Finding Balance in the Writing Life: 3 Tips for Making and Keeping a Schedule

Yup, it's another "finding balance" post. Because, like I've mentioned before, finding balance is a daily thing. And I'm trying something new that seems to be working well that I wanted to share.

Most of us have some kind of routine: wake up, feed the kids, eat breakfast, go to work, clean the house, make dinner, go to bed...any number of things come and go in our days, and we usually live in a kind of pattern that may or may not help us get those things done. And when all is said and done, it doesn't often leave a lot of time for extras. We try to squeeze in writing time and blogging and dishes and family activities, and after a while, it's exhausting juggling all those balls. When we do get a bit of extra time, we sometimes don't even know what to do with it, and waste that precious time.

I was feeling all that just last week, so I decided to try something I've tried before, but to change it up a bit. I was going to go beyond a jumbled routine, and make a schedule. And I was going to KEEP that schedule. Here are a few tips if you think this is something that might help you.

1. Base your schedule on your current routine.

If you really want to make that schedule a part of your life, you don't want to throw everything out of wack. Do you usually wake up at 6:30 am to exercise? Excellent. Pull up that Excel sheet and plop down exercise at 6:30. My schedule basically follows my current routine, but now, it has an order. Where I used to just do the dishes whenever I had a spare moment, I now actually have a scheduled time for housework. By consolidating and scheduling my "spare moments," I now actually have time to do the things I crammed into those moments.

2. Leave yourself reminders.

The hardest part of a new schedule is remembering what the schedule IS. For me, I took a screenshot of the Excel sheet where my schedule was, edited it as a picture, and set it as my desktop background. That way, I can refer to it whenever I need to. I also set alarms on my phone to remind me what I'm supposed to be doing. That way, if I'm cheating and wasting time on the internet, my phone will ding to remind me it's time to go play with my son or make dinner. Is it sort of pathetic that I get caught up in the internet that easily?

3. Be flexible.

Don't feel guilty when you don't keep the schedule perfectly! It shouldn't be a dictator of your life. Sometimes, things will come up, or it'll take longer to eat lunch, or my son wants to go to the park instead of watching a movie while I work. Sounds good! Be flexible with the schedule. When life does what life does and things get a little crazy for a day, that's okay. You can try again tomorrow.

It's really amazing how much such a simple thing has helped me find the time I need for everything. In just a few days, my house is cleaner, my son is having more fun, my work is getting done, I'm spending more time with my hubby, and I have more time for writing. My internet time is productive rather than a waste of time. Even with the expected schedule interruptions, I feel happier and more capable.

So, my friends, how do you schedule your time? What is your routine, and how do you find time to do the things you both need and want to do? What tips can you share that help you balance your life?

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Confessions of a Guilty Writer

So here's the thing. I'm a creature very often driven by guilt. I feel guilty when I write because I should be cleaning/cooking/working/spending time with family/etc. I feel guilty when I don't write because I love writing and want to be published so I know I need to work at it. I feel guilty that I didn't come up with a great blog post today and that I don't plan my posts ahead of time.

Yeah. I know. I'm a little bit ridiculous.

So today I would like to write my confessions. Just to get them off my chest so I don't have to feel guilty anymore. Here we go.

I haven't read hardly any blogs in the last week, and I haven't commented much on the blogs I've been reading in the several weeks before that. I'm sorry. I really do love you all and your blogs.

Last week, I let my son watch two movies in a single day more than once. Not TV shows, movies. 4 hours of TV for an 18 month old. Yikes.

I'm suddenly a lot less sure I'm going to finish Devs by my May 1 deadline. I just got a new work assignment and agreed to watch a friend's kids for a week since her regular daycare person is going out of town. I'm totally panicking about it-- all of it.

Last night I ordered Chinese food and had them deliver while the hubs was at work. And tonight, it's frozen lasagna. I don't think I've made a meal from scratch in...two weeks? A month?

It's kind of funny that I posted just last week on finding balance, and now I'm feeling desperately short of it anywhere in life right now. I'm sure I'll be fine, and hopefully get rid of the guilt I feel when things are out of balance. Sometimes, it just helps to confess.

So, my friends, do you ever feel guilty for writing/not writing, cooking/not cooking, etc. etc.? What helps you deal with it? Any confessions of your own to share?

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Finding Balance in the Writing Life a Day at a Time

We writers tend to share similar concerns-- that's one of the reasons I love blogging. I read someone else's post on something that worries me too, and think, "I'm not alone!" Recently, I've been thinking about something I've seen on several blogs that's a big concern for me too. We call it "finding balance."

Typically, the answer for finding balance is to simplify. Cut out TV, get the kid's help with housework, wake up earlier, etc. And it's a great point. Simplifying life is actually quite refreshing. But still, life is still busy. There are some things you just can't "simplify" out.

I'm a stay-at-home mom of a toddler, so compared to a lot of you, I'm not actually that busy! Seriously, I don't know how some of you do it. You're amazing. But balancing all the balls I've got is still something I worry about. A lot, actually. I'm somewhat paranoid about making sure I don't sacrifice my family to my writing-- I never want them to feel they're second on my priority list.

Here's the thing. That paranoia and worry was stressing me out. I tried making up schedules on Excel sheets, and even that didn't work for long. "Finding balance" became another ball to juggle. Until yesterday, when I realized something.

Finding balance is not a one-time thing.

Using the word "finding" makes it sound like balance is an object we're searching for, and once we've got it, we'll be fine! Not so, my friends. Not so. When I tried writing my schedule, I realized, I CAN'T schedule my life right now-- it changes every day. Some days I need to do major housecleaning for a few hours. Some days I need to take my son to the park and just have fun with him. Some days I have to take the car to the shop. That's when it hit me.

Finding balance means taking it a day at a time.

That's not to say I shouldn't have a schedule, and that I can't plan some things out. But life is always in flux. I have to look at this particular day and decide what the balance will be. Some days, it'll be tipped in the direction of family, some days in the direction of writing, and others in the direction of the daily crisis. As long as the scale isn't tipped in one direction for too many days in a row, it's okay for things to be "out of balance" for a day or two!

So, my friends, don't be afraid to let your balance scales tip back and forth. What things do you do to keep your balance in life? What things do you worry about?

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