I’m working on the habit of blogging daily. Ideally, I’d like to do it first thing in the morning, before the pressures of the day creep in, before emails, before decisions, before the noise.
That’s the intention, anyway.
This morning, I didn’t feel ready to write.
Despite a half decent nights sleep my mind hadn’t caught up yet. The coffee hadn’t kicked in. I could feel that familiar fog where words don’t quite line up and forcing them would only make things heavier. So instead of pushing, I did what was in front of me.
I made changes to The Gatehouse site.
I answered emails.
I prepared for tomorrow’s client presentation.
I sat down with my family and planned next week’s menu and shopping list.
Nothing dramatic. Nothing inspirational. Just life.
And somewhere along the way, without me trying to make it happen, things settled. My thoughts slowed down. The fog thinned. The words showed up on their own.
That’s something I’ve had to learn the long way: clarity doesn’t always arrive first. Sometimes it comes after you start moving. Not frantic moving, not avoidance disguised as productivity, just steady, grounded action.
I try not to fall to the temptation to believe I should always feel “ready” before I act. Ready to write. Ready to speak. Ready to decide. But readiness isn’t always a feeling. Sometimes it’s a result.
This used to frustrate me. I wanted the calm before the action. I wanted the certainty before the effort. What I’ve learned is that, for me, it often works the other way around. Doing one small, ordinary thing helps my nervous system come back online. From there, the next thing feels possible.
This doesn’t mean pushing through exhaustion or ignoring my body. That line still matters. But there’s a difference between respecting your limits and waiting for perfect conditions that never actually arrive.
Today was a good reminder of that balance.
I didn’t fail at my goal of daily blogging because I didn’t write first thing. I adapted. I listened. I trusted that the words would be there when I was.
And here they are.
A gentle question to sit with:
When my mind feels foggy or scattered, what kinds of simple actions help me come back to myself?
No pressure to answer it perfectly. Just notice what’s true.
Some days, that’s enough.
