What Gets Me On My Feet and Out the Door

Most mornings I head out the back door for a walk around my neighborhood. Some days I walk "unplugged" so I can listen to the birds, ponder an issue (Should I quit caffeine? to which the answer is always NO), or sort out a complication in my work. Other days I listen to podcasts and audiobooks on my iPod -- a great way to stay informed, get educated, and get off my rear end at the same time, because we all know sitting will kill you, and who sits more than writers?

Most podcasts are free, and you can find them on almost any topic. One podcast I listen to frequently is by Todd Henry, author of two great books: The Accidental Creative and Die Empty. He often interviews thought leaders across the spectrum of business and creativity as well as offering his own timely and practical advice. I'll listen to the segment, then shut off my iPod and keep walking, allowing my mind to drift over everything I just heard. This is the important part for me: applying that wisdom in my own life and work. Find out more about Todd's work here.

The eponymous painting.

Sometimes I just need to let my mind relax and escape for a while, so that's when I listen to music or an audiobook. I'm easily bored (not my best quality!), and I get tired of my playlists after a while. Audiobooks, on the other hand, keep me entertained for my daily 2.5 miles. My local library has audiobooks I can check out, and sometimes I splurge and buy them. Lately I've been listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction--well-deserved, I might add. It's awesome, the story of a tiny painting's influence on a man's life. (No, really, it's much more exciting reading than that lame description sounds. I'm serious.) Even better, the prospect of hearing the next chapter motivates me to strap on the old walking shoes.

What podcasts do you listen to? I'd love to hear your suggestions! And if you've got suggestions for a good walking music playlist, share those, too!

The Terrors of Authorship

Writing a book seems like such an audacious thing, and self-publishing it even more audacious, though people have been self-publishing since papyrus was the medium of choice. Or maybe even cuneiform. However, I have always known that I would write a book. It's been in my blood like some sort of chronic condition. Having done it feels surreal and supremely satisfying.

Authorship, though, is terrifying. Hiding behind someone's copy is one thing. Claiming the product of my creativity is like parading naked through the marketplace, as many writers have already shared. (Edna St. Vincent Millay said, “A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down. If it is a good book nothing can hurt him. If it is a bad book nothing can help him.”)

Making the transition from writer to author happened between the third and fourth draft of my book, after the copy editor had her way with the manuscript. I wasn't scared by her constructive criticism; as an editor myself, I treasured her comments. What really scared me was that she was taking me seriously, that I was really writing this book, that it really was going to be published and PEOPLE WERE GOING TO READ IT, including my relatives (who, by the way, are lovely people who have done nothing but encourage me).

So here it is, on the cusp of its release: a little guidebook about living a less cluttered life. I started writing it over a year ago, and I am more convinced than ever that I would not live any other way. If writing the book helped me realize this, then it was worth all the trouble to write it. And if it proves helpful to its readers, then I'm twice as happy I wrote it. Godspeed, little book.

My ebook, Declutter for Good: Share Your Stuff and Reclaim Your Life will be released September 15, 2014 on digital platforms, including Amazon.