Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A Writer’s Life: Balancing Act

I hereby interrupt what has unexpectedly become a whirlwind day to bring you my weekly ROW80 update.

When it comes to my work in progress, the past couple weeks have been pleasingly productive. By setting aside at least a few uninterrupted hours each Friday to work on my fiction piece, I’ve gotten into a good work pattern and am entirely confident I’ll be able to reach my goal of 50 pages or more by the March 22 deadline. Still, with major projects, exams and papers looming in all three grad classes, I’m worried that my much-loved uninterrupted writing time is about to become…well, not only interrupted, but potentially eliminated between now and the end of February.

Image Source: timetowrite.blogs.com 
Truthfully, as personally important as my WIP, blog posts, reading-for-pleasure time, and so on are, I know that I ultimately do have to prioritize my responsibilities and obligations instead. And while I’m fortunate that the majority of my required obligations are things I feel passionate about, I definitely get hit with the occasional “busy work” assignment or project that is lacking in long-term value. This reality can be frustrating, but at the same time, I know that if my WIP truly is that important to me, it’s up to me to make the time for it, no matter how tired, burnt out or stressed I might otherwise feel.

I’ll keep you posted, crossing my fingers that the old saying, “When there’s a will, there’s a way,” holds true throughout the coming weeks! And now, back to my regularly scheduled indexing assignment. 

How do you find the right balance between what you absolutely must do and what you love to do? 

12 comments:

  1. I'm sorry you're going to be so busy coming up, and have to sacrifice time for working on your writing!

    I don't have any good advice either--usually when I get super busy, I just end up sacrificing sleep, so I can continue to do everything else on my plate. Which isn't a good solution. Hopefully things will slow down for you in March!

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  2. This is always a tough one! Unfortunately, what needs to be done, needs to be done. I think if you have that scheduled time to work on your piece, then you should keep to that schedule then! I know it is hardly comparable, but I always give myself an hour and a half of the boys' nap time to do blog reading/writing, even if I havent switched the laundry or put things away or completely any other of my daily tasks. Everyone needs that time to do what they love most!

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  3. Finding the balance is definitely hard, but even when you're at your busiest, you have to find ways to "steal" time between doing other things. Sometimes it means jotting down a few notes in a notebook when in line at the bank, etc. In other words, writing during times and in ways you aren't used to. I hope your schedule becomes more manageable soon so you can get back to writing. :)

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  4. it's so hard to find a balance. when i work/concentrate on something more, other things are neglected. but i think lists are a good way to keep things on track. good luck!

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  5. What you focus your energy on increases.
    And my energy changes many times throughout the month, so I am constantly rotating WIP's based on when they have to be done and how much there is to go until it's done.

    It seems we share a kind of deadline; my OFW design has to be fully conceptualized by the same day your deadline is.

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  6. I'm having a hard time dealing with work vs. personal priorities as well. Ugh, there's just not enough time to deal with it all.

    Hope you're having a fabulous week otherwise!

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  7. It is a constant struggle! I have to scale back on reading and blogging because it gets to be too much but setting time aside for different activities help!

    xoxo,
    Chic 'n Cheap Living

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  8. This is a tough, because I was working full time, going to grad school at night, and trying to get this blog off the ground all at once. You have to prioritize, sleeping and eating become optional...ahhhh!

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  9. you can do it! i know what you mean about prioritizing. it's pretty much why i haven't been blogging lately. with school, work, and now being a housewife (so dinner, cleaning, laundry, etc) it's hard to get done EVERYTHING that needs to and still have time to blog!

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  10. I struggle with finding a balance, often at the expense of sacrificing sleep and time with my husband. I'm thankful to generally have a job that allows a good work/life balance, but this year has been insane. I'm hoping that things will calm down soon, but until then, I'm up at 5:00 most days.

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  11. It's definitely hard to find a balance especially once you have a baby. But I know you'll be able to hit your goal. Will you be posting any part of your novel online for us to read? I'm really curious about what you're writing.

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  12. I probably need to do more of what I love!! I am constantly working on finding balance in my life!

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