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Besides writing, my passion is making quilts. Now, this is a complex undertaking and takes time. I’ve learned to break the tasks into small chunks, something doable in only 15 minutes. For example, I cut one fabric one day, another fabric the next. I might sew quilt pieces together one day, and the next day actually iron the seam allowances. Taking it but by bit, it’s easy.
What if you only have 15 minutes a day to write?
Amish Quilts made by 10 year olds.
Maybe you’re one of the writers who has to work an outside job to make a living, and you do major writing on holidays, like Memorial Day. But during the week, you might be able to snatch a 15 minute time block here or there. Or, if you have kids, you only have 15 minutes at a time. Here are some examples of daily writing tasks that anyone can do.
Characters
- Lists of names
- Description of a character
- Dialogue: have your character talk about the story plot with his/her best friend
- Try three different voices for your character
Setting
- Description of a setting
- Explore how the setting changes with different weather
- List of actions that a character could take in this setting
Plot
- List of conflicts
- List of ways to add more tension
- List of ways to up the stakes
Scene
- Plan a scene by listing the story beats
- Write the introduction of a scene
- Write the middle of a scene
- Write the end of a scene.
Revision
- Read aloud a scene/chapter
- Edit the scene/chapter for great sensory details
- Edit the scene/chapter for strong language
- Edit the scene/chapter for voice
- Edit the scene/chapter for sentence variety
Novels are complex. But bit by bit, slowly, you can write a novel. If you write one page a day, you complete 5 pages a week (2 days off for Sat and Sun). That’s 20 pages a month, and 240 pages a year. That’s a novel.
You don’t need 40 hours a week, you only need 15 minutes a day.
I wish, I wish, I wish there were more hours in the day and more days in the week, or two of me, :) but alas there aren't.
In a time management effort, as of next week, I'll be posting two days a week (on Mondays and Fridays), rather than three days a week. This will go on at least through March.
I've taken on a time-sensitive ghostwriting project and just can't keep up with everything.
Mondays will feature my articles and Fridays will offer guest posts or helpful links and such.
Depending on my workload after that I'll see where I'm at and if I can go back to posting three days a week.
While it's a good marketing strategy to post more than less, time isn't always a willing participant.
I appreciate your readership and will continue to provide helpful writing and marketing information on a regular basis.
For daily writing and marketing information, check out Writers on the Move at:
http://writersonthemove.com Until next time,
Karen Cioffi
My partner and I were out running errands when I stopped to admire a display of ceramic Santa Planters each with a baby pine tree (it was the trees that caught my attention—I’m a sucker for anything “baby”).
On cue he said “You should get one.”
As always I shot back, “Naw, that’s okay.”
We loaded the car and he walked off to return the cart. Just as I began to wonder where he’d run off to the door opened and he tossed me a bag—yep, the Santa Planter. Later that night he pointed out to me that every time my inner child reaches for something I slap her hands.
Has anyone ever handed you truth jerky—something you end up chewing on for a long time? For two days now I’ve been getting flashes of how I short change this little girl. I tell myself I’m giving her attention when we work on our “fun” writing projects or when we make gifts for others. After all, this is play—right? Not really. To my inner child this is like hiding vegetables in the Jell-O and calling it dessert.
Oh, my friend also said that if I keep refusing to give my inner child some play time at some point she will throw a tantrum and decide to go play whether I agree or not. I’m not sure what this would look like and I don’t think I want to find out.
As women we train ourselves to “get it done,” “do it perfect,” and “give unto others.” We repeatedly discuss how to fit “more” into 24 hours. Then the holiday season comes and in addition to our work/home/kids/care giving duties we add extra assignments, faster turn-arounds, holiday menus, shopping, and charitable causes. Does anyone else hear “Pop Goes the Weasel”? Something has to give…
This holiday season take a moment to give back...to yourself! Your inner child knows this is a festive time and she wants to play on her terms. So take a moment—right now is good—and ask that little girl what she would like to do for fun. Maybe she wants a cup of hot cocoa this morning. She might want to draw a picture. Heck, maybe the kid wants a Pillow Pet! Let her have it, she’s earned it!
