My son just started swim lessons

It’s adorable watching him float in the water, kicking his legs and starting to enjoy himself.

Last Friday, my 20-month-old son started swim lessons.

Photo by z pm on Unsplash

He’s been in the water before—we’ve taken him into the ocean and pools. No lakes just yet.

It’s always the same: he’s unsure about what’s happening initially, and then he warms up to the experience and starts to really enjoy himself.

The same thing happened last Friday. My husband took him into the water, while I watched (and filmed!) from the side of the pool. He was definitely hesitant about what was happening at first. He tends to be a toddler that likes to observe things around him, seeing what other people are doing before having his own reaction.

I’d like to think he takes after me in that regard. I’m usually more reserved initially, and then I start to warm up the more I process what’s going on and figure out how I fit within the given situation.

Anyway, at the pool on Friday, my son spent quite a bit of time looking around, seeing what was happening. The instructor immediately came over and introduced himself to my husband, then started engaging with my son. He was clearly a pro at working with little ones—there was a little girl, probably two and a half years old, who loved the instructor, and this was the timeblock from the tadpoles, kids under three years. The instructor brought out some water toys for my son and helped him get used to water on his body and his head.

It was a short lesson, only 30 minutes, but after the first 10 or so minutes, my son was pretty content in the water. His dad pulled him around the pool, instructing him to kick and gently splashing water. He watched the other kid in the pool, plus the bigger kids who were swimming in other lanes.

And less than halfway through the lesson, he had a big smile on his face and was kicking all around, having a great time.

I realized that my writing practice is pretty similar to how my son experienced this swim lesson—a little hesitant and unsure at first, but once I get into it, I’m having a blast. It just takes some time to warm up.

I like using timers to help with the warm-up. If I’ve got an hour to write, I won’t just expect myself to write for the 60 minutes straight. I’ll usually set one timer for about 10 minutes, to get myself into the manuscript and back into my novel. Then I’ll set 15 or 20 minute timers to finish out the hour.

Starting slow is like a warm-up of my writing muscles. I’ve probably been away from the manuscript for a few days, and so I need a bit of a reminder about what I’m doing and how it feels to write.

But then after those initial minutes, things start flowing, and it’s easier to get the words out. I still like using timers for the rest of the hour because my time is limited and I don’t want to get distracted—the timers help me know when time is almost up.

Just like my son, I need a little time to warm up to this new activity—even though I write multiple times a week, and have written for years now, so it’s really not new. But for whatever reason, my body needs a chance to settle back into the groove of writing, and using timers helps me get into the flow.

I’m hoping my son will be a bit more comfortable at his next swim lesson, but even if he’s not, I know that he’ll just need a few minutes to ease into things and start enjoying himself again—just like his mom and her writing. Sometimes we all need a chance to ease in before the work can really get done.

Everyone’s writing process is unique, and it’s important to figure out your own style of writing so that you make it easier to show up to the page on a regular basis. Within the first 30 days of working with a new coaching client, we figure out their unique process, experimenting and trying different things to see what sticks. This ensures they can build the habit and be consistent over the long run of writing a novel.