So much has changed in our world in a relatively short period of time. COVID-19 has been a game changer. Our world is faced with a pandemic and millions (maybe billions) of people are coping with concepts like social distancing and sheltering in place. Yet, in spite of everything going on, writers still gotta write. Deadlines loom. Regardless of the internal or external chaos, a writer has to stay focused and concentrate on fictional characters, plots and twists. At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself, but how to do it? How do you block out everything going on in the world and focus on writing?
One of the books that has had the greatest impact in my life is, Stephen R. Covey’s, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The book was written in 1989. Many moons ago, I worked at a CPA firm. No, I’m not a CPA, but I was a corporate trainer who taught CPAs computer software. The 7 Habits course was required for everyone when promoted to manager. So, when I was promoted to Training Manager, I too attended the weeklong course. It’s no overstatement to say this course, changed my life. Perhaps, I was in a place where change was needed. I don’t know, but I can say that close to 20 years later, I still turn to what I learned in that course to help me through difficult situations.
If you haven’t read the book, I recommend it. If you have, I won’t bore you by rehashing the habits. However, when I found myself struggling to focus and write during the current situation, I turned back to the 7 Habits. My writing, normally very consistent, had slowed to a crawl. The little social interaction I was getting while sheltering at home came from social media. While I should be writing, I found myself surfing the web, texting friends and family and trying to establish a social connection anyway I could. Yet, I still had a deadline and I needed to focus. My days were spent working remote on the day job, so I still only had a few hours in the evening and on the weekends to write. So, I needed what little free time I had to be productive. For me, this meant focusing on the 7th habit—Sharpening The Saw.
‘Sharpening the Saw’ means, taking time to refuel yourself. One of the examples Covey uses is that sometimes we’re so busy driving, that we are too busy to stop for gas. It doesn’t take a great imagination to see that if you’re too busy to put fuel in your car, you’ll find yourself stranded by the side of the road. I love cozy mysteries (no surprise). It’s what I write and what I love to read; and I have bookshelves and a kindle full of them. I also have a cabinet with DVDs and a DVR full of my favorite cozy authors (Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, and Ellery Queen), which I watch over and over and over. As a writer, I find the things that “fuel my engine” are reading and watching cozies. Its rare that I don’t feel recharged and enthusiastic after a few episodes of Hercule Poirot or Nero Wolfe. Still, in spite of everything I knew from Covey, it was hard to stop driving (forcing my butt to stay in the chair) and refuel. It seemed wrong to take the time that I felt should be focused on writing to read or watch television. There’s a fine line between sharpening the saw and procrastinating. However, over the years I’ve seen the benefits of making time to refuel and so, that’s what I did.
Normally, I don’t allow myself to read for pleasure while I’m under deadline, but desperate times call for desperate measures. So, I pulled out a Rex Stout and I read. I can’t begin to explain the difference it made. I felt as though the heavens parted, the angels sang and I suddenly saw the light! Well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but it absolutely helped to recharge my battery. The results? I’m writing. I have a lot of ground to make up, but I’m refueled and ready to conquer my deadline. I’m writing every day and gaining ground. How? The same way you eat an elephant. One bite at a time. Or, in my case, one page at a time.