This going to be a short article because I am not really in the mood to write anything right now. I have tons of articles saved in my drafts but none of them are up to the state to be published and I will not be able to get them done anyway so I decided to make this.

Why bother writing when I don't want to?

This might be the question running through your mind as you read this article. To be honest, it is very tempting to just close my laptop, turn off the lights, and call it a day. But I made the decision to publish an article daily.

So now I am going to do just that because habits are built every day. I cannot just stop when I feel like it because that is not going to take me anywhere. This is one of the things I have learned since the pandemic started. So I wanted to build a new routine to make up for the lost routine that I can no longer do.

My Old Routine

Before the pandemic, I already have a set routine that I follow daily. It consisted of waking up at 5:00 am, leaving the house before 6:00 am to go to school, and then reading some e-books/fanfics while waiting for the class to start.

At lunch, my best friend and I would go to a cheap place that sells okay food for its price, although sometimes we like to spend money on having unli-wings for lunch. Those times are far and few in between so we usually go to the same place, then leave the place at almost the same time every day too.

Once classes end, I walk home to move my body and to think about my day. There is something calming about the feeling of the pavement against my black shoes that helps me steady my mind. This time is usually my me time and I walk as slowly as possible so I could take in the view. Sometimes, I would stop at different stores to try out what they offer.

Walking home from school is a routine that started so that I can save some change that I spent on the transportation fees but over time I realized that I just really like walking so even when I could afford to not walk back home, I usually choose walking to calm my mind. I also liked that I can enjoy different things that I would not have been able to try if I always take the same route of going home.

Going back to my routine, once I get home, I would usually find my parents eating snacks so if I do not have much work to do, I will spend an hour or two just talking to them or listening to them talk. Then I get ready for the night.

Once that is done, I will go through what I have to pass tomorrow for school then prepare my things. After that, I will usually check in on my friends and we will talk for a few hours. Then I will go to sleep at 12:00 am.

A New Routine

For the past few months, I have been trying to find the same kind of rhythm that I used to have every day. It is incredibly difficult to do because back then it is already ingrained in me. The routine that I am trying to build for the past few months is something that I have started and successfully did for a few weeks then I would get tired for a while. Every time this happens, I stopped doing my routine because I thought I could just pick it up from where I left off but once I stopped, it is almost impossible to continue doing the routine.

So now, I am doing my best to do what I set out to do every day even if for some reason, I feel lazy to do it. This is why I am writing this article because if I do not manage to publish one today, I will be tempted t skip the following days which is not something that I want to do.

For me, this is just another day that I have to slowly build the routine that I want to have. Slacking off will surely not help me in the long run so even if I kind of want to hate myself for "forcing" myself to write when I am not in the mood, I know that it is a good way to build the habit in me.

After all, I cannot always found on my motivation and being in the mood to produce articles. I want to be able to make quality works even when I am not in the mood. I want to be able to just get into my writing zone without waiting for a dash of inspiration before writing.

I am hoping that the little efforts I made every day will pile on and make a noticeable change in my life when I look back. I have always been a firm believer that baby steps are still progress. it may be small to someone else but the important thing is that I am still moving. Little progress is much more than no progress at all, so I take what I can get everyday and make sure that I go through the things that I want to be able todo easily in the future.

Every time I feel like giving up I remind myself that I have already been though it on my art journey. I know that I will experience a lot of failures and frustrations before I ever find the rhythm that I feel comfortable with. So until the time when I can comfortably write longer articles every day comes, I will be satisfied of being able to write hundreds of badly written articles with a dozen of good articles mixed. Someday, the ratio of the good and bad articles would lean more towards the good instead of bad. So I will not give up and will only take breaks when it is necessary because breaks are important too.

What about you guys? Do you also challenge yourself to write every day or do you just write when you want to? What were your routines before the pandemic started?

If you want to read more of my articles, I have made a list of all the past articles I published to make it easier for you to find one that might catch your interest.

Here is the link: https://read.cash/@ZehraSky/may-2021-articles-summary---59e3f5b8

Feel free to browse through it and let's be friends!

I would also like to express my gratitude to the people who upvoted my latest article. Your support helps me continue doing what I love. Thank you.

@DM

@kingofreview

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