It was bound to happen, eventually. Pushing, pulling, exercising a sheer force of will, digging deep, and not accepting excuses can carry you far. Until the day everything falls apart. Despite your best efforts, your world implodes, and you discover band-aids, chewing gum, and baling wire are not the cure-all everyone says they are. Contrary to popular opinion, you can’t always do more with less, productivity does not increase proportionally to the number of hours worked, and unreasonable expectations are not imaginary beasts.

Thankfully, when I state we cannot complete a project within the expected time frame, the conversation stops, and people listen. Someone must be the voice of reason. When the words emanate from the perpetual optimist and the “we-can-do-it-team” cheerleader, heads descend from the clouds, and deadlines get adjusted. I see relief in my team’s eyes as they step back from the edge. Today, nobody will break.

No matter the challenges and the obstacles blocking my way, I maintain the item at the top of my list as a non-negotiable. Yesterday I wrote 0 words.

Did you write yesterday?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer