For the most part, I feel like I’ve got this shelter in place lifestyle down. My fridge, freezer, and cupboards are stocked. I only leave my apartment to go for a walk or a run, and the weekends and evenings are spent connecting and reconnecting with friends and family. I’m killing my at home workouts and tracking every single piece of food that passes my lips. My weight loss journey stops for no pandemic. And get this — I’m even on track to finish a baby blanket I started five years ago. (Better late than never, right?)

But the one thing I’m not doing, or barely doing, is writing.

This whole situation should low key be a writer’s dream. Long stretches at home with no where to go? I should be cranking out those pages. I should be getting lost in my story. I should be killing it.

But guess what? I am not killing it.

Maybe social media is to blame. I can’t seem to put down my phone and I feel compelled to post way more than usual lately, which is saying a lot. I even re-upped with Twitter (@NoCoastRomance, if you’re interested) so that I can get my thoughts out without bombarding my other social channels. I think part of it is a thirst for connection, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t step away from the phone now and then.

Maybe I’m mismanaging my time. Even though I’m home now, the days don’t feel any longer. I’m one of those people lucky enough to still have a job (*knock on wood*), so I spend my days trying to focus so I can get my work done so I can keep that job. Routine has been helpful, but my time after work isn’t structured enough. I might have to reapply some structure.

Maybe I miss writing on the L. It’s the only place I seemed to get those words on the page. Since I started working in Chicago in June, I’ve filled two notebooks and am working my way through a third. After finally finding a flow that worked, everything changed. But that doesn’t mean I can’t write in my notebook at home, right?

There are probably more “maybes” I can list here. But you know what those maybes are?

EXCUSES!

We’ve all got ’em. They might be why you find yourself opening the fridge for the umpteenth time today. They might be why you choose to sit on the couch rather than getting up and getting a sweat session in. They might be why you haven’t changed out of pajamas in days. (But trust me, keeping up on hygiene and putting on normal clothes will do wonders for your mental health right now, along with exercise and eating right.)

Or your excuses might be why you’re not writing!

On the writing front, I’m pleased to see that NaNoWriMo is ramping up for an April Camp NaNo. National Novel Writing Month doesn’t always get me on the accountability train, but it’s time to ditch my writing excuses, and this is going to help. (Big surprise, but I’m Laura Patrice on there, if you’re a writer and want to add me.) I’d like to come out of this coronavirus crisis with a draft I can get through some serious editing.

I have to get after it!

So I’ll pose the questions to you now.

• What do you want to accomplish during this time?
• And what excuses will you have to work through?

You know the old excuses adage. But here’s my twist:

Excuses. We all have them. But it’s up to you to kick them to the curb.

Be well. Get after it. And to all my writer folks, get writing!