Reinvesting in my Goals: ROW80 Check In
Catching up is not easy. Life keeps coming at you with no regard for all the items building on the to-do list. I have 500 emails in one account and 9 pages of emails in another. All things I either need to get to, or would like to.
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
A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) is "the writing challenge that knows you have a life." From the website: We are all different and we all have different demands on our time. Why should we all have the same goal? The simple answer is that we shouldn't. If you want to be a writer, then you have to be able to roll with the punches and adapt to your changing circumstances. If that means changing your goals when your life blows up, so be it. ROW80 is the challenge that champions the marriage of writing and real life. (I had to include this because my mom asked me what the "Row-thingy" was.)
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!
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
A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) is "the writing challenge that knows you have a life." From the website: We are all different and we all have different demands on our time. Why should we all have the same goal? The simple answer is that we shouldn't. If you want to be a writer, then you have to be able to roll with the punches and adapt to your changing circumstances. If that means changing your goals when your life blows up, so be it. ROW80 is the challenge that champions the marriage of writing and real life. (I had to include this because my mom asked me what the "Row-thingy" was.)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!
No comments have been added yet.
