July 2020 was a mixed blessing.
One the one hand, the planet, and Melbourne in particular is a disaster. The State Government literally declared a State of Disaster. It sounds bad (and it is), but the declaration allows and requires some sets of actions by government and the people.
On the other, I published a bunch of short stories, and people are buying them.
So despite all the doom and gloom, I have to say the joy of selling stories outweighs the rest.
| Virtue | Jun | Jul | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasure: Recharge Read 78 books | 😐 | 🙂 | Massive romance binge this month in an attempt to avoid bringing further unpleasantness into the house. Also incredibly reluctant to try reading anything more than 200 pages – don’t have the patience or concentration for that! I’ve now read 70 books against my 78 target. • Playing By The Greek’s Rules • The Tortured Rake • Midnight at Tiffany’s • Christmas Ever After • Fool Me Once • Moonlight Over Manhattan • The Watchmaker of Filigree Street • Dear Enemy • Scared to Death • Almost Just Friends • The Freelancer’s Survival Guide • |
| Friendship: Friends I love meeting new people, and as I am friendly and outgoing, I make friends easily. • Make some local writer friends. | 😐 | 🙁 | It’s weird how hard it is to stay in touch when you can’t go out. Video chats, texts, emails aren’t quite the same as meeting for a meal at a restaurant. Hard enough to maintain friendships without making new friends. Though I’m thankful for the people in my life. |
| Friendship: Creatures My creatures are happy and healthy and find my garden a haven. | 🙂 | 😐 | We agreed we’d look for a labrador breeder, but the travel restrictions mean we can’t visit and check them out. It’s so frustrating! |
| Friendship: Contribution I share my knowledge, time, and money with those who need it. • Write and publish stories. | 😐 | 🙂 | I’ve got 16 of my old short stories up for sale! I wrote a little haiku on Tough Times, thought about how small choices can make a big difference, and shared a cheery Bing Crosby song. |
| Beauty: body I enjoy exercising my lean, healthy 59 kg body several times a week. • Eat < 5g of salt and sugar per day. • Walk 10,000 steps per day. • Sleep 8 hours each night. | 🙂 68.7 kg | 🙂 69.2kg | Had some little cancers burnt off, and the big scar is looking good. Not happy about the weight, though it could be worse. Have you noticed how the prices of regular food are going up, but the snack food seems to be constantly on sale? |
| Beauty: garden My garden is peaceful (lush and abundant, providing habitats, weather protection and a mystical threshold) Q3 & 4: finish the plan and start landscaping/planting. | 😐 | 🙁 | I haven’t done any of this. |
| Beauty: home I live in a comfortable home that soothes my soul. | 😐 | 😐 | I vacuumed once or twice… |
| Wisdom: growth I learn and grow every day. • Visit a historically or culturally significant venue or event each month. | 😐 | 😐 | Haven’t even done online tours. Though I’ve been reading more. |
| Wealth: time Turn the computer off by 5:30 pm. | 🙂 | 😉 | Kinda, sorta, maybe now and again. Though on a related note, I wrote about price and quality over the long-term. |
The bulk of July 2020 went on business planning and publishing stories. My productivity journal bangs on about how tired and busy I am – so much so I didn’t add many stickers in.
Started a new daily writing streak with a goal is 1,000 words a day. The month got off to a shaky start but ended with16 days. Though I only hit the target on three of them.
Covid is crimping my plans, same as everyone else. It’s tempting not to think too far ahead, but after doing a stocktake of saleable work I realised that I completed 63 stories in the last 15 months. And then there was May’s massive mulch relocation. So the thing of it is, a little bit at a time, over a long time, makes a big difference.
Stay well, and try not to let the easing and imposing of health related restrictions get to you.
You can find more monthly reports on the Life Worth Living page.