Lately, my life has felt a bit like a see saw.
Sometimes, I need to teach. Sometimes I need to write a review, and sometimes (well, every day) I need to be a mom, a writer, a wife, a food shopper, an organizer, and did I say writer?
PHEW.
It can be a bit overwhelming.
Actually, it was overwhelming TODAY. (This post is coming about eight hours late!)
What can we do to keep our writing lives a priority when there are so many other people/things/jobs calling our name?
Here’s my list:
1. Recognize that there IS a list. Prioritize every day. Most days, I get the writing done FIRST. Then the other stuff.
2. When something BIG comes up…a wedding…or someone is ill…or a friend is in need, or your family moves (like mine did), forgive yourself. Reshuffle that list. Give yourself the time to take care of this BIG LIFE issue. The story can wait. You can’t write when you’re distracted anyway.
3. Make goals. Short term. Medium term. Long term.
A looooooooong time ago, I heard Kate DiCamillo confess that she writes two pages a day. Then she does other stuff. When someone commented that that did not seem like a lot, she said something like, “If you do it every day, you’ll have a novel in 75 days.” POINT TAKEN.
4. REST. READ. Eat chocolate. These are compulsory balance activities. BE NICE TO YOURSELF. Celebrate the good stuff–no matter how small it is.
*****DON’T FORGET TO EXERCISE!!!! A healthy writer is a happier, more productive one.
5. Last, to have balance in your life, you must engage your loved ones in the process. Let them know when you have a deadline (Elliot, are you reading this???). Let them know when you are going to be stressed out. Don’t pretend you can do it all. A lot of us women bought into that supermom image, but let’s face it: there comes a time when we just have to ignore the house or the kids or the hubby or the shopping list. Engage your family in your process and they will be more sensitive to your need for pizza night!
Do you have any tricks for maintaining balance in your life?
If you have a minute more, please share!
You’re absolutely right, Sarah. We must give ourselves permission to not write when we have a major life change happening. While writing has been my life raft through crises, there are times when there is too much tumult to form a coherent thought much less a paragraph. Guilt is not a creative force.
Guilt.
Sigh.
I often tell my students, “You can’t write when you don’t feel safe.” I know I can’t. I knew I wasn’t upset about my move when I was writing a lot….at every step!
Now I just have to learn to say NO to a few extra curriculars!!!!
Love your list, Sarah. Especially the idea that priorities change according to what’s going on in your life. The key is to keep writing ON the priority list, even when it can’t be the top item.