While I was doing my daily chore*, I had this horrible thought: how many of my books have I actually read? Stricken, I stared at my shelves and realized, "Oh... oh no."
The idea for this photo blossomed. I must have it. I must have this ridiculous photo in my possession to prove I have an awful book buying habit. Sure, I donate a lot of the books once I read them, but this TBR pile has been growing year after year while I still go to the library.
Why?
I've always been a deadline-oriented person. I procrastinate, but once the end is looming over me, I have to finish what I've started. Library books have deadlines; mine don't.
This is why I made the chore box*. It's also why I made a very specific "Create" box with the same concept as the chore box. I have to do one task a day before the day is over. It's a concrete, deadline-oriented task. I have one day, that's it.
Today, I pulled out "Blog." Today, I decided that wasn't enough and also did the photo project. Today, I'm also committing to 2000 words of editing. Why? Because completing one task makes me feel accomplished. It makes me want to do more. Seeing a list makes me panic and do less. But one task? Just one? Sure. Let's do it! It will go in the "Accomplished" box once I'm finished.
So, what am I going to do with all these books?
Read them, one at a time. My create box also has items for downtime, like reading, coloring, and journaling. Things that are necessary to continue being creative.
My goal for the end of the year is to make my TBR pile a little less intense. Expect another photo in a few months with an update on how the reading is going!
Feel free to add me on goodreads! I only rank books 4 or 5 stars -- 5 for favorites, 4 for highly recommended. So you can easily see the books I love. I read mostly YA, all genres.
* You can find more information about my awesome chore box on my Patreon page on a free post.
