Welcome to Day 20.
Today is your second (and final) breather day, and these days matter more than they might look on the surface. Because we’re resetting how you relate to the work (not actually stopping it).
By Day 20 of a long, fast-paced challenge like this, something very predictable happens: Fatigue sets in. Life reasserts itself, and work, responsibilities, January energy etc, all of it comes back online. Even people who are still watching the videos often stop commenting, or fall a few days behind, or start wondering whether it’s worth catching up.
That’s normal. It’s human….and it’s exactly why today exists.
First: a small but important action
Before anything else, I want you to like this post.
It’s not for me. Truly. This is for you, and I’ll tell you why:
There’s solid psychology behind this. When you’ve been pushing through something for 20 days and you’re starting to feel tired or behind, your brain needs evidence that you’re still in it. Even a small, concrete action—something you can tick off—creates a sense of momentum and completion.
Liking the post is a signal to your brain: I showed up. I did something. I’m still here.
Do that now, and let yourself register it as a win.
If you feel behind, read this carefully
We have 10 days left.
And at this point, many people start thinking things like:
“I’m too far behind now.”
“What’s the point of catching up?”
“I should probably just stop.”
BUT…being behind does not mean that you’re out.
Several of you have emailed me saying you missed a few days and are catching up now. And I’m thrilled by this, because the fact that you’re still engaging—still thinking, still emailing, still watching—matters far more than being perfectly on schedule.
These videos will remain available through March. The live, real-time commenting phase will wrap up at the end of January as I move into the Academy launch and the next term, but that does not mean you can’t continue working through this at your own pace.
You’re allowed to take your time.
What today is actually about
Today is about writer psychology rather than strictly structure.
Last breather day, we talked about how the subconscious continues working when you step away from active problem-solving. That’s still happening.
Today, though, we’re focusing on something slightly different: trusting your writer instinct.
By now, you’ve watched a lot of these videos. Even if you haven’t done every task perfectly, you’ve been absorbing patterns, structure, and story logic. Your instinct is already stronger than it was on day one.
The problem is that when we grip too tightly—when we try to force the story to behave, or panic about getting it “right”—we drown that instinct out.
So today is about loosening that grip.
Today’s task: the mundane task (with a twist)
You’re doing a mundane task again today: something repetitive, low-effort, and solitary.
Examples:
tidying your writing space or office
going for a long walk
doing the food shop
an everything shower
any task that lets your mind wander without distraction
A few important rules:
no podcasts
no audiobooks
no conversations
no actively thinking about your story
You’re letting your mind move on its own.
But…you’re working to notice something different this time.
How to work with your instinct today
If your story pops into your head while you’re doing this task, notice what kind of thought it is.
If it’s a problem (“I need to figure this out”; “this isn’t working”; “I should fix this”), you say: Not today. And you let it go.
If it’s a solution (“Oh — that’s how this works”; “I know what that needs to be”), then you pause, write it down in your notes app or a notebook, and let it go again.
Capture solutions and dismiss problems.
This is how you start trusting that your instinct knows the difference.
What to do after
After your mundane task, come back and tell me one thing in the comments:
Did your story try to pull you into fixing mode?
Or did a solution arrive on its own?
That’s all.
And if you’re behind and commenting on an earlier day, feel free to label it clearly (“this is for Day 5”, “this is for Day 15”). If I don’t reply, it means I genuinely haven’t seen it—Substack doesn’t always surface older comments—so emailing me with a quick summary is always welcome.
That said, I did spend some time yesterday going back through everything I could find that I hadn’t commented on. So…fingers crossed that I got to everyone!
One last thing
Falling behind doesn’t disqualify you.
Getting back up is the work.
That’s what makes someone a writer: not the perfect consistency, but the returning to the page again and again.
Take today as permission to breathe, reset, and stay in the game.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
Xx Shelly