For all the times she’s stayed up late working while others slept. For all the times she’s given up her piece of cake to make someone else happy. For all the times she’s quietly sucked it up when you broke yet another promise to her. Before the year ends set aside some special time with the one person who keeps your creative clock running—that spritely, joyful, playful spirit inside of you.
post & image by Robyn Chausse
What is your inner child asking for? Share it here…
I’m going to have to keep this brief today, which is fitting because today is all about time. When did you last say that you had too much time on your hands? If you’re like a lot of us, you don’t remember the last time you could just sit back and relax. There’s always something else that has to be done – another program to plan, more weeding to be done, desk hours, etc. You keep putting things aside to do later, but later never comes. If you already have a fail-proof method that keeps you scheduled and on task, I’m super jealous, and please share in the comments!
I, on the other hand, tend to be really disorganized, so at the beginning of this month when I started NaNoWriMo, I had no idea how I was going to manage that on top of everything else. I had to come up with something to do differently, or else I was never going to make it. So, here are a few tips for keeping your head above water:
1. Start using your calendar!
Whether it’s Outlook or Google or a planner that you keep in your desk, start putting every little thing you have scheduled or need to accomplish in there. Is there something that you constantly have to find time to do? Put it in your calendar and set a reminder. The key to this is using something that’s going to be in your face and hard to ignore.
2. Use your apps!
It can be an app on your phone – I use one that syncs with my Google calendar – or a site online. The folks over at Lifehacker suggest Zirrus, which allows you to prioritize your tasks in the form of a tag cloud. Using an app online or on your phone gives you the added advantage of taking your organization wherever you go, and if it syncs to your calendar, that’s even better.
3. Write it down!
Even with having your calendar and prioritizing your tasks, I’ve found that writing out what I have to do the next day makes it easier to best my arch nemesis: procrastination. Put it on sticky notes, real or virtual (I use Evernote because I can access my notes online or from my phone), and even if I don’t look at them again, what I have to do the next day is already in my mind.
That’s all I have time for today. I have 3,300 more words before I hit the 50,000 mark, so I have to get crackin’. Be sure to leave your own tips and tricks in the comments. This is Heather, signing off from my tablet on the go!
Work smarter, not harder has been my mantra for many years. When I find things (book, website, class, software) that help me do that, I like to pass them along to you.
With that in mind, here are two websites to products I’ve been using recently that I love. The first one I’ve used for years, but recently bought the upgrade. The second is my solution to the time-consuming social marketing dilemma. I’d encourage you to check out both sites!
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Many years ago, I bought a CD of the earliest version of LifeJournal software for my computer. It is password protected, it sits on your computer privately (NOT an online journal), and has many features a journaler loves. I’ve loaded that CD onto half a dozen computers over the years because I wanted and needed a place to “dump” things that no one else would read. And unlike handwritten journals, it has an easy “tagging” system so that you can find what you’re looking for later. For example, after writing a daily entry, I might realize it would make a good blog post, or I tag spots where I thought of a good plot twist idea, or anything else I might want to remember. The new version has many additional features, including the ability to make templates (which I use a lot for frequent issues, morning and evening check-ins, writer’s block issues, etc.) and the option to buy additional modules for specific parts of your life (writers, emotional balance, creativity, and many more). At LifeJournal you can find a free trial version. If you buy it, I’d recommend spending the extra $10.00 and getting a CD as well as a download so that you’ll always have it and can load it onto all the computers you have now and will buy in the future. (And no, I’m not an affiliate of either of these recommendations. I just use them and love the products.)
SocialOomph is the answer I found to how long the social networking was taking me (Facebook, blogging, Twitter, etc.). I couldn’t keep up with it all. It was hard enough remembering all the passwords to three websites, three blogs, and three FB accounts. Now I only need to remember one: to SocialOomph, the answer to my griping about this. It’s a one-stop place to do your social marketing, and the services it supplies are phenomenal. The first week, just using the free version which is very good, I saved about five hours! And I got MORE social networking accomplished. It literally keeps track of everything for you, gives you a place to schedule your tweets and blogs (you set the schedule and SocialOomph does the rest.) Several times I was gone to a conference or busy with a family matter, but I still had posts going out three times a day to my FB and Twitter pages. I wasn’t even online during those times, but by being able to schedule everything in one spot, I generated a lot more traffic to my sites in so much less time. While you are using the free service, you will be given a one-week free trial to their professional service. This is where they hooked me. I have only begun to tap the abilities of this service. [I took on a two-day job for someone in order to pay for a year's worth of this service because it helps me accomplish so much more in so little time.] Check it out.
