Getting Started

A long a time ago I told myself that I should write a novel and have it published before I reach 40. Well I learned that procrastination will lead you nowhere.

Three weeks from now I will reach the dreaded age of 40. Four decades! It can't be that fast... It's just like yesterday when I made a commitment to write a novel... well that was 10 years ago. I only started my "novel" last December, and I was able to write three paragraphs... Not bad at all! The problem is time, at the rate I'm going it would really be impossible to finish it before I turn 40, not to mention my other goal that it should be published.

So, looking back, what really happened?

First, procrastination. I'm turning 40 and it seems I never learn that you can't finish anything if you procrastinate. Learn, learn! Procrastination has no place in this concrete jungle we are in! You have got to do what you have got to do. Set your goals and try to do it. If you just joined the workforce, set a goal, and do it.

Second, time. Since I go to work everyday, I don't have the luxury of time to start with my novel. Though I already have an idea on what it's all about, I can't get it started. I wake up around 4:30 in the morning, do a 30 minute exercise (most of the time I skip the exercise and just wake up 5:00 in the morning), take a bath, should be in the road by 6, arrive in the office by 7, take my breakfast, and start working until 5, or 6 PM. Arrive home by 7, take my dinner. Take a bath around 9 PM. Should be asleep by 11, since I have to be awake by 4:30, or 5:00 depending on my desire to be fit. So, with that kind of schedule, how the hell can I write my novel. Well, if I really wanted to do it, I could really to do it, it's just called time management. Remember, if you set a goal, you need to manage your time in order to achieve it.

Lastly, distraction. I want to do other things beside writing a novel. I want to set up my Zen garden, I want to make my house "green". I want to "automate" my house. With all these goals, I was able grow a papaya tree in my garden (there goes the Zen), I was able to put up a solar powered fountain, which broke up only after three months, I was able to put up an alarm system for my house, which triggers with no apparent reason, and I was able to start my novel with three paragraphs.

We live in a concrete jungle. If you belong to the working class, you know what I mean. You know how competitive this world we are in. We don't want to live our lives with a routine. We need to set a goal that will break the cycle of work, putting more time in our hands to enjoy something we wanted to do aside from work. We need to set a goal to improve our standing in the workplace, we need to compete in order for us to achieve the position we are aspiring for. But in setting our goals, let us not forget to set something achievable. So, I'm getting started. I have no problem at work. I need to do something to break the cycle of work.

I won't be able to write my novel before I reach 40. I'm setting up another goal. I'm going to start blogging before I reach 40. Mission accomplished!