My January was not kind. I took a five-day vacation with girlfriends, something I've never done before, but it put me way behind. No problem, I thought at the time, I'll catch up. Life laughed as each one of my kids got Strep throat (plus Mom and Dad!) and then my baby girl was diagnosed with Lyme's disease. Still, I believed. Life laughed again.
I need a couple of days where I can get things done and no new responsibilities come in the door. Wait, now you are all laughing.
After weeks of being behind, I felt lost in a sea of what to do next. It was draining. Usually I'm high energy, bouncing around from one thing to another. But the last couple of days, I sat there staring at blank paper trying to prioritize everything I needed to do. The paper stayed blank.
Until a client did me the biggest favor. She was honest and kind when she asked if I needed to pass on any additional work. What a beautiful kick in the butt. No, I did not want to pass. First of all, I love her work! But I also hate letting life (or anything) get the better of me. I immediately responded and prioritized.
Sometimes all the running can't get you caught up, but that doesn't mean you should stop. I'm back to a nice jog, and I'm feeling less breathless.
My ROW80 Update
Writing: A lovely blogger (and my overfull brain is spacing on the name, but I'm SO thankful) suggested I reread my WIP to get back in the groove. I started that and am feeling it. I can't control the editor in me, but that will only make it better. I hope to get back to my test mile (500 words a day) soon. Joining #teamsprinty #ROW80 wordsprints (2pm EST) more regularly will help.
Blogging: Still daily. I need to back off and embrace other projects, but I can't seem to help myself. It feels wrong not to pop over and write a post. I've only posted once on Mom in Love with Fiction since Sunday, but I have a review in the works.
Social Media: I'm keeping up with it, but barely. I have to give it limited time right now, but I am keeping up with my ROW80 sponsor commitments.
Reading: At night as long as my eyes remain open. I may have to abandon The Book Thief for a bit to read a couple of books for reviews. I like The Book Thief, but it's not a fast read. I want to give it more than I have right now. Do you ever come upon books like that: a wonderful, deserving read that your brain just isn't quite ready for?
Editing: Rocked it today, over 30 pages edited total. Now I need to go back and make notes to send to one author and finish another project. I'm hoping my clients will forgive a rough January, especially when they see my commitment to kick it back into high gear.
Exercise: If only I could find a way to combine exercise and sleeping, I'd be golden! I did fit in a five mile walk (ran half of it) on Tuesday. Eating is horrible. I need to get it back under control. Why is fast food never healthy? My life needs fast right now.
I hope everyone is meeting their goals or reassessing them as necessary. Let me know how you are doing!
13 comments:
I hope you are fining breathing space, more and more.
And I hope you are all well, now.
You seem to be very realistic about your goals.
May life bring less in the way of frenetic energy, and more in the way of productive energy.
Life just gets in the way... ugh! I know all about it... That is why I love ROW80 as well.
Good luck with your goals! :)
" If only I could find a way to combine exercise and sleeping, I'd be golden!" Be careful what you wish for. You don't want to be dreaming about running marathons to wake up sore and tired. ;) Good for you for "jogging" forward.
I love that same aspect about ROW80. With my recent bout of mono, I've just reconfigured my goals for this time around. Oh well, stuff happens.
It sounds like you've had your hands full, Tia! Best wishes getting back on track and knocking out your priorities. Happy ROW80!
I'm with Ryan about the "Be careful what you wish for" thing with combining sleep and exercise. Eep!
Though the rest of this sounds frighteningly like me... There are so many amazing blogs out there, so much work to be done and pages to be written and books to read, and thee is still laundry, dishes, dinner...
Don't know if it was me who mentioned that you might need to spend time re-reading your WiP to get intimate with your characters again (I've been saying it to myself lately so, it may have been). Either way... Whoever said it, it's good advice. And I'm glad it's working for you.
And if I ever find a few space hours in some of my days, Ill send you one. 8-)
Wow, you've had your hands more than full Tia. I think you need to give yourself a huge pat on the back for what you have accomplished and what you are staying on top of!!! It's hard to juggle everything, be all things to all people. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that our best is always good enough even when it means we can't check everything off the list!
Here's to celebrating the things scratched off and to knowing the rest will get done in due time! Woot woot!!
I didn't realize your daughter had been diagnosed with Lyme's disease. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. What the prognosis?
I'm in the same boat as you. We had a rough January, and the first part of February found me nursing one sick kid after another. My house is so messy, I want just 48 hours of everyone gone so I can declutter and organize.
But you said it very well:
"Sometimes all the running can't get you caught up, but that doesn't mean you should stop. I'm back to a nice jog, and I'm feeling less breathless."
Big hug Tia. I'm glad that you've found your stride again. Sometimes you just have to let go a few things just to keep moving. Looks like you're well on your way. :)
Sometimes it's really hard not to feel overwhelmed but you sound like you are tackling things the right way. And you know it never hurts to take a day off for me-time and the hell with everything else. It will still be there the following day.
I hope you finish reading The Book Thief - I just loved that book but you're right, it's not the easiest read.
I agree with Natalie and Carolyn. I think you have coped quite well-and it is OK to step back, take a few deep breaths, and regroup. Dump the stuff that isn't important. Good luck!
Thanks everyone for the support! I needed a wake up call to refocus my energies, but I do need to reassess and prioritize the long list of to-do's.
One of those is to get around and give back to all of you who have kept me going! Thank you.
Claire Louise, I'm hopping over now to check out your blog. I'm so excited to read Oppression. Just have to carve out the time!
Melissa, Lyme's in a confounding illness. Doctors disagree. We are on a 21-day round of antiobiotics. Then she will get tested again. If it's positive, 21 more days of meds. If not, I guess it's repressed but not gone.
I'd appreciate prayers; there's just so much the medical community still doesn't seem to know about Lyme's.
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