When you’re making out your Christmas list this year, you might want to put these products near the top!
As every writer knows,
creating and increasing visibility is an essential part of the business. Whether you're writing and promoting books or you're a freelance writer, you need to be out there . . . it's never ending.
As we progress on our writing path, we gain insight into what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong. At least hopefully we learn. Sometimes, if we're lucky enough to have the guidance of a writing coach or mentor, we're actually told what might be amiss, or what steps we can take to work more effectively and profitability.
But, no matter how you come to the realization of certain steps you need to take, the most important thing is to actually take those steps.
This is something I've been working on lately. As with a lot of writers, I spin my wheels trying to be everywhere and do everything, but it's not an effective use of time or an effective way of accomplishing what you want to, and it's just plain tiring.
Fortunately, I've been reminded of what I need to do by my writing coach Suzanne Lieurance. I've worked with Suzanne in a couple of different clubs since 2008, and she knows her stuff.
A key to
writing success is to have your major writing goals in place and to be focused. What tends to happen though is we forget what out actual goals are - we get sidetracked, or we keep adding more and more goals to our list. This doesn't work.
My three major goals for 2011 are:1. Working on children's books for publication
2. Marketing my existing books
3. Growing my ghostwriting business
While I've been working somewhat on goals one and three, and working regularly on number three, I'm not being productive enough. The reason: I've added this, that, and the other thing to my list of goals, or just to my workload.
So, although it's the Fall, I'm going to be doing some Spring cleaning. Some of the tasks will be tough, but are absolutely necessary to streamline my workload toward productive and goal attaining strategies.
What tasks will I need to undertake to direct focus back on my major goals?1. I'll be changing my KarenCioffi.com site to my children's author site. This will entail getting a more 'children's author like' website theme and focusing the site solely on me as a children's author.
2. Establishing this site as my sole writing and marketing information and services site. Since it's pretty well established as this, it won't take too much work - although, I do have a lot of
article marketing links directed to KarenCioffi.com. To remedy this, I'll have to have a redirect page there letting folks know this is my primary freelancing site.
3. Eliminate non-productive and non-money-making jobs, and other extraneous goals that are diluting my major goals.
4. Absolutely make time to write children's books - my current WIP is a sequel to
Walking Through Walls.
5. Look into school author visits; get the book marketing items I need; write a couple of focused articles on my book topics and post them to the individual book sites to generate more visibility for the books.
5. Possibly reduce the posts here to two times a week, rather than three times
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By:
Kristi Holl,
on 10/7/2011
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The Frugal Book Promoter: Second Edition: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher.
I very rarely read an e-book and then buy the hard copy–but I did in this case. I have to mark it up, add my colored flags and post-its, and turn down page corners.
Why? Because it is so very full of practical, usable, frugal marketing advice. (And I mean frugal in terms of both money and your time.) I already owned the 2004 first edition, but publishing times have changed so much–and this 2011 updated version reflects that.
Why a New Edition?
We all know that book promotion (and life!) has changed since The Frugal Book Promoter was first published in 2004–particularly in ways that have to do with the Web, but in other ways, too. As an example, the publishing world in general is more open to independent publishing now than it was then. So, this update includes lots of information on ways to promote that were not around or were in their infancy a few short years ago.
