Hey friends,
Last week I recorded a training by the window of my bedroom with seagulls screaming behind me. By the end there was a cat meowing outside my door.
Summer holidays are upon us, yay!
My goal for this summer, weather permitting, is to take my son to the park or the beach every day, for several hours a day, even if I sit there and write or record trainings.
I’ve often worked in between the spaces of my life, especially since I had my son, but even before, when I was in my twenties and traveling full time.
I found, over the last few years, that while I spent a lot of time working, I was really spending most of it on my computer and not getting much done.
Now, each moment of the time I spend on my computer is focused.
As I’ve been saying this week, I get into my flow. I work. Then I go enjoy all the other parts of my life, parts that I have carefully cultivated and nurtured because I love them too.
It’s not a perfect system for me yet, but I’m practicing. I’m getting better.
I’m lucky, I have to admit, because I spent a lot of time in my twenties traveling alone and therefore, living and working from hotel rooms and Internet cafes.
I learned to write wherever I was, and fast, so that I could spend the rest of my days exploring whatever new town or city I was in.
I particularly remember spending my summers in a mountain town in India called McLeod Ganj (the home of the Dalai Lama). Everyone who came there came on holiday.
Not me.
I was working remotely, being location independent before it became a fad, and choosing to be free of any responsibilities.
Inevitably, each year, I’d end up making friends almost immediately. The problem was that they’d be on holiday and I wasn’t, and so if I wanted to spend any time with them, I’d have to finish up my work quickly, in an hour or two each day. Sometimes I’d work late into the night.
I was productive, I got a lot of writing done, and I had an amazing life and lifestyle while I did it.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, because left to my own devices, that was my natural state. I loved my work, and I enjoyed every minute that I did it. But it wasn’t my entire life.
I don’t know when that natural default state shifted from “I love what I do and so I enjoy it when I do” to “I love what I do so I must fill my days with it.”
Sometimes, filling your days is good. Sometimes it isn’t.
Perhaps my default state has changed.
Or perhaps that old myth—the harder you work, the more deserving you are of your success—has resurfaced again.
Either way, this summer I’ve decided to find my natural state again.
When I changed my name, I accidentally dislodged a few beliefs.
Mridu had a deep desire to prove herself. Tash doesn’t really give much of a fuck.
Maybe Tash’s natural state is to work 14-hour days. Or maybe it’s getting whatever she can get done in three and then go drink wine on the beach.
Either way, I’m open to finding out.
I’m open to the unfurling of these revelations.
I’m open to stripping away the belief systems that have kept me trapped in my own sabotage, and discovering what life looks like when I give it free rein.
Either way, I’ll have fun along the way.
What about you?
Quick reminder: Bookish Academy is still open to new members.
Today’s bonus for signing up is a book promotion checklist for authors (with 21 things you must do on or before your launch to have the best chance of hitting the Amazon bestseller list.)
Something super exciting coming your way tomorrow, especially if you’ve been dreaming of writing for top newspapers and magazines.
Cheers,
Natasha