Do One Thing

Taking my own advice

Via

Hey y’all,

This is the third post I’ve started for this week’s newsletter. Yes, it’s Wednesday, and I usually post on Tuesday. It’s been that kind of week. Honestly, it’s been a VERY EXCITING week, agents-wise and book-wise (as you can see here for the latter!) and my brain is a pile of pick-up sticks. I reach for one—a task, a deadline, an email—and I can’t get it off the ground without unsettling fifteen other things. Fun! So I’m going to give myself some advice to get out of this rut, and share it with you, too, thus killing two birds with one stone. I get motivated and I also get this post out the door. Lol.

Do something

The best way to get unstuck when you’re paralyzed with indecision is to just do…something. Anything. Take out the trash. Eat lunch. Sign and email that form. One thing! Just do it. Doing one thing begets doing another, and even if not, at least you did one thing.

Switch up your view

When I really need to shake things up, I get up from my desk and go work…wherever else. The couch. A coffeeshop. The backyard. A different coffeeshop. Whatever you have access to. Physically move your body to a different location to trick your brain into doing something else. Try it. It works.

Turn off all the things

Hit pause on your inbox and Do Not Disturb on your phone, if you can. Turn of the wifi or use a blocker to prevent yourself from skating over to Bluesky and Instagram because you can’t motivate yourself to do whatever’s next on your list. If you take away the fun stuff, sometimes there’s nothing left to do but work.

Do a big thing

After I hit send on this, I’m going to go read a manuscript. I have 50 thousand other little tasks to do today and I could say to myself oh I’ll just do these 50 thousand little things and then get to the big thing in later this afternoon. But I won’t get to it later this afternoon because it already is later this afternoon and if I was capable of doing those 50 thousand little things before the big thing, I wouldn’t be writing this post!!! Ahem. So I’m going to go do the big thing, i.e. read a manuscript that needs reading. The other stuff can wait. It helps, too, that this task incorporates all the other advice on this list.

Cut yourself some slack

There are brain days and non-brain days. Maybe you’re having a non-brain day. It’s ok. You’re allowed. Some days are just less productive than others and that’s life. Fighting it will wear you out and set you back more than leaning into it and saying huh, it’s just not going to happen today.¹ It’s fine. Your value is not measured in how many things you check off the list today.

Ok, I’m going to go read a manuscript now! Lucky for me that’s part of my job! Happy reading, friends, and don’t forget to pre-order/order all these fantastic books, including mine!!!!!

OXOXOXOX,

Kate

1. I realize I have a job where this is possible. I know it’s not possible for everyone, at work or at home. You can likely apply this to something in you life like folding socks and making an elaborate dinner and cleaning out the junk drawer. Some days you have room for that stuff and some days you don’t.