So here is what is new:
- A simplified method for making social networks actually work–without spending too much time away from my writing
- How to avoid falling into some of the scam-traps for authors
- The best “old-fashioned” ways to promote–the ones I shouldn’t give up on entirely
- How to write (and publish) an award-worthy book
- How to promote your book to mobile users and others
- The pitfalls of using the Web and how to avoid them
- Unusual methods of getting reviews–even long after your book has been published
Up-to-Date
Today’s technology, social networking and marketing techniques are covered. Updated web resources abound. Advice in sync with today’s Internet are incorporated:
* Blogging tips and pitfalls
* Obtaining reviews and avoiding scams
* Finding places to pitch your book
* Using the eBook explosion to promote sales
* Using Google alerts to full advantage
* Staying on top of current trends in the publishing industry
* Writing quality query, media release letters and scripts for telephone pitches
* Putting together power point and author talk presentations
This is just a tip of the iceberg too. I highly recommend Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s updated Frugal Book Promoter. (NOTE: Be sure you get the new 2011 edition with the cover above.)
Don’t have time to read the classics by authors like Austen, Hemingway, or Fitzgerald? Well now you don’t have to.
Eleven classics you can read in a minute TOTAL..
There are famous six-word short stories, like Hemingway’s “For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.” And there are other great tiny stories that are a smidge more than six words. You can read some here.
I’ve been posting a lot about how to re-claim your creativity and account for your creative time. The following exercises are a great way for you to really dig in and be honest with yourself. What are your priorities? How does your use of time reflect those priorities?
Exercise #1: Your Priorities and Your Time
Step One: List the first five things you spend your time on. Don’t censor just write it down quickly (i.e. surfing the internet, sleeping, etc.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Step Two: Write down the five most important things in your life (i.e. family, health, writing, etc.).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Step Three: Now compare and contrast your lists. What is important to you and how are you really spending your time? This will be very illuminating.
Exercise #2: Account for How You Spend Your Time
For a whole week, carefully account for your time. Use a timer that goes off every 30 minutes. Write down what you’ve done for those 30 minutes. Do it every 30 min, for every day, for one week. See what you really do with your time! Now compare that with your priorities from exercise #1. Make the adjustments you need to create time for creativity in your life!
These exercises were shared by author Laurie Halse Anderson at the 2011 LA SCBWI Conference. Be sure to check out these other notes from her talks:
- Nine Tips for Finding and Re-Claiming Your Time and Creativity
- Three Writing Myths that Hurt Us
- Attitudes to Grow Into Your Soul
Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous ALA and state awards. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award Finalists. Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Northern New York, where she likes to watch the snowfall as she writes.
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By:
Kristi Holl,
on 8/24/2011
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“Habits are the little anchors that keep us from straying very far from the lifestyle to which we’ve become accustomed, whether that lifestyle makes us happy or miserable,” says Karen Scalf Linamen in her book Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight.
Habits: Help or Hindrance?
We all have habits that either support or hinder our writing lives. Habits are simply the ways we repeatedly do some things. Positive habits include daily writing practice, telling ourselves positive things about our abilities, and keeping current with publishers’ requirements.
Negative writing habits run the gamut from playing computer games and surfing the Internet during our writing time, to not keeping track of submissions and not studying to improve our craft.
Do you see any consistent patterns in your writing life? Which positive habits help you? Which habits detract from your ability to pursue your writing dreams consistently?
Habits from Scratch
If you could redesign your writing life from scratch, which patterns would you reestablish? Which habits would you drop, if you could break them? Can you even identify the habits that are getting in your way? Do you wonder where your time is going, why you can’t seem to get around to working on the project that is so dear to your heart? Try journaling about it.
“Keeping a journal can help you identify hidden habits that are 
interfering with your life,” says Linamen. “You can embrace the changes you want to embrace–and getting a handle on what’s really going on is a great way to begin!”
The Art of Change
A good writing life–a productive writing life–is built on good writing habits. They keep you anchored to the writing life you want to have, both now and in the future. Building good writing habits may not sound very exciting, but discipline now will give you a lot of freedom later on–and a writing life worth having!
Laurie Halse Anderson is an inspiration! During her breakout session at the 2011 LA SCBWI conference she shared her insights on how to create and honor your time and creative life. She offered the following nine tips to help us all embrace the creative life we’ve been dreaming about!
Nine Tips to Help You Set Creative Goals and Achieve Them!
1) How many hours a day do you want to write? What is your daily minimum? (This can vary depending on the time of year it is). Write it down and commit yourself to finding that time!
2) Turn off the TV! You can watch TV, but then you are NOT ALLOWED to complain about not having time. You choose what you leave behind after you die. Do you want that to be watching TV? Know your vices!
