Lifestyle Changes and Writing
Finding Focus: How Lifestyle Shifts Enhance the Writing Process
How do I begin this week’s post? Not much has changed. Then again, everything has changed. Most importantly, I’m a lot more confident in my writing than I was this time last year.
I was scanning through a few of the February and March 2024 posts. Honestly, they were written by some stranger. Isn’t it odd that, even at my age, we change so much and so quickly? Yet we’re not aware of anything different from day to day.
Once a Smoker, Always a Smoker
And on the subject of change, a healthy one is on the horizon. Smoking and stopping smoking is the next significant lifestyle change that starts on Tuesday next week. Already, I’m beginning to grieve. Let me explain.
I started smoking when I was 19; in those days, it was socially acceptable, even expected, certainly in the military. But, at 27, I decided to stop cold turkey. Instead, I dived into a fitness regime, which helped take the edge off the nicotine withdrawal.
The problem is, as most smokers and ex-smokers know, once you are addicted, it stays with you for life. I didn’t touch another cigarette for over 16 years. It never even crossed my mind. But the sneaky b@5t@rd was biding its time, waiting for the perfect moment of stress and anxiety to seduce me into starting again.
Long story short. This time, it’s been over 20 years, I’m ashamed to admit. The stupidest decision I’ve ever made. I have had enough; the addiction has had free reign for long enough.
I'm hoping that breaking free from nicotine may enhance my creative process. Historically, writers used smoking as a thinking aid. However, I’m wondering if the mental clarity of quitting might be more valuable than the familiar ritual. I know it won't be easy, the mind plays tricks when deprived of something it's come to depend on.
Finding Unexpected Writing Spaces
The wonderful thing about writing is that we can write anywhere. I was writing this on my iPad (mini), sitting at the car dealership, waiting for the car to be serviced. No interruptions, heaven.
Having 30 minutes to focus on writing or any other brain-intensive activity is rare if I’m in my office. Being able to get away from the never-ending cycle of daily life is a gift, especially to a writer.
It now occurs to me that I have the opportunity to get away more than I realized. You see, I started going to a health and sports club a few months back, at least three times a week. So, after my workout (or maybe before), I can use these times to write. I’m a fool for not thinking of this before now.
I plan to carve out dedicated writing time before or after every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday, when I usually hit the gym. There seems to be something about mental clarity after physical exertion that feels perfect for creative work. Perhaps the endorphins will help to replace what the nicotine used to provide.
Writing is a wonderful way of keeping yourself occupied, like now. I’ve been sitting here for almost two and a half hours, yet I’m unaware of the time passing. Of this time, I’ve been writing for only about an hour, maybe a bit more. Time that would otherwise have been lost has been most productive.
Finally, I’ll be able to get ahead rather than always playing catch-up.
A Caveat, Unfortunately
I think I need to be in the office for the sister publication, Your Creative Edge, Certainly for the AI research it requires. The positive side is, of course, that writing this newsletter will now be done well in advance, freeing up office time.
I always write the newsletter posts in Ulysses first, which is a great and distraction-free writing environment. Long-form projects are written in Scrivener.
Fortunately, Scrivener is available on all devices, not just laptops. So, I’ll experiment with it on the iPad. I doubt I’ll be able to do so much, short of just writing. A split screen may be an issue, even if it’s supported. The secret sauce is to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
It turns out that I can live with the limitations, and fortunately, synching to Dropbox is a breeze. Of course, there is no split screen, so I’ll have to plan ahead with the work. Nothing complicated; mostly, it’s just writing, which is the point after all.
The nicest thing about it is that it’s distraction-free.
Final Thoughts
I was reading through this post before committing to publishing it, thinking about how to tie it all together. Meanwhile, I uploaded it to ChatGPT to generate an image and the appropriate alt-text. No problem; it was done within a minute. Then I thought I might as well ask for its opinion about the article. It had one interesting suggestion, which, to be honest, I was thinking about myself. Here is its take on a conclusion:
“In many ways, writing is like change itself—a process of discovery, persistence, and growth. Some days, the words flow effortlessly; other days, they resist. But just like breaking a habit or finding new routines, the key is to keep going. Writing, like life, is about embracing the journey, not just the destination.”
Not bad, don’t you think?
I wrote earlier about how we change every day. Most of these transformations are so small that we don’t notice them. But cumulatively, they become more obvious the longer the time span. Sometimes, they are immediately large enough to be measurable, like the epiphany I have about squeezing in extra uninterruptible writing time or deciding to stop smoking.
These two changes, quitting smoking and finding new writing spaces, might seem unrelated, but they're both about reclaiming time and clarity. One frees the body, the other the mind. Together, they create space for the words to flow more freely.
I see the changes in my writing mirroring my life as each year passes. I love writing, and I value alone time as an INFJ on the Myers-Briggs scale. Perhaps more than that, I need this time for myself. Writing is my perfect companion.
Have a great weekend ahead, and wish me luck with smoking malarkey.
As promised, I’m including a link to my second publication as soon as each new post drops. So, here it is; I hope at least some of you will get something useful out of it.
All the best with quitting smoking! 🚬 🙏🏻