Last August, I embarked on a grand quest.

I was fifty or more pounds overweight and almost completely sedentary, and I needed a big change to get myself moving. So I set a goal: for 101 days, I would walk at least ten thousand steps every day.

Today was day 252. Ten thousand steps. Every day.

So I’m trying it again.

See, I’ve been beating myself up for weeks now. Stuck at home, quarantined, without many of the excuses I make to myself when I can’t bring myself to write–a long commute, a demanding job, time with my family, exhaustion–and I’m still not writing. What the hell kind of writer doesn’t write when he’s stuck at home all day? I ask myself, and answer with a litany of unkind descriptions.

It’s time to break the pattern. To stop beating myself up–and stop making excuses.

My background noise right now is Jane McGonigal’s fantastic book Superbetter. It’s worth a read: a different spin on habit formation and self-improvement, leveraging the addictive qualities of video games to make personal development more interesting: a goal becomes a Quest, accountability partners become Allies, self-destructive tendencies become Bad Guys. You can give yourself Powerups and gain Levels, and each time you reach a milestone, you can celebrate an Epic Win. It’s a great way to reframe the never-ending cycle of getting better.

It’s exactly what I needed to hear today.

Hence, my newest quest: starting today, I will write every day for 101 days. At least 100 words.

No excuses. No breaks. From today to the 31st of July.

Through the end of the quarantine, I hope. Through most of the summer. Every day.

It won’t all be here, but some will be. Probably once or twice a week. I don’t have a plan yet beyond just write.

But I’ll keep score here. Each time I post, I’ll lead off with a running total of days and word count.

Want to help? Send me a topic. What do you want to hear about in this space?

Or maybe you have your own quest you’ve been thinking about starting on. Share it with us here!

It’s time to make the most of the situation we’re in. Let’s go together!