Are You Lacking in Self-Discipline?

This is something that we all struggle with from time to time. When you look at it, a certain amount of discipline goes into just about everything. We won’t accomplish much of anything if we don’t have some sort of control and order in our lives.


I have to admit that I probably suck at this on many levels, although I have more self-discipline than many of the people I personally know, just in different areas. I’ve been trying to be better at this. I’m bad about keeping any kind of schedule unless it revolves around writing. When you don’t live alone, that’s not a good thing.

I will be the first to say that I usually lack the drive to clean the house, or to cook too for that matter. However, I have to do these things once in awhile, so I make myself get started, which is half the battle of accomplishment and discipline. Naturally, I’d rather be writing or doing some other sort of artistic venture.

Being determined will help you to get the job done and I do have a bit of stubbornness that I inherited from dear old dad. That is a great help because to me cleaning is not really stretching my mind or a very exciting task, although I like a clean house. The problem with this is that it never stays that way for long. That’s very discouraging when there are only the two of us and the cats. I won’t even go into all the problems with the garage. That project is one huge waste of time.

Cooking is something I rarely get in the mood to do either, but it is another thing that is there everyday because you have to eat. The thing about this is standing over a hot stove for an hour or so, the meal is gone in a flash and then it’s another hour standing over the sink. Of course, all the while, thoughts are darting in and out of my head that I really feel the need to get down on paper. Usually I’m thinking about escaping to the quiet of my office and away from the TV where politics is blaring out polluting the room. I know this is just one of my issues, but politics 24/7 is excessively much for my blood. I always wonder how all the talking heads do it, but then I have to think about my passion for writing. I suppose they have the same passion.

I wonder if I’m obsessed as people tell me I am. Sometimes I do ponder that, but then I think almost every person out there is obsessed with something. I tend to wind myself up with things and then it’s hard to put them down until the thing is complete, whether this is a writing project or reading a very good book. Even with cleaning, or yard work, I won’t take a break until the job is finished.

I was so interested in a novel series a couple of years ago that I took the books everywhere, even to the kitchen and would read them while I was cooking. These were huge books too – 1000 pages each.

I’m the same way with writing when I’m on a role with a project. I tend to breathe and sleep the thing until it’s finished, taking pen and paper to bed or getting up in the middle of the night to write, surviving on two hours of sleep at a time for weeks. On several occasions, I’ve stayed up three days in one stretch. I don’t know if this is a curse or a good thing. Does anything like this ever happen to any of you? Maybe I just need therapy...