Writing Has Taught Me the Joy of Being Busy

I’ve always been a pretty chilled guy. In fact, one of the problems I had as a child/teenager was being TOO chilled. I preferred a good book, an enjoyable movie, or an awesome video game to study, working, learning, or doing active things.

In recent years, I’ve been blessed to work from home. That means I can set my own hours and choose how I spend my time. With my off hours, I would read, practice martial arts, spend time with my kids, watch TV, and do enjoyable, relaxing things.

Then I started writing. I had all those extra hours, so I would use them to write. Writing, while enjoyable, is still work, so my hours became more and more productive. The more time I spent writing, the more time I wanted to spend writing–and the less time I wanted to spend watching TV and “hanging around”.

It has gotten to the point where I am currently working from 7 AM to 1 PM on my day job, 2 to 3 PM on one novel, and 5 to 6:30 PM on a second novel. Around that schedule, I’m eating meals, taking care of my kids, trying to be a good parent/spouse, doing what I can around the house, and so on.

But I love it! I feel so much more productive than ever before. Even when on “vacation”, there’s nothing I want to do more than just sit and write. On those rare days when I can’t get to my writing, I miss it. I miss the thrill of creation, but more than anything else, I miss the feeling of working toward something.

I’ve come to love feeling and being busy. If I don’t have a project to work toward, I feel like there’s something missing in my life. Taking a week off writing is a challenge for me, and even then my brain doesn’t stop working. I may not be writing a book, but I will come up with ideas for the next book I’m going to write. It’s an amazing feeling, and one I’d never want to lose.

Yes, I never have enough “down time” to get to all those extras–reading books and comics, playing video games, etc. But I’ve noticed that when I’m working hard, the little down time I do get feels amazing!