by Tara Lazar

Reading the title, it’s not what you think.

I do schedule plenty of things—school visits, weeknight dinners, and birthday parties. But what I’m suggesting here is to schedule NOTHING: time, that is, to DO NOTHING.

No laundry. No grocery shopping. No pickleball. (Please, no pickleball!!!)

I want you to set aside at least 15 minutes every day to just BE. Stare out the window. Have a cuppa cocoa. Let your mind wander. Don’t concern yourself with any task. Don’t start obsessing over your to-do list. Your assignment is NOTHING.

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Yes, I want you to relax. Our lives can be tremendously fast-paced. We need time to catch our breath. But there is a simple benefit to letting your mind take a stroll—we wind up going to new, unexpected places.

Since you’ve done the Storystorm challenge now for 30 days, story ideation should have become a habit. But with our busy, modern lives, we can easily forget it, let it go. I’m encouraging you to schedule daydreaming time so you continue this habit throughout the year.

Three years ago, when I wrote about creating a habit, I learned it’s easiest to “piggyback” on an established habit. You can tack daydreaming onto your morning routine. Or afternoon coffee break. Or before-bed wind-down.

I find that daydreaming gets me out of story pickles (again with the pickles?) and provides clarity on an existing project. And when I’m done daydreaming, I think about career goals. What do I want to accomplish this week? Month? Year? You need time to think about these things, and not just while you’re sitting at a traffic light.

Scheduled thinking time is something successful business leaders work into their day. You own a business, too—YOU. Being an author is a business and you should be planning that business. Allow for some quiet time every day to not only imagine new stories, but to set goals and to plan. Don’t let this time be interrupted! It may look like NOTHING, but you’re actually WORKING. Literally! 

Today is the last official day of Storystorm. Tomorrow, if you have at least 30 ideas, you can sign the Storystorm pledge to be eligible for one of the Grand Prizes: an evaluation of your best 5 ideas by a kidlit agent. If you don’t have 30 ideas yet, consider today a bonus day, the perfect day to start doing nothing.