“There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on.” ~ Robert Byrne
I try to always be a part of the former group that Mr. Byrne details in his quote above. The idea of a project half-done, or worse yet done but not to the best of my ability, makes my stomach turn. I can’t leave things is a state of potential. I like completing things – it’s in my Piscean nature. Because we are the last sign of the zodiac we like endings, preferably happy ones. To compound matters, under the Chinese Zodiac I’m a Fire Dragon. Look out world. I’m here to get things done!
Which brings me to a somewhat troubling and confusing matter in my writing. For about 6 months I’ve had an idea for a book that uses the tenants of a strong yoga practice as the tenants for building a solid personal finance plan. I’m making some progress. Outline’s done and the structure is pretty solid. The first 4 chapters are in very rough written form, and I’ve started on chapter 5. Arguably, these 4 chapters were the hardest to write. Still, I’m not happy with this progress. I wanted to be further along by now. Heck, I wanted to be done by now. And not just because I like to finish projects, but also because this book is really needed, can help a lot of people, and fills a tough-to-fill niche.
So what’s the problem? My multi-tasking nature is getting the best of me, despite my very best attempts at being a recovering multi-tasker. Here’s where the rubber meets the road, where my curious nature gets the best of me. I meditate. I do yoga. And still I’m a little afraid of writing this book because I don’t want it to be less than really awesome. The subject, and the people I’m writing the book for, deserve awesome. And awesome is a tall order.
Of course, I absolutely refuse to stay in this state. I refuse to be my own writing enemy, my own personified version of writer’s block. My perfectionist tendencies are really going to have to find some other place to hang out for a while. I’m taking myself on vacation. A writing vacation.
So what is a writing vacation? I’m going to spend an entire luxurious vacation with the main focus being writing and nothing else. Truth be told, I’m going to do a few other things. I’m going to take some yoga classes, meditate, walk Phin, and eat delicious food, all in an attempt to funnel my creative mind into this book. Other than that, I’ll be in front of my Mac typing away. I’m going to get this rough draft, a full rough draft, completed by Labor Day. No excuses. And you can hold me to that. Actually, I absolutely want you to hold me to that. This self-imposed deadline is just the motivation I need to get my perfectionism to take a break. I’m just going to write until it’s done.
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
“There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on.” ~ Robert Byrne
Christa Avampato 
best of luck with your writing and future blogs
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I have had the outline of my “journal of memories” started, but need to get back to it – was just thinking about this yesterday as a matter of fact. It is said that by the time you reach (50) you have the makings of a good autobiography – not sure I want to get into that, but a journal of highlights with detail will make a nice accompaniment to the family tree project that I am intensely working on.
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Christa,
Give yourself time, things will fall into place. You will achieve closure on your projects, but try not to rush it.
Me, I could not multi-task like you do. I don’t have a perfectionist nature. I am a fairly easy going guy and like to get things done in a lazy way.
Whenever I rush, accidents happen. So now, I try to be careful and take my own, sweet time. And things work out when you don’t rush it or feel rushed by your tasks.
This is what I have discovered during the course of my life. And meditation has enabled me to slow down and smell the roses. The important thing is to achieve a state of flow and then things seem to happen of their own accord. Cheers.
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Hi Archan,
I think this more focused approach will really help me. Trying to squeeze in this type of writing into my already busy life is proving to be a challenge. I have started to take a chunk of time on teh weekends for just relaxation. I felt a little guilty at first about that, and now I see just how valuable that down time, that time of doing nothingness, makes all of the time I spend doing something more productive.
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