Does Your Computer Need an Update?

This post is inspired by Eddie Pinero’s Prove Everyone Wrong Podcast, starting at 23:30 - if you don’t have time to read this through - listen to his podcast instead, then come back. 

My computer usually tells me when there is a new update available for my operating system, but after listening to one of Eddie Pinero’s podcasts recently, I thought I’d check before sitting down to write the draft of this post.

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There was an update. 

Do you think I decided to update my computer first? It would be considered a great procrastination tool. Most of us writers know a thing or two about procrastination - how to do it, when to use it and why we love it.

The answer would be no, I did not update my OS. It’s interesting I find having to update my computer as an annoyingly, inconvenient thing to have to do. Does anyone else feel like this? Maybe it’s because my computer tells me there’s a new update available at a time when I don’t have time to wait twenty to forty-five minutes while it does it’s thing. Maybe because the notification says, Update now and I’m a rebel and don’t like being told what to do. Maybe it’s because I don’t know what the update will do and I don’t see the point. My computer does everything I need it to do. It’s working fine, so does an update really need to be performed now? Surely it can wait for a more convenient time.

Why am I talking about updating the OS on my computer? This is a writing blog, or it's supposed to be.

I know, but please indulge me.

The operating system on your computer is the brains of the operation. The updates it receives gives the computer new information, new tricks and tips to be better at working for you when you need it to. Think of it as a writing course for your computer. 

Why do we do writing course or go to conferences? Social interaction for the introverted writer? Uh, no. Writing courses, conferences, retreats. These things help us gain better knowledge and skills to improve our writing. We all have a passion and talent for writing, but we don’t know everything. Some people are excellent describers, while others are amazing at dialogue. Some have a knack for compelling storylines and I envy those who know their characters like they're best friends.

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God did not create us perfect (okay, he did at the beginning, but we are far from perfect now) and that includes our talents. We all have something to learn which will allow us to enhance our writing techniques … mine included. Most writers want their written work to be the best it can be. Some just want to write that one story and feel the accomplishment of having a physical copy in their hand. That’s fantastic. If that’s you - go forth and enjoy. Other writers like myself have many stories vying for their attention and want to be a published author and earn millions of dollars … so why are we not learning from others and gaining more knowledge to make our stories better? God wants us to learn, grow and experience life. That goes for growing our talents too, don’t you think?

But I don’t have the time, you say. I don’t have the money. I have kids that need looking after, I’m not even writing at the moment, blah, blah, blah. Do you know what I hear? Excuses. And don’t think I don’t make them myself. I don’t have the time. I manage a retail store four days a week and anyone who says it’s just a 9-5 job hasn’t managed one before. I’m also studying an Arts Degree online, majoring in Game Design and Animation. I don’t have kids, but I live with two teenagers and that’s enough for me. I’m not writing at the moment, but that’s not a lack of time (I do watch Netflix …) and do you honestly think I have the money for more courses? Ha!

I get it. I understand, but these excuses are just that. Excuses. I have been contemplating the Omega Writers Conference for so long that I have missed the early bird cutoff date. But it’s only another $50.00 you’re paying and that’s just a family takeout meal you could skip …

Excuse 1 - I don’t have the time.

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If you’re like me, you have many, many weeks up your sleeve in annual leave. Take some time off for yourself! No one can do that for you but you. Do two weeks worth of study in one week. That next week is free.

Excuse 2 - I don’t have the money.

How much takeout do you have each week? Uber Eats? Menulog? Door Dash? Do you eat a lot of junk food? What about Netflix? Stan? Amazon Prime? Disney? Binge? How many of these you you have? 1, 2 … 3? 4!? If you cut down your subscriptions, stop eating so much takeaway, and got rid of most of the junk food you eat and started to portion your food so your not eating as much as you do (the body doesn’t need nearly as much as you would think it does), you would actually save hundreds per week.

Excuse 3 - I have kids that need looking after (I don’t, but I’m sure someone does).

Kids? If you have a partner, get him or her to look after them for a few days. No partner? No problem. If your kids have friends or you have family members close by (Auntie’s are the coolest), I’m sure a planned sleepover for a couple nights would make you the best mum or dad ever! Kids love sleepovers, especially if it’s a whole weekend. You could always offer to do the same (I’m sure your kid’s friends, parents would love a weekend off too).

If you have a puppy, get a friend to look after the cutie. I'm sure there is someone who loves your puppy nearly as much as you do and would love to dog-sit for a couple days.

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Excuse 4 - I’m not even writing at the moment.

I wonder why. You’re working all the time, studying all the time, kids have you on the ropes and words don’t even exist in your reality at the moment. If you’re not writing at the moment, it’s probably because you’re lost the momentum or the inspiration or both. If you still want writing to be a part of your life and those stories are still ticking away in the back corner of that dusty storage room in your brain, then a conference is the perfect place for you. I know. Sounds stupid. You’re not writing at the moment, so why spend the money to even go there when you won’t use the skills you learn? Because I know from experience that being around people who live and breathe writing helps boost that momentum. Being away from the normal, everyday life you live, boosts inspiration and having that moment to yourself, to do something you love, will get you writing again; even if it’s just for that weekend.

Excuse 5 - Enter your excuse here ...

I'm not proficient enough to answer all your excuses, but click here and listen to, Break Your Negative Thinking | Wake Up Positive podcast by Eddie Pinero. I don't think you'll have any excuses for anything afterwards.

