In The Habit

Hello, dear reader!

They say it’s the little things that count.

Of late, I’ve taken this old saw somewhat to heart, and, like a lot of things in life, it started with a book.

Big Picture
The book in question is called Atomic Habits. It’s a pretty involved, factual, almost self help-y type of tome. The crux of it, though, at least the crux as I understood it (so quite possibly the wrong crux), is that, in order to improve one’s life in any given capacity, one should look, not at the big picture, but at the details.

If you can make one small change to any given endeavour that improves said endeavour by 1%, and can keep doing so, then those improvements compound.

Small changes in — big changes out.

One of those changes has been to introduce some structure and accountability to my life, a huge and not very well defined goal, but one that’s proven (so far) to be reasonably easy.

I’ve started to keep a journal.


The Moving Finger
Now, this is something I’ve toyed with before. I even bought a new and rather snazzy notebook for that express purpose. It didn’t stick, probably because 1) I wasn’t sure what I was doing (see above re lack of structure) and 2) I have trouble reading my own handwriting.

So, let’s break it down, make small improvements and see how we get on.

Problem 2 was the easiest to solve. If I have the handwriting of a half-spider-half man doctor after several pints and a broken dominant hand, then writing on the laptop would be an answer.

Of course I don’t take the laptop with me wherever I go, so that knocks back immediacy a little but that actually works in my favour when it comes to problem number 1. It means I need to take a more structured approach to journaling. If I am to do so daily, then I need a time, a place and a format to follow.

And so…

The Old Routine
Each morning ,for the last week, I’ve embedded my online journal into my morning routine. It goes, get up (a good start), walk dog, breakfast, feed animals, and then write down 1) the day and date (as a shiftless burden on society, this is actually a bigger deal than you might think 2) any thoughts, problems, ideas, and frustrations that are passing through my brain. 2) any aims, appointments, and jobs that need doing that day. I’ve found that 3) in particular has already reaped benefits.

None of the aims I jot down are massive. In fact, they tend to be on the small side. An hour of writing, and hour of reading my crossword, a trundle. These are standard aims, but they give my day shape. They encourage routine. And writing them down and marking them off encourages a sense of accountability.

In a teeny-tiny way it makes my day measurable. It makes me accountable. And it makes sure I know the day and the date (I now need a list of family and friend birthdays to cross reference, or possibly a working memory. The former might be an easier ask). That might be the next 1%.

Now, what’s next on the list?



Until next time.


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Hey, there! If you enjoyed reading any of the above, why not take a look at some of my published work? Below you’ll find links to a number of short stories I’m lucky enough to have included in anthologies. I’d love to know what you think.


New Tales Of Old


Death Ship


Pestilence: Drabbles 1


Reaperman: Drabbles 3


The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu


Eldritch Investigations