Well, I did it.*
The universe can stop yelling at me now. I’m blogging again.
Last week’s tarot pull called me out on procrastinating and not-so-gently hinted that I should stop waiting to be ready and just start the thing.
My initial response? “But I’m BUSY.”
Yes, and I’ll always be busy (which is going to kind of be a theme of this blog). The big question is, do I want to make time for this or not?
Since this is here for you to read, the answer was obviously yes. I want to make time for blogging again.
But how? Where would I find that time when scheduling already feels like wringing water from a stone?
This time, I used a block of story drafting time to write this instead while my family went on a fun outing without me.
* cue sad music *
One of my regular meltdown triggers is that when I stumble upon a tiny pocket of flexible time, I have to choose between catching up on work, family time, or resting. Truly a shitty choice.
You might be thinking: just spend the time with your family, you monster! I assure you, the reason I’m behind on work is that I always prioritize them. It’s #1 family, #2 work, and I get whatever’s left, which is usually nothing. Even knowing that, it pains me to choose not doing something fun with them. Like, they did something fun last weekend for a couple of hours so I could have the house to myself and… breathe. (Okay, we all know I worked while I was doing the breathing. But at least there was breathing.) It was great! It was needed! It still felt icky.
To complicate things more, sometimes the work IS self-care. Sometimes resting IS the work. How am I supposed to know the difference and which to choose?
The title of this blog** has no judgments attached to it. I’m not “responsible” for doing these things, and no writer is “irresponsible” for doing things differently from what I discuss here. The title is more about how I get author things done and also try to take care of myself while juggling a lot of other responsibilities.
This is all to say that while I don’t always have the “right” answers, I do know a thing or two about how to keep going when you’re mostly underwater (sometimes quite literally, as I’ll explain in a future post). I plan to share some of my better insights along with some moments of throwing my hands in the air because sometimes I don’t know shit.
Most of these posts will center on my particular creative process, productivity, and author life management. Hopefully, you find something helpful, but nothing here is prescriptive. As I learned early in my career from Jenny Crusie, “There are many roads to Oz, follow your own road and your instincts.”
* If you were wondering if this blog will have a bunch of SEO & keyword optimization, that first line should clear things up.
** Those who know me are aware of my alliteration love. I want the record to show that I restrained myself from titling the blog: Tips, Tricks, and Tantrums.