Kinda sorta accountability, just with a slightly different focus.

Continue to weigh myself every Monday morning. Still at my goal weight, so yay. I almost always gain weight at the end of the year. Going to see if I can break that habit this year. We’ll see.

While I was at the writing marathon, I started walking 10K steps per day. I’m not doing a streak with that many steps. However, most days this last week I managed 10K. A reasonable goal for me is probably going to end up being 10K steps M-F, then get in what I can on the weekend.

I have been stretching and doing yoga every day, regardless of the number of steps. I’ve started stretching my legs at night. Easier to do at the main house. We’ll see how I manage this week while at the tiny house.

I continue to speak Hungarian every day. Am up to 108 days so far, today will make 109. It pleases me that I’ve actually managed a streak like this. Generally, streaks don’t work well for me.

I have not written every day. I know that trying to force a streak with that would turn the writing from a joy into a chore. Am currently in one of those books that it might take a long time to finish, as I keep having to stop and think about what comes next. I hope to be able to develop a new habit, of taking that time but shortening it, from a day to just a quarter hour or so.

Mind you, I do like the book I’m currently writing. It’s a straight mystery, a private investigator. I have one main plot and five subplots at this point. Some of the subplots are minor. Still, I feel as though this is a different way of writing for me, having all these balls up in the air.

This feels different than having multiple POV characters, because that’s several people to keep track of. This is mostly from a single POV (with a few chapters from the killer’s POV, because I can) so it’s more keeping track of threads, not people. They intertwine in the main character’s head, one influencing the next.

One of my default’s in terms of story telling is a sort of coming of age story, a woman gaining her power. This mystery is different. She hasn’t lost her power, but is kind of rebuilding her life. I like the challenge of coming up with a plot that’s so very different from what I normally write.

The other thing that I’ve maintained has been my whiteboard with all the tasks on it. This has continued to be very successful for me. In particular, it’s good for relieving my stress levels. I think of something that needs doing. I can put it on the board, out a few months if necessary. The stress goes away, because I’ve accounted for that thing and I’ve been successful at knocking items off that I’ve put on the board.

But now – back to the fiction! What new habits are you building these days?