All this week I’m offering up simple writing tasks. Each task is designed around one of the key attributes of good writing that is often overlooked: mindfulness. Each task is simple, direct, and will not take much time. I urge you to try them all this week and keep them to try again in the future.
Task #1: Carry four coins all day.
Coins are distinctly physical objects. They are common, even ordinary, and most of us have a few in our bags and pockets. Today select four coins and set them on a surface before you. If possible, select four different coins. For U.S. readers, pick out a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter.
Have a good look, then put them in your pocket. If you do not have a pocket, fashion a pouch and keep them near at hand. Don’t bury them in a bag or lose track of them.
Throughout the day, touch them and remember your task. Do not spend them or lose them. Remember them, carry them. When you have a moment free, set them out on a surface before you and look at them. Just look.
At the end of the day, set them out before you, then write about them, the act of carrying them, and how this act altered your day.
The Five Simple Writing Tasks: 1–Carry Four Coins All Day by Randy Murray, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.