Smithy's Monthly Update: Feb 2024 (Hope?)

In my January update, I hinted I might do very little with chess this month.  I was right.  I did almost zero chess training... but not zero.  I also kept myself vaguely engaged with chess, and that might be pulling me back into training mode ... but we'll have to wait for the March update to see, I guess.

This will be a short one: I'll briefly say what I have done, both in terms of training and non-training activities, and where I predict things will go from here.  I'm optimistic these last two months represent the nadir of my 2024 chess status.

My Training

I spent two days training chess.  Yes, two.  That's actually more than I would have predicted at the end of January.  I reached a point where I said, "Alright, Smithy, let's just do it."  And I did: I did some tactics, I analyzed two games, and I really enjoyed it.

I want to emphasize this point: I enjoyed it.  A lot.  I would have done more those days if I didn't have dinner to eat.  It was thoroughly enjoyable ... but so are other things in life.  Fundamentally, that's my "problem."  Chess is just one of my interests, and though I really like chess, I really like other things as well.

My Stats

I spent two days doing chess.  Here are the numbers.

Not quite two hours total. Better than nothing?

What Else I Have Been Doing

As mentioned in January and then again last week, I've been writing a story.  An idea has entered my head and refused to let go.  I spend multiple hours each day either writing, editing, revising or brainstorming new sections.  This is my current focus, and it has eclipsed everything else.  Literally.  I'm a former fitness instructor; I normally do something fitnessy every morning.  Right now, I've skipped most of those workouts to spend more time on this.  Chess hasn't stood a chance.

As for my progress, here is the current word count:

For those keeping track, I had 15k at the end of January, so I added 20k in February. I wrote something every day this month and in 44 of the last 45 days.

A novel starts at 50k words, with the average one being 80k; I'm therefore somewhere between 45-75% of a full novel, depending how you slice it.  I had no intention of writing a novel when I started, but that's exactly where we are headed. I will assuredly hit 70k words, and I'm currently predicting around 100k words total... which would still make this my second shortest "full" story ever.

This suggests it will be at least another four months until I'm finished.  It will probably be more, because my daily word count has been dropping.  I wrote more than 900 words in a day 10 times in January, but I only managed that once in February.  Staying consistent is hard.  I doubt this story finishes before July.

Does That Mean I'm Not Doing Chess Until the Summer?

No.  And I'm not just saying that so blog readers keep checking in!  Rather, I feel as if I need to return balance to the force.  As mentioned, I've spent so much time writing that every other interest has taken a backseat.  That's not what I want, and so I will likely regulate my activities more.

I will be adding more non-negotiables into my schedule.  My morning workout and stretches are one of them.  Playing music is another (I've sadly only touched the piano once so far in 2024; that's unacceptable).  Chess, one of my oldest passions, is right there. I'm not necessarily doing all of this everyday, but certainly I can carve out time each week.

I'm still working on the exact schedule, but I predict I will have 10hrs of chess training in March.  Anything less will be a failure.

Other Chess Activities

I've done a number of non-training activities.  I've done a few private coaching videos (so training other people, funnily enough), a complete YouTube series on opening principles and opening traps, and I've continued to write these blog posts every week.  Indeed, I have two posts coming out next week that I'm particularly excited about, including one about learning common plans and ideas.  I like to think every post I make is my best one, but I'm extra excited about the current rough drafts.

I also occasionally think chess thoughts while doing non-chess things.  I read a lot of business-development-leadership books, because that's something lawyers are supposed to apparently, and I frequently connect these insights with chess training.  This shows my brain remains in chess mode, and hence why I'm optimistic I'll be doing more chess going forward.

Conclusion

I did very little chess.  I'm not making excuses.  Next month will be better.  I mean, it will be hard to be worse.  Ten hours in a month amounts to 20min a day (or 40min every other day, an hour every third day, etc etc).  I can 100% do that.  That's my promise to myself.  See you next month.