3 weeks/24 weeks

I found an interesting article on CNN.com today. According to this account, it takes approximately three weeks to form a new, positive habit and as many as six months to get rid of a bad habit.

Well that explains a lot, doesn't it?

I've decided to put this theory to the test. For 28 consecutive days (starting, um, tomorrow) I'm going to do some sort of physical exercise: take the dog for a walk, ride my bike, work out, yoga, what have you. We'll see if this little experiment hard-wires the love of exercise into my brain.

Of course, the flip side is that I need to find some habit I'm willing to give up for 24 weeks. Hmmm. A bad habit I need to give up....Surprisingly, the list is staggering. (Just kidding. It's long -- okay, really, really long -- but it's not, like, outrageous...exactly.)

It may be cheating, but I think I'll just extend this little TV hiatus another 22 weeks and see what happens. Of course, that means a total of 24 consecutive weeks of no television. That could be...hard.

Fortunately, it's almost summer. And there's never anything good on television during the summer.

Right?

What I'm listening to right now: Crisis, by Robin Cook. Narrated by George Guidall. If you're a fan of books on CD, you've probably heard Guidall read. He is fantastic!

Back to work tomorrow.

Well, the long Memorial Day weekend is behind us. I hope you had a safe, happy and relaxing three days.

I certainly enjoyed the break from my various freelance writing jobs. In spite of the huge stack of work-related projects that really needed my attention, I biked, read, planted flowers (okay, supervised the planting of flowers) and made a sinfully huge stack of light, golden brown, crispy on the outside-moist of the inside, absolutely fabulous, almond and walnut waffles for breakfast. Yum!

Remember the novel I mentioned in Saturday's post? Well, Mergers & Acquisitions by Dana Vachon is history. I finished it today around noon.

I didn't really get into the book until around page 30, but after that, the writing was pure joy. It's hard to believe this Vachon's debut novel because his control of the craft is amazing. I recommend Mergers & Acquisitions highly.

Playing on iTunes: Writers on Writing podcast. Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. Guests: Novelists Masha Hamilton, Ellen Sussman and Amanda Ward. This is a great podcast for writers. Get it free from iTunes or from DeMarco-Barrett's website here.

Suddenly, there's so much time...

Here's one of the unexpected consequences (benefits?) of turning off the TV. Suddenly, there seem to be a lot more hours in the day. I mean, A LOT more hours in the day. And I'm very aware of each hour passing.

I finished Martha C. Lawrence's Ashes of Aries a bit sooner than expected, so now I have two new books on my table and a two new footers for my blog:

What I'm reading now:
Fiction: Mergers & Acquisitions, a debut novel by Dana Vachon.
Non-fiction: Write. 10 Days to Overcome Writer's Block. Period. by Karen E. Peterson, Ph.D.

Playing on iTunes: Canyon Legacy from In the Midst of Angels by Dan Gibson. This is very soothing, New Agey album that makes me feel like I'm in a day spa treatment room receiving a massage.