Tip 20: Do one thing for your writing today

The regret brought on by Chinese proverbs and using pre-emptive regret to motivate you past procrastination to action. Just one thing!

Hello and hip hip hooray to the second Monday of the year!

I am sure you’ve have heard the Chinese proverb “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is today.”¹

As aphorisms go it's a zinger. It has that universal truth that life would be better if we’d started on our dreams sooner.

I can’t be the only one who regrets not starting a stretching regime, writing a novel and managing the files on my computer 20 years ago. If only! I’d be a fully optimised human, instead I am a regretful, digitally-burdened, scrappy first draft, imperfect being with tight hamstrings. 

But you know what, that’s OK. I can start today. 

Which brings me to the second regret of this aphorism. Of course it’s true we can start today. But it is also true that I will, once again, put it off. Procrastinating on our dreams is the universal truth of human existence.

I now regret my failure to be the kind of person who embraces a simple, sensible idea and starts immediately. Pre-emptive regret anyone?²

How to start today

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (if only for my own benefit). Start small. Very small. Perhaps just a minute or two on your writing. 

The key to building habits is doing something once, getting a pop of pleasure that it’s been done, and then repeating it.

Yes of course, in a perfect world, we should have done more, for longer and of course, 20 years ago, but for now, just do something very small that contributes to your writing and feel chuffed with that. 

And that doesn’t have to be WRITING - it could be voice-noting an idea, finding a note book, opening a folder on our computer, or writing down a word, a goal, a next step. Something small enough to beat procrastination and get you off the starting blocks. 

If you need an accountability push, pop down to the comments below and share the one small thing you can do today.

Next week we’ll look at setting goals, but for now, just show up imperfectly.

Here's to starting,

Bec ❤️​

1. This so-called Chinese proverb is scattered across the internet as ancient wisdom. When Quote Investigator set out to explore the provenance, it’s actually a lot more recent and as likely to cover strawberry plants as is it saplings. That said, it doesn’t undermine the ‘truth’ of the saying and how it resonates for many of us.

2. I love portmanteau words. Political commentator and former spin doctor Alastair Campbell has been promoting his new book recently and talking about how he invented the word persilience – to describe a combination of perseverance and resilience. In that spirit pre-emptive regret is now pregret.