I woke up feeling sick today, and it is my own fault. I ate both gluten and sugar yesterday, and a lot of it, which is a no-no if I want to feel well.
My writing to-do list was daunting, and while I wanted to make great strides ahead today, I just didn’t have the oomph.
Then I remembered something my favorite habits guy, James Clear, said in his article, To Make Big Gains, Avoid Tiny Losses.”
In many cases, improvement is not about doing more things right, but about doing less things wrong… Improvement by addition is focused on doing more of what does work. Improvement by subtraction is focused on doing less of what doesn’t work.
Best Choice Today!
I’m too “under the weather” today to improve by ADDING more to my plate: not write faster, or write a longer period of time, or read a productivity book. Today I’m going to improve by SUBTRACTING things that don’t work: poor food choices, binge watching a show, and checking email every five minutes. Can I really making writing improvements that way?
[UPDATE LATER: I didn’t add various strategies in order to write more today. I simply subtracted (1) my poor food choices, (2) the presence of my phone for two hours, and (3) closed all social media tabs for the morning. And despite feeling rather rotten physically, I wrote more this morning than I have all week. Thank you, James Clear, for reminding me that there are two paths to improvement.
So true, Kristi. Over the past year I discovered working with a functional medicine Dr. that I have allergy to gluten and milk protein. It is amazing how much my health has improved giving them up. I hope you’re feeling better soon .
I see that you have just returned from your writing retreat in England!!! Lovely pictures. I never tire of looking at the pastoral pictures–the lambs, the meadow with all the flowers, a cozy backyard nook for tea. But I’m glad you’re home! There’s no place like it.