3) Stop Volunteering! All you have to do is say: “Thank you for the invitation, but I’m going to have to say no.” Put it on the wall next to your phone! There are lots of other people out there for whom volunteering will be their creative time.
SIDE NOTE: If someone is really angry at you about making these changes, that person does not respect your passions. This may call into question how much they love and respect you. If this is your dream then that person should always be supporting you.
4) Find a way to state your needs to your family in a loving way. Don’t teach your kids not to fulfill their dreams by not fulfilling your own. Kids learn through observation and they will learn from your actions. Take your own dreams seriously!
SIDE NOTE: When the creative needs in a couple are not being met the couple is having issues. This is one of the major neglected areas of a relationship. Get your beloved on board! Go on artist dates together (see the book “The Artist Way”). Include your kids and your beloved on artist dates (going to museums, etc.). Go on artist dates at least once a month if not once a week! Experience food, art, unfamiliar places physically so that you can go to unfamiliar places in your writing
5) Claim your space! Build a writing cottage! For a while LH Anderson used her car as her writing space when she was picking up kids from sports. Carve out a little space that is yours. I could be a side of the couch or a room. This is important to your soul. Honor that space on the outside and that honor will seep to the inside.
6) Be Gentle. Stop telling yourself you suck! Be nice to yourself!
7) Turn the Internet Off! You can have the moral courage to turn your internet off. If you need to do research create a list of research questions while you are writing (rather than going to the internet). Later when you are done writing go to the internet and search those questions.
8) Dawdle with Purpose! You can’t always be ON. Make a list of ten-minute things that you can do to distract yourself. Poetry is great for this. Move around and get physical. Go for a walk. Move your arms. Swim. Get oxygen to your brain!
9) Beware of Self-Sabotage! We love reading, writing, and talking about writing. “Don’t be a writer, be writing!” – Great Faulkner quote. Those deep places that we write from can be painful and we often avoid them. Ask yourself what you are afraid of. Are you self sabotaging o avoid what you are afraid of?
Every new book is hard! You’ve never wrote that book before. It’s uncomfortable to figure out what your book is. “I hate writing. I love revising.” – Anderson.
This is a good journaling topic. Ask yourself why you are self sabotaging. If you are sab
Back in March, I wrote about pruning some things from life in order to have more time to write. (See my former post “The ‘Not To-Do’ List”.)
In order to make time for anything new in your life, it requires some necessary endings.
Help Is on the Way
So I was thrilled yesterday when my son-in-law loaned me a book by a favorite author of mine (Henry Cloud of Boundaries fame). It’s called Necessary Endings. It’s the best “how-to” on this “pruning” subject I’ve ever seen. It covers both personal/relationships and business. [Remember: if you're a writer, you're in business.]
I don’t know about you, but I have difficulty cutting things out of my life–even when doctors say, “Cut back or die!” (or the equivalent). This book has already helped me identify more clearly what needs to go. And, as Cloud shows, it all starts with having a clear idea of what you’re pruning toward (your goal or vision.) Only when you know that can you know what/who has to go.
Free Resources
You can download a free chapter from Necessary Endings called “Pruning: Growth Depends on Getting Rid of the Unwanted or the Superfluous.” Go to Facebook, do a search for “Henry Cloud (author)”, and you’ll find it. Just click the “Like” link, and you’ll have access to the free chapter and dozens of excellent short videos he’s posted.
Also, in the “Notes” section of his Facebook page, you’ll find a group study starting today on how to do this whole process of “necessary endings” in work, relationships, outside interests, and everything else (even good things) that keep us from being able to pursue the best things.
Author Laurie Halse Anderson spoke at the 2011 LA SCBWI Conference about how to stay creative and make time for your writing. She shared the following three myths that she felt held people back when it came to their writing careers.
3 WRITING MYTHS THAT DRAG US DOWN
Myth #1: If you get published you will be free from financial pressure and you can write full-time.
- Not True! Laurie Halse Anderson says she works harder now than she did before she was published!
- Her day job is being an author – and that means promoting herself as an author (not writing). Writing is her “other” job.
