Last week I was very ambitious. I read a few sentences somewhere about how writers need a business plan. I know some business. Make a plan for income and expenditures with action steps to meet the goals set. Easy. It is not. But I set out a solid work plan through June with measurable goals. I like goals. I like lists. I like seeing progress. And while I’m waiting and stalking my inbox for answers, it’s a good thing for me to KEEP WRITING. JUST KEEP WRITING.

My goals for this week:

1. Taxes. Ugh.

2. Polish up a finished story, write a synopsis, and start querying.

Turns out, that story wasn’t quite finished and now I remember why, so the work’s been a little more intense than I thought. And the taxes? *unintelligible mutters*

Neither is really all that difficult (although, seriously, taxes…why so complicated? Also: Cheryl, plot better please.), so what is the deal? I’ve heard someone else call it the imposter syndrome when referring to writing. The idea that any success you’ve had has been pure luck and you can never repeat it again because you don’t know what you’re doing. And for me, it’s the biggest challenge.

Goals are good things. I’m going to hit this week’s, I think, so we’ll see how it goes from there. Writers, how do you keep going? Got a business plan model you’d like to share?

Lately I’ve struggled to write, mostly because of my own doubt rather than a lack of inspiration. I stare at the blank page and tell myself I should be better at this by now. It should be easier or faster or something. I go through these phases sometimes where I can’t quite tackle one thing because I “should” be doing something else. My day job is done from home and of course I write in the very same desk chair, so any time I’m at home I could be working. I “should” be working on something. Or at the very least I should be cooking, cleaning, weeding, buying groceries, paying the bills, or doing laundry so that I’m not forced to choose between a swimsuit and an old Halloween costume to dress myself.

This feeling of “should” can be exhausting, can’t it? It’s hard to settle down, relax, when there’s always something else to do. I decided part of my problem is too much time in front of the computer so I tried not to think in shoulds this weekend.

I watched movies: White House Down (which was better as Olympus Has Fallen but I do like Jamie Foxx as the president) and Pacific Rim (needs more Idris Elba). I finally finished reading a book that I’ve been limping through for entirely too long. To eliminate one nagging to-do list item, I rediscovered the health benefits of dusting. (If you actually survive the experience, it’s a lot easier to breathe afterwards. I’m totally going to do it again next year.) Knocking out a few shoulds seems like a great way to regain some of that focus. I guess we’ll see!

Anybody else have this challenge? Too many shoulds crowding out your focus? What do you do to conquer it?