Back on the Blog Chain: The Balancing Act

In this round of the blog chain, Lisa would like to know how we manage everything in our lives:

The balancing act. How do you balance your writing time with everything else in your life--including, kids, job, book promotion? 

I feel like I need to laugh for a few moments:



Sorry, Lisa, but I'm struggling with that question just like everyone else. I have a full-time job and one child, who is plenty. Sometimes I feel like I have four full-time jobs: my day job, my son, the house, and my writing. I'm not so much balancing them all as I am running back and forth, keeping any one of them from tipping over into catastrophe. This doesn't leave me time for anything else, which is why there's very little personal news on the blog these days.

The key to keeping up, if not actually staying balanced, is setting priorities. For example, with housework, I consider cooking fresh, healthy dinners for my family a priority, followed by keeping up with the laundry. As much as it annoys me to live in a messy house, sometimes I have to let cleaning slide--at least until it gets to the point where I can't stand it anymore. I keep up with writing by making it a priority in my life and by being disciplined. That means I have to give up other things, like watching TV at night or socializing on my lunch hour. I use those times to write instead. Planning ahead--such as preparing blog posts in advance--also helps.

Anyway, I would say more, but I have one book to format and a draft to work on. For more on balancing one's priorities, check out what Kate said yesterday and what Christine will add tomorrow.