Organized to Write

I haven't been writing for a couple of days because I've been organizing. instead I know, classic avoidance stuff. I've got a lot of stuff I want to put out into the world and it's been difficult prioritizing. I've been sorting files and projects on my MacBook trying to find some order because for some reason once I dig down into a few layers of files I get a mini anxiety attack. I can't explain it. I don't want to explore it. I just want the feeling to go away.

So I've been minimizing all the files, or at least grouping them into sections that will make it easier to find what I'm looking for. I'm naming things, not in some coy way that I'll forget three months from now, but by just calling it what it is. Simple enough, except three months ago I didn't think that way. I created a document, called it something I thought would be useful and saved it to my desktop. There's only so many times you can do this before the desktop becomes full, so I stuffed them into a file called "writing" because that's what they are. I kept doing this week after week and eventually, as I tucked things away it began to feel similar to stuffing things under the bed. This is always a bad sign.

So I've been unpacking all the damage I've done. Sorting with a touch more logic with files named WIP, Creative Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Tips and Ideas among others. Not perfect. Not bad. The beauty of a Mac is the Spotlight search field which has gotten me out of jams far more that I'd like to admit. Why be orderly? Because I feel better. There's a place for everything and everything has a place mentality.

It's the difference between a cluttered desk and a clean desk. There's not a right way or a wrong way. There's just written or unwritten.

I like the desk and desktop to be clean when I approach it, just like a blank sheet of paper. Then, as the creativity or brute force sets in, I give myself permission to muddy it up. That's the "in progress" part for me. When I'm done with the project...or company is coming over, I can put most things away and look presentable.

It must work, because now I'm organized and I just wrote. Tada!