Day 21 – Writing Challenge – What is that one thing you have always wanted to do but could not?

Hey! Welcome to Day 21 of the Writing Challenge. While you all get started and write for today’s challenge and share the one thing you have always wanted to do but could not, you can also check the below the topic and organize your life in a better way.

Another topic of the day – How to organize your life to get more time for a writing career?

What is that one thing you have always wanted to do but could not?

We always want something and start preparing for it. Once we get it, we have a new wish to fulfill. Our desires do not end. We may want to do a lot of things in our life but getting everything should not be the focus otherwise it will always keep us unhappy.

First, we need to analyze what we have and what need. After we have our needs done, then comes what we want. When you attempt today’s challenge, make sure you look at your life with gratitude. We never get everything and that is okay.

When we are too focused on what we want, we may ignore what we already have and what we can achieve. We all have the potential to do great things but we always work towards a path that is way different and feel inferior in return. What if we work towards something we are good at.

There can be many reasons for not being able to do that one thing that you always wanted. There can be a choice, failure, sacrifice, or just misfortune. But take a moment and think how your life would have shaped if you could do it. Be at peace with your current situation. What a calm mind can see, a mind with turbulences will not be able to see. Make a new plan and do next what you do best. A resilient mind is a powerful aspect of our life. We may fall but shrug it and stand again.

Life is about second chances, not regrets. Regrets do not let us get past our old selves and thinking. Make sure you give yourself those second chances it needs.

As we complete today’s challenge, let us move ahead to another topic of the day.

How to organize your life to get more time for a writing career?

All of us lead a very unique life but we have some problems which are common to a lot of people. One of the most common problems is how to take out additional time for our writing in our daily busy life. There is no single solution to this problem but there is always a way to deal with it. One of the best ways is to organize your life so it has room for more.

I will be writing down a generalized way of organizing your life so that you can take out more time for writing and spend quality time doing something you like. Our life sometimes becomes chaotic and we are unable to deal with it. It will become easier to deal with our life’s sudden emergencies if we are organized and prepared from the beginning. If we can do additional work beforehand then if some emergency comes up in the future, your schedule is maintained.

Top 3 Ways to organize your life

• List down all the tasks that you do on a single day and prioritize

We may have many tasks to do on a single day but not all of them are urgent and not all of them will make our day productive. We need to be selective to be productive.

First of all list out all the tasks that you will be doing the next day. Then prioritize them by number. Divide into the following categories:

1. Blockers
   • Max 2 tasks that are blocking your work
   • Tackle it on a priority
   • If dependent on others seek help, follow up, and resolve
2. Urgent, not Blockers
   • Max 2 tasks that need to be done immediately
   • Complete it as soon as possible
   • Tasks with deadlines
3. Important, not Urgent
   • 3 tasks that need to be done but are not urgent
   • Check how much time you are spending in blockers and urgent, and accordingly, give time to important tasks
   • Tasks without deadlines
4. Extras
   • 3 tasks that should be done
   • It includes additional time for writing task
   • Do not postpone
   • Take up the optimum amount of extra tasks
   • Extras do not mean insignificant tasks

You need to add the additional writing tasks in your extras and do it with dedication. Now check how much time can be assigned to each of the categories. Calculate the amount of time you will get the next day and divide it accordingly. Time management is the key here to organizing your life effectively.

When you are assigning time for each of the categories, make sure you do not neglect your commitments and self-care. That is as much important in our life as our work.

I have added a template for the daily schedule below:

• Stop Procrastination

Procrastination is like a leech that will take out all our enthusiasm, our success and make our minds lethargic. When we procrastinate, we are pushing away one more task for tomorrow and one day all the pending tasks will pile up against you. You will try to exhaust yourself and complete it and you may succeed but it won’t be productive.

Procrastination is the delay that is soothing to our mind when we want to avoid something tough to deal with or work hard for a task. But the catch lies in the hard work. If you want to be successful and feel confident, complete the assigned tasks every day and do not keep it for tomorrow, when you have today.

When you divide your tasks as per the above-mentioned categories, you need to make sure you do not overflow your daily life with tasks that you cannot complete in a day. This will induce low self-esteem and soon you will stop creating tasks for every day and the pillars which you started forming will fall flat on yourself.

• Meditation and Exercise

Meditation helps your mind to increase focus and also calms your mind. Our mind wanders a lot and we need to help ourselves in concentrating on our goals, not random thoughts that take much of our time and mental energy towards wasting time. Let all your random thoughts wander in your mind during the meditation session. Do not try to suppress it. After a meditation session, you will feel calm and focused.

Exercise is a life-saver. It gives us that enthusiasm and energy to deal with our tasks. Those who exercise daily remain optimistic and have the zest to be disciplined in life. It fills our mind with the needed motivation and we do not lay drained out of energy.

Mind and Body should be in balance so that we can keep our life in balance. Balance is everything. Even the good things can disrupt our life if that is not balanced. It is important to check our body and mind and work towards creating a balance for both. A balanced mind and body will help you organize your life and get more time for your writing projects.

• Clean your surroundings and mind

If there is clutter around us, our mind picks up that vibe and we can become less productive. Our surroundings play a very important role in improving our mental health. Get rid of the clutter or transform it into something better. It all depends on the kind of clutter you have at home.

Below are some points to keep in mind while decluttering your home:

• Clean your bed and room regularly
• Sell old newspapers or keep them at a particular place to reuse
• Donate old books that you do not read anymore (Note: Books are not cluttering but it can be useful for others when it is not for you and you can make room for new ones)
• Arrange your clothes and other items properly in your cupboard
• Getting rid of clothes you do not wear or do not fit anymore
• Set aside some time to clean regularly
• Get rid of boxes and other items that are not being used or repurpose it
• Fix the broken items or get rid of them
• Assign specific places for things so that you can find them easily like a stationary, remote, first-aid kit, etc.,
• Keep a dustbin

Below are some points to keep in mind while decluttering your mind:

• Start writing a daily journal. I have a blog post on daily journaling. You can check out that.
• Keep your surroundings clutter-free
• Stop overthinking and focus on your goals. Daily meditation can help
• Avoid handling multiple tasks which require an equal amount of focus at the same time
• You need to let go of the bad thoughts that wander inside your mind
• Do not try to control your thoughts, just let them pass and you observe the thoughts without reacting
• Feed your brain good content, avoid too much negative information and false information
• Keep eye on your thoughts and write down all that crosses your mind. Crumble or tear it and throw it away
• Practice gratitude and avoid negative self-talk
• Cut down interactions with toxic people
• Take up a hobby
• Complete your tasks within working hours and do not overstress
• Limit spending too much of your precious time on social media

Following a daily schedule with discipline, keeping your body and mind in balance, and keeping your surroundings clean will help you a long way to organize your life and get more time for writing. We waste our time on non-productive tasks and in return, we never get enough time to complete our goals and move away from success each day. We must look into our minds and lives and make them better.

I hope the article helped to get ideas on how to organize your life better.

The below link is shared to help you check the entire list of 30-Day Challenge:

30-day Writing Challenge