Manage Your Day-To-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, & Sharpen Your Creative Mind; Edited by Jocelyn K. Glei

I can’t get enough of these books lately. Whether it’s because I’m itching to get to work on something or because I want to feel some control over my life, I’m not sure. I recently wrote about how I’m trying to set writing priorities, but am not sure what those priorities should be. These books give me both a sense of calm and inspiration; I feel like I can tackle any kind of challenge when I read them!

Manage Your Day-To-Day is a collection of essays that focus on helping the reader build a solid routine that allows you to focus on the things that are important to you. My favorite chapter was written by Gretchen Rubin and included the quote seen above and right here: “Progress is reassuring and inspiring; panic and then despair set in when you find yourself getting nothing done day after day.”

I think a lot of us can relate to that! Her chapter was focused on how slow and steady progress adds up and keeps your engines running. That’s what I’m trying to keep in mind as I build a writing routine into my day. Blog writing is no problem for me — I feel like I’m really finding my groove here. It’s the bigger projects that still elude me. And I know that I often use blogging as a way to avoid those projects.

“Instead of feeling perpetually frustrated that you don’t have any time for your project, you make yourself make time, every day.”

This was another quote by Rubin pulled from her chapter. And it’s true. I’ve learned this from my morning pages practice – I thought that I didn’t have time to journal every morning so now I get up at 4am to make sure that I have time. The trick is going to be figuring out my energy levels and determining the best time of day for me to buckle down and work, other than when I’m at my actual job or taking care of my family.

There’s always more work to do and I’m thankful for books like these that keep me inspired to keep trying new strategies!