1. Declutter: Started with decluttering mail yesterday. Unsubscribed from feel-good writing mailers. There’s nothing much for me to declutter at home, unless it’s my daughter’s cupboard. She might say the same about me, so I will take a relook at it end of winter.
2. No gifts please: Tough one. But I’ve got to learn to say no some day. May as well begin this year. Which also means, I stop the act of gifting things. Will just pass on God’s blessings, and of course books for kids of family and friends.
3. Learn to say no: This is a tough one. On my way to the Bombay office in 1995, I bought a book with a yellow cover and the title, How to Say No. At the Bombay office, one of the girls liked it so much that she asked if she could borrow it. I was leaving the next day, but of course I said ‘yes’. I haven’t seen the book since. Saying ‘no’ also covers not over-committing.
4. No procrastination: No reading writer’s blogs, agent’s blogs, publisher’s blogs, blogs of quirky, creative, dedicated people, amazon’s book lists, flipkart’s Wednesday sales, publisher’s lists, magazine interviews. I’ll give myself an hour each Sunday to check all these mails and what doesn’t fit into that hour gets deleted – Sunday Scrap. Only work mails during the day. It’s ok to miss a few discount offers, isn’t it? No, not ok, when it comes to books. So 15 minutes a day to check such mail or leave it for the Sunday Scrap. I ought to finish at least two Stephen King books in all that saved time. He’s my current favourite and guide, he talks to me in a different voice with each book.
5. Meditate everyday: Twice a day. At least.
6. Let go: Let go of the need for kindness, respect, stability. Let go of the compulsive need to get things perfect when there isn’t a need for it. The latter doesn’t apply to writing.
7. Write: 3 books this year. Since I turned full-time writer in 2012, I have managed 2 ghost writing books and 2 kids’ fiction books (unpublished). That’s one of each per year. Zero in 2014. Need to make up for that in 2015. One ghost writing book is almost half way there. Another might restart. My non-fiction book will be done this year. One third there. Kid’s fiction? Will that squeeze in? Plenty of things will have to take a no from me if I am to do that. Ok, so I will. Which takes me back to the habits of ‘no procrastination’, ‘learn to say no’ and ‘declutter’.

Mum says 7 was considered an unlucky number so that traders deliberately missed its count, 1…2…3…4…5…6…6+1…8…

I believe 7’s a lovely number. And I know, I know, that last one’s an outcome, not a habit.

Let’s Go.