Wednesday 17 August 2011

Day Zero Update

Day Zero

Happy Wednesday everybody :) One of my Day Zero challenges is to keep track of the list in this blog, so that's exactly what I'm doing now. After much consideration, I've decided to edit the list a bit. I love all of the challenges on there, but some of them are a bit...not pointless, but won't really have a long term effect. I really want to use the list as a way to sort my life out, which is currently at a bit of a post-graduation standstill.

So yeah, there's going to be a few changes. If any of you have got any suggestions, they would be very welcome :) I've managed to tick off three so far:

1. Write a letter to myself to open at the 1001 days.
This was really challenging, a lot more challenging than I thought it would be! It was originally 'write a letter to myself to open in 10 years', but I am way, way too impatient and I knew that I would never last ten years! I'd probably also lose a letter in that time, because who knows where I'll be in ten years?! Also, I think that the comparison between now and after the 1001 days will be more interesting, to see exactly how much it changed my life/me.

Anyway, challenging! I have kept a diary since I was really young, and most of my old ones are in boxes. Reading past diary entries, even ones from a few months ago, often makes me cringe. So writing a letter to myself had the odd effect of me cringing when I was writing it, as well as imagining myself cringing when I read it in 2014! Like I said though...the experience should be interesting.

18. Get a new haircut
This might not seem like a big deal to anybody else, but it was quite a big deal for me! I had been growing my hair for four years, from my second year of sixth form and all through uni. This was mainly because I couldn't decide what to do with it, so it was easier just to do nothing. Then when it got to a certain length it started to get really difficult to maintain; it took me ages to wash it, it took even longer to dry and straighten it etc. I'd wanted to do something dramatic with it for ages, so I finally got it all cut off. Well obviously not ALL of it, but let's just say that I lost more hair than I have left on my head.











86. Influence someone to make a day zero list.
This was a rather easy one. My friend Becca, who just graduated from my course with me and is also at a bit of a standstill, decided to make one too!

Once I've finished editing and have a final list, I'm going to print it off on to a big chart and stick it on my wall and decorate it :) It's all about having fun while achieving my goals after all, might as well make it look pretty too!

Book update

I'm currently reading The Lessons by Naomi Alderman, one of the books I got from the library. I'll save all the details for my review, but I will say this; the book has me hooked, but it's with very mixed and confused emotions that I keep on reading. 

As I've mentioned before, I studied Creative Writing at university. Unfortunately the fact that I was studying the art of writing actually put me off writing for fun for a while. I think this was mainly due to lack of inspiration more than anything else. All of my ideas were being used for my assignments, and so I was struggling to write for fun because I had nothing to write about. Anyway, I had a bit of a 'lightbulb above my head moment' when I was writing my last ever creative piece for my degree. It dawned on me that it was my last ever piece that I would be marked on, and that I might as well have some fun with it. I really enjoyed writing it after that, and it proved to me how much I do love writing.

So anyway, reading Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project led me to Chris Baty, the founder of National Novel Writing Month, and his book No Plot? No Problem! which I have just ordered and will be here very soon. Obviously I don't just expect to write an amazing novel in a month and just go 'tad daaaaa, it's finished', but I'm hoping that the advice and stratergies in there will help me get back on the metaphorical horse and start writing again and actually finish something!


So I think that's it! I'm going to sign off here because I've probably rambled enough for one day. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day! :)

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