My last post was about writing and not writing, or shall I say, writing and writing even when not writing. But today, I have come back to elaborate more on what exactly do you do when we hit the stage when we are not writing and just observing. Suffice it to say, we have by now, come to the conclusion that writers are working even when they are not at the desk, and not simply scribbling on paper and a blank screen, writers are almost always observing, analyzing and plotting, even when they end up not writing about the particular episode. But as it happens, a work is not considered work unless there are at least tangible outcomes to it, if not monetary benefits, which we all know is a different matter altogether. So how does one come to terms with tangibility and the lack of it. i think we don’t. it is a part and parcel of work, and of our lives. People are going to judge no matter what, and as much as it sounds cliched, we cannot help but ignore, or atleast choose to ignore the parts of opinions of people that do not pertain to us, people or opinions, you choose. 

I know i have already deviated to a number of topics, in a short span of time, and that is exactly the reason why I haven’t been dping much lately, doing much in terms of writing or reading. But this post is not about that, it is about what does one dowhen you hit a different bottom. And in terms of being optimistic, I say, we get accostomed to that bottom, polish it, learn from it and move on. I understand that when I sau, get used to’. one might think that I am suggesting get used to the bottom, but all I mean is get to know the problem of it all, the root cause and then clarify that in order to proceed. 

So, what does one do in order to stop feeling like that they are not doing anything, even when they are? I have only one suggestion to this, and it sure works for me. The answer to all of my problems is Journalling. At the risk of being naive and alsounware of bigger and more practical solutions, ,I say this is the only solution, even if one comes out of the box and uses the ther as a broader version of writing. One need only to sit down, open a notebook/computer/a piece of paper and write down things that one accomplised on the said day. i will give you the most basic example of one such list:

• woke up, drank two glasses of water, mediated for three minutes, exercised for twenty minutes.
• made breakfast and lunch in the morning.
• read ten pages of a book. 
• ran errands
• ate lunch
• tried to write but erased all of it
• planned to meet a friend and then cancelled it. 
• wrote this blog post
• Did the laundry and the dishes
• Made a schedule for the next day.
• Made dinner, ate dinnner 

So, while the above list couldn’t have been any more simple and naive, I might need these kind of journal entries on the days when i am not really feeling good about the said ‘inactivity’ in the previosu post. These days I don’t put a detailed journal entry on what exactly big I achieved or plan to achieve, I don’t talk about my feelings or my naive philosophical wonderings and pondering on any subject, I simply write down these basics and while one can come up to me and say these things don’t matter, they don’t count, for me it does. It is in the mnundane that I find peace on these days. I tell myself that these things matter too, I ate healthy, I took good care of my body and mind and that might just help me in achieveing another day that could be more productive in terms of work. I tell myself that each drop counts. And having done the simolest of things, I still feel that I have done something, just because I gave it ta tangible form. i wrote it down. It could be just me, but this technique works for me most of the times, and having found encouragement from the simplest of routine tasks, the next day or the next week, I bounce back and include ‘Wrote fifteen pages’ to the list, and while it may not be all, I know I am getting there, however slowly. It pulls me through the days until I reach the point where I sart feeling myself that what I achieved in a day is enough. 

That enough is technically when I tire myself out, physicaly and mentally, which by the way people have told me is not healthy, and I am working on it, but that is a different matter altogether. Today, we are talking about how not to feel that you are not doing enough. And as much as I wish that I had more solutions, I don’t. Maybe it is only my obsession with tangibility and materialism, but it works for me. Words give the not so much important tasks the much needed importance. And isn’t that already good enough, us choosing to give ‘words’ the weight and the status that it deserves. What with the people using words all possible ways, I think, it is already a good and positive step towards being mindful of what we are doing. And mindfullness and sconsciousness almost always helps in all spehres of life. 

PS: My ebooks are free for today. Grab your copy here:

POSIES https://amzn.eu/d/9PVAHM2

03:21 AM: An Ode to Rust & Restlessness https://amzn.eu/d/e50k3Yq

Resignation of an Angel https://amzn.eu/d/duvImOT