Meaningless habits

Do you remember the story about the person who did the dishes after every meal?

Did you see the movie about the student who studied his or her notes every night to be prepared for each exam?

Probably not, because there probably aren't many books or films about the routine. Stories are usually about the exceptions, the memorable once-in-a-lifetime events.

It's more exciting to read about the person who inherits a mansion or watch the film where a student romances the classmate that he or she thought was unattainable.

But here's the twist - those two exciting characters are also the dull characters from the top of the page.

The vigilante-like hero made a habit of taking care of his home consistently turned his home into the best by working on it daily. The student became irresistible to his or her future spouse through work ethic.

And here's the other plot twist - they don't have to be characters. They can be real people.

I was thinking about how the routine becomes dismissed a couple weeks ago when debating with some Twitter followers which was more important - a regular-season baseball game or a pre-season football game. The opinion was split 50-50, which baffled me. The baseball game actually counts towards who will make the playoffs. The football game did not count toward anything.

But then I realized what it was. There are 162 regular season baseball games. There are 20 regular season and preseason football games combined. People were more impressed by the exception than by the actual meaning of the game.

Those who don't care for the long baseball season argued that no one game mattered. But each one mattered some. The reason the teams in Baltimore and Pittsburgh already know they won't be playing for a championship is because they've already lost so many games that their seasons can not be salvaged. On the other hand, teams in Los Angeles and Tampa Bay have won so many they are almost certain to be in the postseason.

There were times the Baltimore and Pittsburgh teams won, and times the Los Angeles and Tampa Bay teams lost. But that was not the consistency for those teams.

The writer, too, needs to be consistent. Yes, there will be days where you can't find the time or creativity to add to your draft. There will be times when you can't find that next avenue to promote your work. But to reach meaningful goals, you need to keep up with good habits, even if they are dismissed as meaningless by your peers.

Skip one night of writing to hang out with your friends? Sure. Make a habit of skipping out on writing to hang out? You have to draw a line. Stay in the habit of writing five or six days a week, and eventually the story will come together.

Take a break from reaching out to organizations and posting videos online to promo your book? Sure, we all need rest. Give up on it entirely until you think you've found that 100% effective marketing strategy? No such thing. Inertia will eventually set in and you will find it more and more difficult to reach any new readers.

Not everyone will get it, because not everyone appreciates the value of small things done consistently. That's okay. It is only by your consistency that one day they will be impressed with the final product.

Next week: Closing a book, Opening a series