Slowing down, moving with intention, going for a walk. What to do when you’re suddenly activated? When your nervous system is going haywire?

In a world obsessed with speed (and evidence showing our attention spans decreasing), quick wins, fast drafts, quick turnaround to publication, and viral success, writing has required a monumental amount of patience from me. My drafts might come quickly, but if revision is writing, well that shit is as slow as molasses.

I started writing this post from a large cabin in North Carolina last weekend. I found myself there alone for one whole day, with all the time in the world, excited to get some reading and writing done. Before I could settle, I walked around, tried to find a comfortable permanent spot for the day, realized it was too hot outside, looked for a spot inside, needed coffee, needed to eat, thought for a moment I lost the dog I was watching, panicked, ran around the driveway in socks, found the dog (he was fine, amen), thought about the list of things I wanted to work on, thought about the list of things I’ve started and haven’t finished. But what, oh what, was calling to me now? Because that’s part of the problem, I think? Maybe? Am I procrastinating in “waiting to be called” to work on an unfinished project? Or am I following my intuition, leading with my gut, on what needs to get done now? If I could figure that out, I could make the best use of my time, right? Right?