the acid test

The other day, I didn’t feel like writing something. I found myself cataloguing all the reasons why now wasn’t the time: a slight headache, the sense of being slightly under-caffeinated, an issue nagging at me about how I’d organized my notes…As I went through this litany of objections, my thoughts turned to books and other sources of advice I might consult for solutions. Then, in a flash, I realized (again) that solution-seeking is my worst habit. There’s nothing wrong with “sharpening the saw,” as Stephen Covey put it, but the truth is that I only find myself reaching for the whetstone when it’s time to write. At no point have I ever stood up in the middle of a movie to re-organize my notes or read a book on productivity.Rather than push through the discomfort that precedes every writing session, I seek this morally acceptable form of escape. Playing video games and watching YouTube videos are obviously forms of procrastination, but when something feels productive, it’s easy to fool…