I believe artists are weird. I do not believe artists have to be crazy or unhealthy. I want to write for as long as possible, as many stories as I possibly can write, and write well, on my time here. So I think it's important to be healthy physically and mentally.

So I begin what I call my Jedi Training: my attempt to become physically and mentally improved, and to establish the habits it takes to be a professional author.

Physical

I'm 5'3", 148lbs. Almost 29. Not super bad, but certainly not the 117 lbs tank I was while rowing in high school, or the 115 lbs walking and dancing machine I was in Japan.

Truth is, I came home from abroad three years ago and gained 20 lbs. Got a horrible job and gained 20 more. In the past three months, I've lost ten by working out and eating better and not being at that horrible job. But I have a long way to go, and I'm working on it now.

I have a gym I can go to, and I've been (inconsistently) doing workouts from Blogilates on YouTube. She's crazy and peppy and motivating.

Mental

Because talking about anxiety can be annoying or a downer for a lot of people (or at least, my social anxiety is telling me that if I talk about it too much people will think I'm weak, lazy, excuse-making, and enjoy the "easy attention" (trust me, I wish it were easy)) I have code-named my anxiety issues Darth Metus.

Metus means fear, dread, or anxiety in Latin. I will personify my anxiety as a Sith Lord sending his Force-lightning at the base of my skull. And I will train to beat him.

Jedi Training Schedule

• Limit caffeine intake to one cup of (caffeinated) coffee per day

• Get adequate rest

• Write something every day

• Move around, get out of the house, work out

• Morning pages (self-check in)

TRAIN WITH ME! What's your Jedi Training? What's your schedule and the small changes you will start out with to ease into training?