Do you cause your own headaches, too? 😭

Me: why do I have a headache again?

Also me: stares at sleep app showing a sleep debt of 4,184 hours.

(I exaggerate but honestly only slightly.)

Ah. That might be why my head hurts. And why I can see tweety birds in my peripheral vision.

How can my sleep debt be this high?

Is it even possible to catch up at this point?

How does one even go about getting 8.5 hours sleep a night when every single day is just one stupid adulting thing after another, and then you have to clean the toilet?

Child me was a twat: being a grownup sometimes absolutely sucks.

(Although I can now draw on my walls without anyone yelling at me and eat chocolate for breakfast, so there is that.)

The thing is, I have nobody to blame but myself, and that’s super annoying.

I like being up early. It’s the best time of my day. I get to listen to my happy playlist, do a little yoga, have a hot shower in the World’s Most Glorious Bathroom^TM, and drink a cup of tea while doing the crossword.

Unfortunately, I am terrible at going to bed. I sabotage myself every single evening and I’ve tried so hard to not scupper my sleep.

No screens after 8pm — worked for a while, then I desperately need to check what that actor has been in before, I know I saw him in Buffy, I think he was “vampire 2” in season 2 episode 4 and my brain will not let me rest until I know for sure.

Then I suddenly need to groom Noodle because he gets super floofy in the summer and if we’re not careful, the floof turns into mats, so we have to comb them out.

On my way to bed, I’ll find 7 things that need doing urgently, including rearranging a bookshelf.

Do you see how I sabotage myself? It’s ridiculous.

But I’m trying.

Joe supports me in my endeavours by putting his phone away too, and bellowing at me from another room if he thinks I’m unduly faffing.

No caffeine after 11am.

Nothing sweet after dinner.

Some nights, I can’t get to bed early because I’m at a dance class or teaching a trapeze class or something, which means we eat late.

But other nights, I just get in my own way.

So I got myself a sleep app and I’m trying to use it. I can’t do this shit by myself — I find it extremely challenging and I will resist going to bed even if I am absolutely shattered. I don’t really understand why. And perhaps that’s the key: understanding.

Clarity is magic.

Clarity on why I struggle with sleep; clarity on why we can’t begin the things we want to begin.

I sabotage my sleep; my clients sabotage their book-writing…

And here are 3 ways you’re sabotaging yourself if you want to write a book but you’re not.

1. Trying to write a perfect first draft. We compare our first drafts to other people’s fifth drafts and that stops us from even starting.
2. “Fitting it in” to everything else. No. Nope. Ain’t gonna happen. We make space for the things that are important to us, so if your book is important to you, create space to write it. If we try to fit it in, there’ll always be a reason not to do it.
3. Starting before your idea is clear. There’s a lot to be said for just writing and getting on with it… but if we don’t know where we’re going or exactly who it’s for, or why we’re even writing, we’ll stall.

Sound familiar?

In that case, you’ll want to come along to Kickstart Your Book on July 23, 2024 at 4pm UK time.

It’s a 90-minute-easy-to-implement start-your-nonfiction-book workshop that will teach you exactly how to get clear on your book idea so you can…

• Quickly see what’s getting in the way of you actually writing your book.
• Get crystal clear on exactly what your nonfiction book is about, so when someone asks you, “What’s your book about?” you can tell them confidently in just a couple of sentences.
• Define what your goals are for your book, your goals as a writer, and your goals for your readers — and feel super clear on the next steps to take, so you’re never stuck for words again.

What’s included?

• 90-minute live workshop (plus recording for you to download and keep).
• My easy-to-implement Magnifying Glass Method to put your book idea under the microscope and refine it so you feel confident about writing it.
• A step-by-step workbook complete with questions and prompts to help you figure out your book angle, writer goals, reader goals, objective for your book, and timer planner so you can get started with ease.
• Ask me anything at any time, live during the call, and I’ll help you workshop aspects of your book idea live.
• My Reader Journey template for you to take away and fill in after the workshop, so you have something concrete to begin with after I’m gone.

AND, as an additional bonus, you get a week’s FREE access to my Creative Playground accountability writing sessions to help you carry on that momentum and make real progress on your book immediately.

Are you in?

Kickstart Your Book