- She sat down and did the math one year to find out how much she makes per-hour and it turns out she made a whopping $10 per hour as an author/writer. But the trade-off is she’s happy!
Myth #2: Being published will solve all of the painful parts of your life, and it will open you up to be more creative.
- Not True!
- Those painful parts will always be there. Accept that there will be money and personal pressures in your life. CHOOSE not to fuss about it. Use that energy for other things.
- Learn to accept and manage your distractions!
Myth #3: Full time writers belong to a secret club.
- There is no secret to finding time and creativity.
- Being published will not solve all your problems and indoctrinate you into this club – it doesn’t exist!
A Little Bit About Laurie Halse Anderson’s Personal Writing Journey:
- In 1992 she had her “writing moment” when her kids were off at school and she decided she wanted to be a writer.
- She decided she would give herself 5 years to get published and if it didn’t work out then she’d give up. In truth, she says she should have given herself 10 years, because she was very lucky when she got her first picture book published in 1996 (after 4 years). Everyone’s millage is going to vary.
- Talking at schools pays a lot better than writing does!
- She doesn’t take many vacations.
- She had a day job when she was trying to get published.
More Insights Will Be Coming from Laurie Halse Anderson! Look For Next:
Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous ALA and state awards. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award Finalists. Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Northern New York, where she likes to watch the snowfall as she writes.
1 Comments on Three Writing Myths That Drag Us Down, last added: 8/19/2011
Although I am thrilled with the time management system I blogged about on Monday, there are simpler methods out there. A writer friend sent me the link to a free online system called LazyMeter.
It’s easy to learn the LazyMeter system, it’s fun, and it has a great feature that lets you put a task on “pause”–which automatically moves it to the next day! Voila! Cleared list!
Accountability
The colored “lazymeter” at the top of the page shows how many tasks you completed and how many tasks were pushed to the next day.
According to the creators of LazyMeter: “Our core belief is that productivity is not about how much you do, but how you feel at the end of the day. Other task managers create more work for users, and overwhelm them with an even longer to-do list. LazyMeter is designed to help you focus on one day at a time, and feel better at the end of the day.”
The LazyMeter blog answers many questions about their features and how to make the best use of this easy-to-understand time management system. Post a comment if you try this system and share your thoughts about it.
In the August edition of Randy Ingermanson’s free (wonderfully helpful) newsletter, there was a link to a free e-book describing a new time management system Randy is using. (For back issues of Randy’s newsletter, go here.)
Since “free” is one of my favorite words, and I’m always looking for ways to manage my time better, I downloaded it to skim.
Hooked!
Skimming quickly turned to reading carefully, and soon I’d read the whole 57-page e-book by Jim Stone called Clear Mind, Effective Action. It deals with the subject of “fractal planning.” Fractal has to do with breaking something large into smaller parts. (You can get the free e-book here.)
In some ways fractal planning is unique, and some parts are a combination of the best time management ideas from the past twenty years.
In the free e-book, the author explains how to implement his system on your own (on paper or spreadsheet or Word document), if you don’t want to subscribe to his service. (I’m using a Word doc–for now–to see how it goes. I have to admit that–so far–it has boosted my productivity and ability to focus significantly.) If you’d like to go directly to the Fractal Planner page and check out the features, you can do that here.
If you try the fractal planner or read the e-book, let me know. I’d like to hear about your experiences–plus or minus–if you try it out.
I hear it from writers almost on a daily basis. “I can’t find time or energy to write!” Or “If I take time to write, everything else falls apart!”
The idea of living balanced lives is popping up everywhere. It’s definitely a sign of the times and indicative that many feel out of balance. There are articles online for specific people (finding balance as a lawyer) and even websites for finding balance for your dog!
Take Time to Ponder
For your weekend reading pleasure and inspiration, here are some additional ideas and resources for rebalancing your life. [I'm not endorsing all these websites where I found the articles. Some are good, but some are not my cup of tea. The articles have merit though.]
Enjoy the articles. Just remember, though, that nothing will change unless we actually put into practice the suggestions and ideas. Start small. Choose one idea and put it into practice for a week or a month. Then add another one.
Even if you only add one new small balancing habit per month, that would give you a dozen new “balanced living habits” in a year. That’s bound to make a difference!
