I love to write with music on in the background. It calms my nerves. I also like to listen to music before I write. I know that I would not exercise unless I have a set schedule. That is why I meet my trainer Larry three times a week. There are days when the last thing I want to do is exercise, but since I had an appointment with Larry I had to go.

What is your ideal mood for doing the things that you want to do? What is stopping you from doing it? How can you put yourself in a better mood?

Before I started working with Kristi, I used to have an intern come to my house and I would write for an hour and a half. There were times when I could not write. I didn’t want to write. In the hour before she’d come, I would be stressed out because I had no idea what to say. She would come and I would get something on paper. It wasn’t always my best work, but it was something. And for writers, something is always better than nothing.

When we have things such as that business plan that needs to get done or even laundry, we need to decide what the best mood is that we are in. What can we do to be motivated? Is it getting the kids out of the house? Is it watching a reality show? What is it? If you have a business plan to write, do you need to go to a coffee shop? Do you need a cup of coffee? Do you need to listen to music?

This idea of mood seems so simple but is oftentimes skipped. A secret: I have no music on right now. Why? I don’t know. I know it would calm me down. I know I would write better. I have this nagging voice in my head that says, Turn on the music!

Similarly, what do you need to do in order to get yourself ready for the times when you can’t get into the right mood? When you have time off, are you really relaxing or are you doing activities that are not getting ready for the hustle of life?

Timelapse - Lighthouse (Oct 2012) from IMK Digital Multimedia on Vimeo.