I know I’ve said this before, but I need to say it again:
I need to figure out what works for me.
I realized that I’m doing it again – I’m setting goals for myself based on what other people have done. I’ve read too many books and articles about what works for them and how they did it so I’m trying to duplicate their successes.
I’m failing miserably.
You’ve already read a post (or two or three) about this – I need to set reasonable writing goals for myself. This whole “writing for X hours a day” doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried, I really have, but I can’t keep a regular daily writing schedule when I don’t have a regular daily schedule!
My top priority at home is to my husband, so I make sure his needs (mainly food) are met first – and I cook best when I do it all at once for the week. Well, that doesn’t really give me much time for anything else on those days…and what little time I do have is usually late and I’m too tired to put sentences together.
So I got to thinking about how my life works – how do I schedule things? That’s how I need to approach my writing.
I don’t have daily goals for anything in my life. I work on a weekly schedule: there are certain things that MUST be accomplished each week and it doesn’t matter when it happens, just so long as it’s done. I don’t have a “laundry day” or a “cooking day”. That usually depends on the weather (hot days for laundry so I can dry on the line; cold days for cooking so I can warm up the house). Now if this is the approach I use for everything else, why should my writing be any different??
And so I’ve decided to step out of the “daily writing” box. It’s too stressful for me. It just sets me up for failure and then I get discouraged. Not any more!
I will now have a weekly word count that I must meet. I will also work on my one-devotional-a-week. And my goal is to spend 10 hours a week focused on my writing. But that’s it. That’s as far as it goes. If I sit down and spend 10 hours in one day and get it all done – great! If it take two fives, or five twos I’m not going to worry about it. I’ll still accomplish in a week (month/year) what I need to accomplish, but it’ll be in a way that I can handle.
Okay, so that’s the new plan. I have peace about it. I like it. I’m feeling good about myself. This could work.
How about y’all? Is there one thing that everyone recommends that you’ve modified (or ignored)? What have you had to do to make writing work in your lifestyle (instead of trying to rearrange your lifestyle around the writing)? Please share your hints with everyone!
I haven't found the perfect plan either. It is hit or miss for me. I do what I can, when I can, and try not to stress about it, but there is always some guilt involved. Either I feel guilty for not spending enough time with my family, or I am not spending enough time with my book. I look forward to hearing other's comments to see if there really is a good balance out there.
Yes, I'm still working on that too. It is pretty much impossible to set aside regular writing time unless you live on a regular schedule! Fortunately though, I will have a job with regular hours through the end of the year so I can make it work. In the meantime, I've been writing for irregular periods, usually in the morning before I do anything else, or late at night if I get started and fall into "the zone."