It’s time to honor my New Year’s tradition—making a list of anti-resolutions. Unlike my friends who always seem to be resolving to DO something, I like to increase my odds of success by resolving NOT to do something. It’s my anti-bucket List.
CATEGORY #1 Things not to do for entertainment.
• Hike, or any activity that requires carrying provisions on my back
• Eat, sleep, or work outside. Outside is simply the place where I keep my car.
• Watch G-rated movies, or any movie a 10-year-old would understand, or where the laws of physics are broken.
CATEGORY #2 Things I refuse to do as a writer
• Write every day. I work much better when I have choices. As long as I have the requisite number of words by the due date, it’s a matter of personal rhythm. Plots often form on days “off.”
• Write what I know. Do you realize how short a book that would be? It’s all about research.
• Outline. I hated them in college; I still hate them.
CATEGORY #3 Places not to visit
• Small towns, i.e., any city with population less than 8,000,000
• “Historical” places, where all the tour highlights are from another century
• Regions without WiFi or home delivery
I’ll spare you the rest, but leave you with a favorite quote:
Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. ~~ Steve Jobs
I wish all the Perseverance Press staff and bloggers and readers a very Happy New Year—May you do nothing in 2013 that you don’t want to do.
Filed under: Camille Minichino
Brava, Camille! I agree with everything except the small town no-go. Last year I left a town of 900 for a town of 1600, and already I find too many cars, traffic lights, fast food eateries, careening motorcycles. But yes. Down with outlines, bad movies, cold nights in a tent! And hurrah for that Steve Jobs dictum.
Likewise, Camille, and happy New Year to all.
I think I could enjoy a town of 900, Nancy — it’s ones with enough traffic to be a pain, but no major museum, that I have a hard time with. I think they’re called the ‘burbs!
Camille, this list reminds me of the two rules my Uncle Neil always set down when children visited his home: 1, In my house you have to do everything you want to do, and 2, in my house you’re not allowed to do anything you don’t want to do.
I love Uncle Neil, John!
What a happy thought–to do nothing I don’t want to do! The child in me rejoices. The grown-up me buckles down and does what I have to do, even as I refused to be sucked into other people’s ideas of fun that don’t appeal to me. Or, for that matter, work nobody needs out of me–I’m with you on outlining. (Afterlining, to keep track of what I’ve done, is a different animal. Helps keep me sane.)
But you don’t have to be in a major city to enjoy great libraries, concerts, operas, plays, museums, you name it. And trees. Back when I could still walk, all these things were within easy walking distance in our southern Indiana town, and even now they’re at most a ten-minute drive from home. A college or university can plop all kinds of amenities in a much smaller town than ours.
You’ve got it right, Sara — we find the place that matters to us and rewards us. Others can only benefit from us when we’re doing what we love.