If you've stopped writing and you don't miss it, skip this post.
But if you've stopped writing and you miss it...and maybe you feel a little guilty--after all, perhaps you started out with the intention of writing ever day and now it's been a lot of days since you last sat down to write...here's my advice:
Forget about what you haven't done,and get started doing what you want to do!
Rather than feeling guilty or ashamed about stopping writing, consider whether you can learn anything from that experience. What happened last time, and how can you avoid repeating that experience?
Maybe you were too ambitious. Maybe writing every day isn't realistic for you at the moment. Re-calibrate and decide you'll write twice a week or three times a week or whatever seems doable. Don't buy into the myth that "real" writers write every day. Some do, some don't. I've been a full-time writer for a long time, and I don't write every day.
Or maybe you became ill and when you felt better you didn't get back to writing. Understand that these interruptions are inevitable. Take care of business, and then ease back to your writing schedule.
Or perhaps you just lost interest in the project you were working on. Revisit it now. If your excitement about it has come back, work on that. If not, think about what other projects you might enjoy more and get started on one of those.
Most important is not dwelling on your "failure." The minute you start writing again, that wasn't a failure, it was a pause. I've used the photo of the sundial to remind you (and me) that these days we judge ourselves so much on short-term outcomes.
Now get out that writing folder...
(For innovative time management strategies that help you make time to write, get my book, "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done," published by Pearson and available from Amazon and other online and offline booksellers. There's more information at www.focusquick.com.)