Each person has his or her own set of priorities. However, remember that time is finite. It can’t be stretched, saved, or borrowed.
The time devoted to things must be balanced, for if we give too much in one area we neglect our duty in another important area.
Restore Balance Now
Here are Richard Swenson’s suggestions for restoring balance from his book, Margin.
First, you must cultivate the ability to say no. “In life, as in the buffet, our plates fill up sooner than we realize. In attempting to be sociable we try to accommodate everyone’s invitations. In attempting to be good parents we try to give our children more opportunities than we had. In attempting to be compassionate, we want to help with everyone’s problems.” Sometimes you will have to say no, even to some very good things.
Second, you must gain control over your own life. Sometimes your life and time are ruled by other people’s demands or crises. Sometimes your life is ruled by your own out-of-control behavior. Do what is necessary to regain control over your life.
Third, beware of trying to solve the problem of imbalance by becoming even more imbalanced. A doctor warned his patients that we tend to respond to our sense of imbalance by committing more time and energy to the area in which we feel deficient. But if you are already maxed out in time and energy, you can’t give added attention to one area unless you subtract from another area. (That sounds like common sense, but it’s still the mistake I usually make.)
Fourth, accept the no given to you by others. Give others the freedom to find balance in their own lives. Don’t put your expectations on other people.
Margin and Writing
In case anyone thinks I’ve lost the point of this blog–first aid for writers–I haven’t. These issues of finding margin (while maintaining your mental and emotional and relational health) have been the biggest struggles of my writing life for thirty years. Few of us are raised by mental health professionals or counselors, so we come to some of these principles later in life. But if you want to have a healthy writing career as well as a healthy life, these ideas will help you get there.
In last week’s and this week’s posts, I’ve barely skimmed the surface of the ideas, suggestions, and life-changing advice in Richard Swenson’s book, Margin. I hope you will find a copy for yourself. This is one book I would have dearly loved to have about twenty-five years ago.
In the Margin book, Richard Swenson, M.D. talked about the tug-of-war in our everyday lives and the challenge of finding balance.
The Balancing Act
I don’t know about you, but I feel a constant tug-of-war between choices. Should I work now, or relax a bit? Should I take action, or should I think about it more? Should I take the lead in this decision, or be a good follower? Should I speak up, or just listen? Should I keep studying and researching and learning, or is it time to apply what I know? Should I judge and confront, or should I give grace here? Should I say yes to this gathering, or retire in much-needed solitude?
It’s no wonder we have difficulty finding balance!
There are so many decisions to make, minute by minute sometimes. Added to that, we know that life requires both. We need to both work and rest. Sometimes we need to speak up, but sometimes we need to listen. We need to both study and apply what we know. We need the company of other people, but writers also require a lot of solitude.
These are not either/or questions. “Balance has always been necessary and will always be necessary. It is just becoming more difficult,” says the author of Margin.
Balance or Excellence?
I believe in high standards. I believe in doing things in an excellent way. In many ways, especially in the past, I’ve gone overboard into perfectionism.
“Much is made today of the virtues of excellence. But what does this mean? Often the excellence described is only in one narrow corridor of life,” says Swenson. He talks of musicians who are virtuosos, executives who live at the office, and other passionate high achievers. Many are not so successful in the rest of their lives though.
Many writers - including myself - have dreamed of the day when they would have time to be passionately high achieving writers. While my children were smaller and I was also teaching, I dreamed of the day when I would have the hours to be one of those high achieving writers I read about. I have met a few of them at conferences, and I admire them a great deal. But each time, when talking to them, I discovered something that I knew I didn’t want in my own life. I didn’t want to ignore my community, give up my ministry at church, lose close contact with grandchildren, or be unhealthy and out of shape. I wanted it all!
Choices, Choices
“While undivided devotion to one cause can bring great success and vault a person into prominence, such a priority structure often leaves the rest of that person’s life in a state of disorder,” says Swenson. You might excel at your career - like the famous surgeon or performer - yet fail as a parent or neglect personal health in order to achieve it.
