The Less I Call it Work

The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work ~ Richard Bach

One of the weekly tasks I've always hated is the household chores.  The one chore that I love to do, though, is the laundry.  I love getting my clothes clean and put away and ready to wear again, especially my favorite clothes.

The point is, when there are chores and tasks to be done, it's easier to do the ones that we like to do and sometimes it's torture to accomplish the things that we don't.  Take blogging for example.  I started this blog because everything I read about emerging, independent writers said I needed a blog to help develop a platform.  But posting on my blog consistently has always been a source of frustration and stress for me.  Until recently.

Back in February I figured out that I just couldn't blog everyday.  No matter how careful I tried to plan everything out, a daily blog post for me was out of the question.  What I did figure out that would work for me is a blog post four days a week, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.  If you look at my blog history, I've been able to meet this "schedule" consistently since the end of February (I missed a Thursday post a few weeks ago when I was going to talk about an America's Got Talent contestant but then found out about the controversy surrounding his story and subsequent eligibility on AGT).  I've almost had more blog posts in the last four months as I had all last year.  I've finally been able to turn this "important to my writing career" chore into something which I actually look forward to accomplishing each day.

Another chore that I've learned to love this year is the actual writing itself.  I finally learned how to outline and make notes about my novels which has helped make the actual writing of the scenes much easier.  I just read a post from a publisher over the weekend recommending that if a writer wrote just one page a day, they would have a novel in a year.  I attempted to do that without notes.  After finished outlining the end of my first novel, A Place to Call Their Own, the words just poured out of my fingers and onto the screen.  I wrote 5000 words one week and I was so happy with myself that I did it again the next week.  Now 5000 words a week has become my "norm" and anything less is substandard performance, at least in my mind.

Part of the point, is to also realize that only I could figure this stuff out for me.  I had read over and over again about blogging daily.  I had read about outlining.  But no one could help me figure these things out until I tried them myself.  And if you're struggling with a part of your dream journey, only you can figure out a way to make it fun for you, so that it no longer becomes a chore.

What's something on your dream journey that is so much of a chore that you hate to do it?  Anyone have any stories about overcoming these types of barriers to your success?  I'd love to hear!