Every Day Matters

<What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.>
                         - Gretchen Rubin

Guilty party of one. The realization hit me the other day. I've been working on my WIP for two years. Yes. TWO YEARS. Many thoughts crossed through my mind as I begin to question why/how this has happened. First, I'm surprised I stuck with a story for so long. (Inconsistency is my key!) Second, why?! I've read countless articles on, "How to Write Daily," taglines screaming, "GET YOUR WORD COUNT UP", "Daily Rituals to Get You Writing". I've even read, "You Better Write Daily or Else You Will Fail in a Fiery Inferno."
What did I "learn" from all these 'tried and true' methods?
Having good intentions is for not.
Yes it took me all those years, all those articles to come to this final conclusion. I was trying to motivate myself by reading all these self-helps but I was missing out on the ultimate self-help.
Only I can force myself to write. No one else. None of the authors with success. None of the tried and true methods work. Heck none of that even matters! What matters is what I'm doing on a daily basis.
How many of you have heard the "Write Daily" speech? I'll raise my hand. I've heard it so many times its truly exhausting. I'm a first time mother. I have a dog. I have a semi-demanding family (in a good way). I have a hard working husband who works over 90 hours a week. Once all this is added together it equals I'm tired. It's not an excuse. It's my life.
It baffles me how people find two extra hours to write. It really does.
So I've changed my approach to "writing daily". Physically, I write when I can. Otherwise I'm plotting (*gasp* It goes against all pantser rules). I'm thinking about what will occur next in my MS.
I figured thinking, plotting,  and planning about my novel is just as good as writing it at this point. Maybe it will lead to more progress and lets face it; I've been wallowing in this story for long enough. Part of my lagging behind, I'm pantser. Because I don't plan I have a harder time figuring out all the nitty-gritty details needed to tie the end of the book up.
Maybe I'll convert to a planner.
Anyways, I've ranted long enough. Good luck out there!

Keep your pen up!