I have found this to be true in my own life. I can push through when deadlines demand it. I can do it for months on end if necessary. But to my frustration, something always breaks down. Headaches get bad. I find that I’m out of touch with grown children or grandchildren. Or I put on five pounds because I stopped walking and feel like a slug.
What’s the Answer?
“Doing our best has limits,” says Swenson. “Our rush toward excellence in one quadrant of life must not be permitted to cause destruction in another.
Do you have any margins left in your life?
Or is your life marginless?
For a long time, I’ve known that something was wrong. People everywhere, of all ages and walks of life, are frazzled. People are anxious and depressed.
And why is that especially important to writers? Because tired, frazzled, anxious, depressed writers don’t write. Or when they do write, they can’t write well.
This weekend I read a book that spoke to me on every page. It came out several years ago, so many of you have probably already read it. It’s Margin, by Richard A. Swenson, M.D. In this book he talks about the fact that most of us live marginless lives now.
What’s “margin”? Margin is the space that once existed between ourselves and our limits. Margin is having something held in reserve for unexpected situations.
Bring It On!
Instead, most of us live overloaded lives. The cost of overload is seen in health problems, financial debt, family and friendships going by the wayside, and having very little or no time for solitude and renewal.
Because of exponential progress in technology and other areas, things in our culture are changing faster and faster. We have more and more choices. Along with all the progress comes increasing stress, change, complexity, speed, intensity, and overload.
However, despite all this speed and change, human beings have relatively fixed limits. We have physical limits, mental limits, emotional limits, and financial limits. Once the threshold of these limits is exceeded, overload displaces margin.
Why Now?
The book details how many conditions we have at play today that are different than at any other time in history. We have run out of room to breathe. We have run out of time to sit and think. And I think this overload - this living beyond our limits - makes writing extremely difficult.
Can anything be done about this? You can’t stop progress, can you? Maybe not, and maybe we don’t want to, but can we regain our emotional health and physical health and relational health? Is it possible to redirect our over-extended lives? Yes, it is, according to this author.
How About You?
I read this book with great excitement, and in the next several blogs, I will share some ideas with you. Does the description above ring any bells with you?
In the coming days, we will talk about some ways to regain margin so that you have more emotional energy, more physical energy, and more time-when you can write, if you choose to. I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s just what the doctor ordered.
I’ve decided to take a break for a while, not least because there’s a waiting list to join in this excellent blog. Thanks to everyone and au revoir! But I thought I'd make my last post a brief one about the future - the summer.
One of the hardest things about having writing as a main occupation, and moving between two different countries on a regular basis, is time management. I have to think about being one month in England, two months in Italy, two weeks in Belgium – and only one of those countries in my own home, and none of them where I have a separate and dedicated work room. It’s difficult to take a routine with me from country to country and house to house, so I think of my life as chunks of time and tasks to achieve within that time, tasks relevant to the country I’m in. So in Italy I have time to do lots of writing, but in England I have the opportunity to read new children’s books in the library, network with other writers, and do school visits and events, so I write less. I try to bring some order to my life by prioritising.
This summer I will be in Italy, so my priorities are:
Write, write, write!
My work in progress is set in a snow-bound Brussels – but I’ll be trying to imagine it in 25 degree heat in Italy. At some point I’ll also have to write the second draft of a Working Partners’ novel.
Mark, mark, mark…
Creative Writing MA portfolios can be done from home.
Proofread
Another bitty job that can be done online.
Learn Italian
I do know Italian pretty well… but I’d be so much better at it if I just learned a verb a day.
Teach English
To get a bit of income. I have a couple of friends who come for occasional lessons.
Get healthy
It shouldn’t be that hard, should it? Surrounded by fresh vegetables, hills to stride up and down, and sea to swim in. Fingers crossed I won’t just spend the entire summer stuck to the computer, drinking coffee and eating pizza.
And thanks to my Kindle, I can also…
Catch up on my reading!
I just wish there were more children’s books available for the Kindle.
What are your summer priorities? I'd love to know.
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Quality will always win out over quantity. Good luck with the ghosting.
Thanks a bunch, Widdershins!
Seconding that. This is one of the blogs I always turn to because I know I'll learn something worth knowing.
Annie, thank you so much. You made me smile!