what I did:
I spent 5 minutes gathering my laptop, keyboard, mouse, and fiddling with the setup in the office to make sure I was set for a day of writing.
I gathered my books I thought I might need for references to quotes, stories, and data.
I took some post-its off the wall for relevant ideas that I might use for this chapter.
I hung on the door my "Writer at Work - Do Not Disturb" sign (which in 15 minutes my husband has already ignored once - but seeing him pressed against the glass like a puppy eagerly waiting to greet me is adorable, so I'll let it slide).
I got my "Do it" candle that I bought on my birthday last year in the super-cheesy-but-I'm-not-ashamed-to-admit-that-I-love-it inspirational nick-nack section of the bookstore.
I topped off my French press coffee and turned on my favorite Spotify playlist for writing (Instrumental Covers - Modern Pop & Classic Favorites).
Then, finally, I sat down and started typing.
All of that took about 12 minutes. Once I started typing I immediately was reminded why I wanted to be in this chair with my music and my candle and my keyboard that lights up and makes really satisfying clicking noises when I type. 3 minutes into actual writing and I no longer have to convince myself to be here. I want to be here.
If you didn't know about my 15 minutes, then you might just assume that this is easy for me. But it's not. Those 15 minutes require a community of support and years of slowly tweaking my habits to know what my formula is for success. Not someone else's. And not what worked for me last year, but what works for me this month.
If you are trying to accomplish something and you are having a hard time getting started or sticking with it, remember that we all have our 15 minutes. It is rare that someone just wakes up ready to conquer their goals or be the person they hope to be. We all will have days when all the good habits we tried to set up aren't working and we need 15 minutes to get it together. So take them. Find the easiest first step you can manage, and then the second, and then the third, and hopefully you'll eventually make it to the keyboard.
