Filling up my cup
on finding things that fill my cup and planning ahead and setting goals
Dear Musers!
I’m putting out a quick one as I try to keep up the momentum rather than be pulled into the fray of the everything. I’m grabbing a moment, thirty minutes to be exact, to write this. I have a new timer that I can choose how many minutes I need for focus. It’s been a game changer for cutting out distraction.
This week I’ve filled my cup with a bunch of things:
a show at Hamer Hall of film soundtracks composed by Hans Zimmer (the king of film soundtracks where I bumped into a friend from so many years ago and we had an enormous hug and grinned wildly
Megan Rogers’ book launch of The Heart is a Start that was glorious and was a great time to catch up with other writers and have an impromptu dinner with two beautiful humans
moved my WIP forward 5000 words by tricking myself into expecting 200 words a day by using the Pip Williams’ trick (hers is one word a day) that counters the fear
pulled out the old sunflowers and planting herby borders and more seeds of flowers that will delight me when they push through the mulch when the days are grey and cold
started a weekly routine of a morning date with hubby so we can catch up with each other and remember what is beautiful about us
submitted stories to contests, flinging them out as it reminds me that this is all part of it, even if they don’t win the thing
having dinner with my eldest on his dash into the big smoke so that he could see AltJ with his dad
watched the second season of Love Me that filled me all the strong happiness and sadness
read a book ‘Nothing to see here’ by Kevin (not bloody) Wilson that made me laugh at its wit and absurdity. Side note: when it was first pushed into my hands by my brilliant and funny friend Katherine—do yourself a favour and read her newsletter—I was delighted that it was in fact, not Kevin Bloody Wilson (you know if you know)
attended a Duck Pond Office Hours session where I recommitted to my May goals of:
finishing Draft 0 of current WIP
finishing Module 2 of Life Coaching course
a drawing a day which you can see here.
This weekend, I’ll prepare to go away for a week in Sydney with a couple of friends (including Katherine). Sydney is like another home for me. My parents came from there and my family blood is there from the start of colonised Australia, which always gives me mixed feelings. Whenever I go there, I feel like I am home. Last time I was there for research, I walked the around the Rocks area for four days, tracing the footsteps of my ancestor and I felt so connected to her. It was thrilling when I discovered where her daughter’s house was and that there is still a house there. It was the moment that brought that story to life for me.
My plan at this stage for my five days there is to:
get a bunch of words done on my work in progress (aiming for 15,000)
swim in a sea pool
go for a kayak in the harbour
catch up with my cousin and his wife
catch up with Sydney writer friends
board the The Riverboat Postman to imagine what my ancestor would have seen when she arrived on a convict ship in 1788
walk in her and her daughter’s footsteps around The Rocks area
have a little holiday.
Now, it’s my writing day and I only have 5 more minutes before the timer goes off, so this is it for this week, my musers.
Until next time, Musers
x Meg
You have filled your cup with amazing things, Meg! You've inspired me to make that my focus for this week's post - I've realised that my cup needs filling.