I should be writing, but I'm not.

 

Everyone has dealt with this. The nag in the back of your mind. 

"You should be working."

"You should be spending time with your spouse."

"You should be sleeping."

"You should be making progress."

"You should be more serious about life."

"You should be better at this."

I should be writing. I am not right now. Life is busy, I am in business school. I have a marriage to take care of. I have a dog to walk. I have, I have, I have, and the haves never stop. 

So yes, I should be writing, but right now I am editing. I am trying to make my current short story the best I can. I am working toward a goal. What I need to do right now is tell the nag in my head to shut up. 

I should be doing a lot of things, but the only thing the word should is good for is making people feel guilty. 

It doesn't matter what I should do. What matters is what I need to do. 

Whatever the nag in your head is telling you, tell it to shut up. You have needs, not "shoulds". 

Right now I am working on what I need to work on. My goal is to get this story published, and until it is I should not start another short story. When I get this out into the world, that is when I need to start writing again. 

Now, what do you need to do? Whatever it is, go do it.