Hey, friends.

If you’re struggling to get something done that you know would be beneficial for you but for whatever reason it’s not happening, one practice that might help is coupling these good practices with things you love. This will help with the resistance and will help you to develop the habit and stick with it in the early stages.

Here are some examples.

I mentioned studying Japanese kanji before. It is a daily practice that is incredibly monotonous. Looking at flashcards for kanji I’ve seen before and slowly introducing new kanji. I might have a deck of over 100 cards each day, so the time commitment can soon add up. These days when I study kanji, I also listen to music I like (often death metal but it may be different for you). Now I actually look forward to studying kanji as it’s an excuse for me to blast some Six Feet Under, Napalm Death, Carcass or whatever happens to be on the menu on that particular day.

Exercise is a good one to couple with something else you love. Music is a popular choice but perhaps it’s listening to a podcast, watching a movie/TV show, whatever it is, couple it with something you enjoy and you’ll likely exercise more. A bonus tip for extra commitment: make the rule that you can ONLY watch said TV show when exercising.

Whenever I’m cleaning, washing up, cooking or doing household chores, I am always doing something else I like. Either I’m having a phone call with a friend, listening to a podcast or audiobook, watching a TV show or YouTube channel or (my personal favourite) watching pro wrestling (WWE, AEW has gone pretty stale but now MJF is back it could get good again—or at least MJF’s segments).

What I'm Watching

I've been doing an Orange is the New Black marathon for a few months now having missed it the first time round. I'm on the penultimate season. Things have slowed down so I'm taking a break to check out the mini series, Bodkin, a team of podcasters are investigating some unusual happenings in a small Welsh town. Only one episode in but this dark comedy series has potential.

What I'm Reading

I'm about 60% of the way through Josh Malerman's Incidents Around The House. Bob and I will be chatting with him in a few weeks, so look out for a Patreon callout soon. I love the experimental format and how this is as near to a found-footage film as we've ever got on the page. I have a feeling the scare factor is really going to amp up in the final act and it wasn't exactly anxiety-free reading to begin with.

What I'm Listening To

Oranssi Pazuzu. Holy hell! Experimental otherworldly black metal that gets psychedelic and almost channels Goblin at times. I feel like I’m on drugs just listening to them. Check out their 2020 album, Mestarin kynsi.

What's on This Is Horror this Week

Over on the This Is Horror Podcast YouTube channel, we just put up part one of our conversation with Kev Harrison. And on the podcast itself, the second part with Kev just landed. We recorded a brand new conversation with Paul Tremblay over the weekend, so expect that and the conversation with Chris Panatier to land soon.

Well, that about does it for another week. Don't forget to check out what’s been going on in This Is Horror world below.

​If you want to see other newsletters I recommend, you can follow this link.​

But until next time, have a great day, friends.

Michael David Wilson

P.S. If you like this newsletter and want to support my work and This Is Horror, please become a This Is Horror Podcast patron. It would make me happy but only do it if it will make you happy, too. ​​

P.P.S. If you’re ready to take your writing to the next level with some professional editing or a writing consultation, you can find out about my rates here and reply to this email. ​

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