My Goals My Space!
In response to the Day 6 task from Writing 101 and the Day 1 task from Blogging 201!
The emails from the Blogging U’s always states this “Do the tasks at your own pace to match your blogs requirements” and that is something I never paid much attention to! I usually have an urge to write as soon as I see a prompt. But this week was different!
I am almost 3 days late for the 1st task of Blogging 201 and the Day 6 task for Writing 101. Oh no, I broke the perfect record of posting daily after just 5 days of W101! I am a Late Kate! (That’s my imagination running wild as always!)
Anyway, since I am in a hurry to catch up I thought it is best to combine the tasks and do one post. Honestly, that is not the only reason I wanted to combine the posts. Off late I felt like my posts are digressing from the theme of my blog albeit not intentionally, I feel like my focus has shifted to creative writing side. Creative writing was supposed to be one part of the posts; however it now seems to be taking up most of my time and posts! And that means it is time to buck up and get back on track.
What is the best way to get back on track? That’s right, to write down the Top 3 goals for this blog! Thank you, B201!
I have mentioned in my “About” page in detail what I wish to achieve through this blog. When I started blogging I said to myself that if I were able to get my message delivered and help at least one other person, then I consider my job well done!
Well, I am ecstatic to announce that I have surpassed my expectations! In the past 2 months, I have received emails on my personal email account from 5 people (whose details I will not divulge – for obvious reasons!) thanking me for giving them the courage to take that very important decision in their lives. The posts that most affected them were the ones I wrote on Domestic Violence and Being in Love with your Past!
Reading those emails established my belief in the power of the written word! It encourages me to continue doing what I am doing thus making the below list my top goals:
- To stick to the theme of the blog and post at least 2 times a week including weekly feature I do on Tuesdays!
- Continue to contribute to the creative writing side of this blog with short stories and six word story challenges!
- To visit as many blogs as I can in a day and comment on at least 5 blogs on a daily basis (too ambitious considering that I have a day job – but then what are lunch breaks for anyway?)
Of course to conform to this list I will need to continue to have access to my personal writing space. I am someone with many personality quirks, one of them being that I have to be in my ‘personal space’ using my laptop to write! I cannot write on anyone else’s laptop (weird – I know!) but mine! And for someone with these kinds of quirks, I have 2 places that I consider my personal space (how convenient!).
Being a working single mom means one thing – NO TIME WHATSOEVER! So I am always multitasking, throughout the day. My writing time is reserved for the evenings after work on weekdays. Weekends are solely reserved for my son and the volunteer work I do, I mostly don’t post on weekends!
I start working on a post sitting on the kitchen counter while helping my son with his day’s homework and fixing dinner. This is why the kitchen counter is one of the cozy personal spots for my writing, plain convenience, I guess. Surprisingly, I get ideas for most of my posts from there!
The other space is of course on my bed when my son is asleep and the continuous flow of questions coming from him has stopped and there is the peace of the quiet night! That is when the romance between my laptop and my thoughts translates into my posts! 🙂
Sadly, I do not having a writing habit, thoughts come to me at the most random times. Most of the time when I am driving when I can’t even make a note of what I was thinking of! My memory is not that great, which means I often, forget what I was thinking about if I do not quickly write it down. This has happened to me so many times that I finally invested in Evernote. I made notes in it every time something good hits me, if I am driving, I pull over and quickly jot it down on my phone and then read it back to myself to remind me of what I was thinking!
I would love to know what you guys do to manage your writing habits; I read some great posts on this topic and am still catching up on others. They have given me ideas but if you have some other suggestion that will help me, please go ahead and let me know in the comments! I really need it! 😀
Rashmi P. Menon
A Single Mother with an unbreakable passion to Live the Life! I am a Writer/Author by passion and an IT Project Manager by profession. I am also the voice of Artemis at In The Pantheon - a multi-author collaborative writing project. When not hunting as Artemis, I am busy querying agents and working on my multiple writing projects. Women Empowerment and Child Rights Advocate.
24 Comments
Vibrant
Hello Rashmi 🙂
I am not sure if you don’t do it already: You can keep a small notebook and pen handy even when you are driving. You can jot down a word related to the idea you get as soon as you find a bit of freedom and later expand on ideas. It’s important to note down ideas as soon as we get them because this reinforces the perceptivity.
I am so glad that your articles are inspiring many people. I am sure they are going to help many people in days to come. I really enjoyed reading about your goals and writing space. I feel it’s indeed needed to stick to your core purpose and keep working on your creative side, simultaneously 🙂
Love and light <3
Anand 🙂
MindandLifeMatters
Thank you Anand! As always you have words of encouragement while giving me good suggestions. I used to keep a notebook in my bag, but never really used it well once I switched to using my phone full time. Evernote seems to be helping for now, but I like the notebook idea, sometimes its the best way!
