Today’s prompt: ROUTINE
This is how to disrupt your routine: list your house for sale.
I didn’t get to write last night because my work schedule requires me to go to bed so early these days (something I gladly do). I didn’t get to write when I finished working this morning because my daughter was in town and I needed to meet her (also a good thing).
That left me with this five-minute sliver before I have to clear out the house for its first showing to a potential buyer.
I could have spent that five minutes scrolling Facebook.
I could have (maybe should have) checked the cats’ litter area one last time to make sure they didn’t sabotage operation sell this house.
But writing has to happen, for me at least. It isn’t a perfect moment. I am anxious about all the house-selling process. I am afraid the realtor is going to call during the five minutes and my train of thought, such as it is, will derail.
I have learned to write no matter what, though. It is why I write a blog post every Sunday whether I feel inspired or not (obviously over nine years I have managed to find something every except one or two Sundays when I just couldn’t post).
Wherever I live, I will always have writing. The writing is what needs to be the routine no matter what is happening externally.
Maybe soon I will have some home selling adventure to write about!
These walls have surrounded me as I wrote since 2005. As I ran these streets, I gathered motivation and organized my thoughts.
I wonder what the next home will contribute to (or detract from) my writing routine. I do know it has been a plus to move away from the dining room table and to a dedicated work space.
That dedicated work space will definitely be part of my routine at the next place.
Welcome to this week’s Five Minute Friday. Our instructions, via creator Kate Motaung: “Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation.” (But I can’t resist spell checking, as you can imagine.)
Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
Tara says
Yes…your writing goes with you. I wrote about the routine of words over at my place today. I’m in the 45 spot this week.
Paula Kiger says
You are, of course, right. Will look forward to visiting your post.
martha brady says
hi Paula, hope the sale of your house goes well. i don’t envy you. i’ve been through it a few times. the last time was 2013. i planned for it much better and followed a lot of the rules: packed away all the things that could clutter, made sure everything looked clean and fresh, it was all recently painted (a few years earlier) with a neutral color, our realtor said we didn’t need to remove the personal family photos (good thing…that’s mostly what i had!) and that was probably what sold the house! it was the first time our house sold the first day with an offer from the first person for the asking price! so exciting!
Paula Kiger says
I hope so too! Our neighborhood is extremely desirable for a number of reasons (great “feel,” big lots, schools that people want to go to), so that’s a plus. Thanks for the encouragement.
1010parkplace says
A new home will fuel you with new… and unexpected challenges and things to write about. Good luck on a quick sale!
Paula Kiger (Big Green Pen) says
Oh yeah I am sure you are right about the new writing material and challenges! So far, hearing prospective buyers’ feedback is requiring a kind of thick skin, but I guess that comes with the process. Thanks for the positive wishes.