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Goals for Lent
Lent. It’s that time of the year again (well, it really started yesterday). It happens every year. Each year I set a lofty goal for myself and I miss every year. Heck, I do the same thing for the entire year and I usually miss. I think this year will be different.
Most people give something up. Some say “I’ll stop eating sweets.” or “I’ll exercise more.” or “I won’t swear…nearly as much.” Something like that.
Me, I’ve always determined to write more. A lot. More than I normally plan on writing.
As I’ve mentioned before, I plan to write an average of 1200 words per day. Heavy emphasis on AVERAGE! Well, for Lent I’m bumping that goal up to average 2000 words per day. Will I hit it? Pfft, I don’t know. Sounds like a good goal. Why not give it a try?
So what’ll happen if I do hit my goal? Well, simple math shows that Lent is 46 days this year (wait, I thought Jesus spent 40 days in the desert) and 2000 words a day works out to 92,000 words. Holy Sheep Dip, Batman! That’s a LOT of words! How ever will I do it?
Ok, let’s slow down for a minute. Remember what I’d said before was my annual goal. Average 1200 words per day. That’s still my main focus. 2000 words is only 800 more words per day. Remember, I type really, really fast. On a good day, I can hit 2000 words in an hour. On a bad day, might take me two hours. Can I find two hours in a given day to type?
Sure.
My main focus will be on media limitations. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop absorbing media altogether. It means I’ll cut back on what I need to cut back on so I can spend a little more time writing. That’s all. So, instead of watching 2-3 hours of news and a couple of TV shows, and reading for an hour or two, I’ll cut back to give myself the time I need. I’ll watch TV while I exercise, read the news when I have free time, read before bed (that won’t change) and my DVR can save my shows.
Hopefully, it’ll be that simple. We all know what happens to the best-laid plans.
Where am I at so far, now that we’re two days in? Well, I had 2014 words yesterday, and I’m at 2145 today. I’m taking a short break to write this blog post cuz I want to blog more frequently. Then I’ll try to write another 1000 words. We’ll see what happens. So I’m off to a good start.
I’m going to keep this short. I hope you have a Lent goal you’re looking to work on. Do you have one? Did you plan something? Are you going to diet, exercise, write, create art, paint, learn something? What have you got planned? Let me know. I’d love to hear.
Until Next Time…
Stay Awesome!
Daily Update: No Thank You, I don’t drink coffee.
When I was in the Navy, I drank coffee like a fish drinks water. Wait a minute, do fish actually drink water? Anyway, I drank a lot of coffee. I did my schooling at night, I did evening security duty, and I did more night school before getting out. I drank more coffee than I’m sure is healthy, but I was young and on the go so it didn’t bother me.
As I got older, I lost my taste for coffee. To be honest, the smell of it makes me gag a little. I’ll go into a Starbucks, but the smell is gross.
To be honest, I don’t even like hot beverages. I don’t like my soup if it’s too hot. I prefer my food and drinks warm to hot (tepid), but not scalding. I can’t drink hot tea, but I love iced tea. I like apple cider, but only after it’s had time to cool down.
This avoidance of coffee has put me in some awkward situations that I never thought would be awkward. Someone will offer me a cup of coffee, I’ll politely decline, and they’ll look at me like I’ve grown a few extra heads “You don’t drink coffee?” Hey, I’m naturally hyper already. Trust me, you don’t want to see me on coffee. Some days I feel like everyone drinks coffee except for me. It’s weird.
That being said. I gave up coffee for Lent. Should be an easy 40 days.
No, seriously, I’m not overly religions, but I find Lent a fun challenge. For my 40 days I’ll be upping the ante. I’ll be increasing the number of words I’m producing. So between now and the time Peter Cotton tail comes hopping down the trail, I’m going to attempt 2000 words a day at a minimum. I know I can do this, I just haven’t been applying myself. So watch those little counters there on the right and let’s see if I can make them hop, bounce, and spring forward.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
J.R. Murdock 