I hope to be able to continue to stick the theme of my blog while contributing to the creative side as well! 🙂
Rashmi
Vibrant
Oh, I didn’t know about evernote as I never used it. I have not kept a phone since 2012. I am glad you are finding it useful. Cheers 🙂
Anand
MindandLifeMatters
Evernote is similar to keeping a notebook, only difference it is on our phone and laptops. And it is synced to both, so if you update in one, it is automatically updated in another.
I am in awe of the fact that you can go on without a phone, something I should learn. I feel I wont be able to survive without my phone, I depend too much on it!
Vibrant
I have cursorily heard/seen evernote application when I was working. I feel you need a phone and all ‘normal’ people do 😛
MindandLifeMatters
Haha, Mr. Shukla are you implying that you are not ‘normal’? 😛
Vibrant
Yes. 🙂 LOL
Gina Blue
I enjoyed reading your post. I also write near the kitchen, which is just behind me. I’m usually making/fixing something on the dinner while i write. When my thoughts stop, I hop up and busy myself in the kitchen until another line pops into my brain and then it’s back to my laptop. Thanks for sharing.
https://minick1943.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/writing-101-8-expanding-a-comment/
MindandLifeMatters
Thank you Gina. That’s pretty much what I do too! 🙂
Will be heading over to your blog this evening. Thanks for sharing the link.
tmcasciano
Sounds like you are doing great! I often think of things in the shower and by the time I’ve dried off I have forgotten them. I’m currently blogging once a week and also trying to visit others. I’m definitely going to look at your blog. Feel free to check mine out as well: http://ephesians2v8.wordpress.com.
Tracey
MindandLifeMatters
Hi Tracey, yea happens with me all the time, sometimes I play out an entire story that i would like to write in y head and by the time I am ready to sit down and do it, it’s vanished!
I will definitely check out your blog this evening, thanks for the link 🙂
Dr Meg Sorick
If that is your iPhone in the photo, you can ask Siri to “take a note” and she will ask you what you’d like the note to say. Then you can record your idea that way while you’re driving, too! I learned that because inspiration always seems to strike at the most inconvenient times!
MindandLifeMatters
I used to use an iPhone, then I switched to Samsung Note 4. Amazing phone but the Svoice (equivalent of Siri) never understands my accent! LOL
It saves something totally different from what I say! Haha
Maybe I should switch back to iPhone, but then the Samsung has too many other advantages!
Dr Meg Sorick
Oh my word, that’s funny! Sometimes the old pen and paper still works best!
MindandLifeMatters
I agree! Sometimes old school is the best way forward!
Eva Prim
Thank you for the insights you gave. You are really doing a great job – well, several. I too would have suggested voice recording. Later you could listen to your ideas, put them down, work in them.
MindandLifeMatters
Thank you, Eva. I should try voice recording. Svoice is not working properly for me, should try normal voice recording. Maybe that will help!
izabolinha
I also find my best thoughts always come to me when I am engaged in doing something else like showering or walking or going about everyday’s business, and I have no way to jot them down. Then when I finally sit down to write , they have disappeared into thin air 🙁
MindandLifeMatters
I know right! Its just so unfair when that happens. Like the others have suggested, maybe we should try voice recording whenever the thoughts pop into our minds!
koolitzable
Well, one of my writing habit is I have to be in a happy disposition and have a small notebook with me, here is mine: https://koolitzable.wordpress.com/2015/09/14/writing-101-day-six-the-space-to-write/, see you around 😀
MindandLifeMatters
Will surely check it out! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Colette B
Hallo 🙂 I’m really pleased to find you’re doing writing101 too, although I think we’ve passed each other by in blogging101 and the alumni group. Your blog looks absolutely fantastic for such limited ‘free time’. I like what you’ve wrote at the beginning of your post about taking the BloggingU tasks in your own time. I feel they probably work better that way, although I Anyway, I’ve just added your blog to my weekend good reads list and will be back ,then. i’ll hopefully bump into you in the alumni some time too (poetry starts straight off, no rest break between, but hope to join in with group better asap! I’ll look out for any of your writing101 feedback requests along the way too, don’t know how I’ve missed any so far, unless you don’t drop them. I’m useless at promoting my post links in the commons etc! hope you’re having a great week and looking forward to dropping by again, cheers 🙂
MindandLifeMatters
Hey colette,
Thank you for stopping by, I have not been very active with my Writing 101 tasks, although I have been enjoying the course and reading all the posts from the participants!
I post in commons once in a while, but not a regular. I guess thats how we missed each other. I will be heading over to your blog in a bit to explore. thanks for helping me find you! 🙂
Have a great day ahead!
Best, Rashmi
Colette B
Thanks for your kind reply Rashmi 🙂 saving yours for the weekend and really looking forward to revisiting 🙂 Best wishes, Colette 🙂