So. No more excuses. Looks like I’m going to the conference.

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If you’re still reading and need a little more of a push in the right direction - listen to Eddie Pinero’s Prove Everyone Wrong Podcast from 23:30 onwards. Then go back and listen to the whole thing. Then put his podcast into your favourites. You won’t be sorry.

Kirsten (aka A.T. Richmond) is a born and bred Territorian who moved to Queensland and had no choice but to stay after her assimilation into the Toowoomba's infamous, collective known as Quirky Quills. Since then, A.T. Richmond has had two short stories published (under K.A. Hart). Stone Bearer, appears in Glimpses of Light and Tedious Tresses, in the As Time Goes By Mixed Blessings anthology. She is currently writing a fantasy trilogy (and has been for a while ...), but no more excuses, right?! Coffee helps.

Little Seeds, Big Clouds and a Clock About to Strike

Habits. Good habits. Bad habits. You need discipline to create good habits and discipline to destroy bad habits. 

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Discipline. How do you get it? Some people seem to be born with it. Others struggle to maintain it. And still others don’t much care one way or the other. Me?  It depends on the situation. Sometimes, I really just want to see if I can achieve a goal and discipline comes naturally. Other times, I just can’t seem to create that same sense of excitement and my discipline has heads for the hills on a long vacation. 

At the beginning of this year, January 1st to be exact, I decided to do a challenge. A 75 Day Challenge. 

THE 75 DAY CHALLENGE 

Morning Cardio workout

Afternoon strength workout 

Eat 850 calories

Drink 4 litres of water

Read 10 pages of a non fiction book

Every. Day. For a total of 75 days. 

Now I know what you’re thinking. ‘Are you insane?!’ Yes. Well, probably. But all the best people are, aren’t they?

When I heard about the challenge, at first I thought, ‘HA! Yeah right. I wouldn’t last a week!’ I’ve been suffering from a sore lower back for a good year now and thought I’d maybe get through the first three days before pulling my back out again. Then I’d be in bed for a week and back to the Physio. But what if I focused on exercises that didn’t use my back and supported it as much as possible? Was I really going to let my fear of failing and getting hurt get the better of me?

My fear. How many times has it beat me down? It doesn’t feel like that at the time, does it? It keeps me safe. I mean, I don’t want to get hurt and I don’t want to fail.  But what if I succeed, then what do I do? It’s the unknown that my fear keeps me safe from. It’s nice. It’s comforting, but all those big ideas, all the story outlines I jot down for when I have time to come back to them … they just wait. They gather dust. So what my fear has done, is kept me stationary. Never growing, never evolving into something more than what I am. 

So, what’s the point?

I sat down with a lovely couple about a month ago and we were discussing the current issues - the pandemic, emergency mandates, talks of war. We moved to Revelation and how everything looked pretty grim. They said they believed we had maybe another ten years left before the Rapture.

‘Excuse me? I don’t think I heard you correctly. Did you say ten years?’

I hadn’t misheard. Now, don’t get me wrong. No one knows when it’ll happen, but just think about it for a moment. Ten years. That’s all you have left. One hundred and twenty months. Five hundred and twenty weeks. Three thousand, six hundred and fifty days. Eighty seven thousand, six hundred hours. And so on, and so on. But you get it. Ten years left of your life.

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I don’t know about you, but should I even be bothering to do a Bachelor Degree that will take me six years to complete part time? And all those story ideas I have, do I just give up on them? It has taken me over a decade to write the story for one of my ideas, what do I do with the other thirty two I have outlined on my computer? All the other things I wanted to do, wanted to see … I don’t know, but ten years doesn’t seem like enough time, especially when procrastination and anxiety are such good friends of mine.

I just don’t know … but then again, I think I do.

It starts with a little seed.

Without a little water, a little dirt, a bit of sunshine, little seeds won’t grow. But if you put in a little effort and don’t mind getting your hands dirty, that seed will sprout roots and habits will grow. 

First things first. Show up. Nothing ever gets done if you don’t first begin. This builds habits. Things you can improve upon. You cannot improve if you don’t have a foundation.

Those big clouds you see in the sky above you. The ones you’ve imagined into dragons and castles and mushroom houses; they are your spark. They are the reason you want to write their stories. Don’t let fear stop you. Don’t let your doubts get the better of you. They are your past, not your present you. You woke up this morning as a blank canvas. Don’t let the negativity of yesterday paint the opportunities of today.

Today is day zero of my 75 Day Challenge. For the most part, I accomplished a lot. I will admit, the ten pages became a little too overwhelming - exhaustion and a heavy non fiction book do not mix well - and I didn’t continue with this aspect of the challenge. But I’ve now built up a few good habits and who knows what the next seventy five days bring. Even if the clock is about to chime - today, tomorrow, one year form now, ten years, twenty … I have an opportunity to learn more, see more, do more and it doesn’t matter how much I accomplish,  as long as I show up in the moments that matter and know God has everything in control.

Kirsten Hart (aka A.T. Richmond) is a born and bred Territorian who moved to Queensland and had no choice but to stay after her assimilation into the Toowoomba's infamous, collective known as Quirky Quills. Since then, A.T. Richmond has had two stories published. Stone Bearer, appears in Glimpses of Light and Tedious Tresses, in the As Time Goes By Mixed Blessings anthology. She is currently writing a fantasy trilogy.