Have you ever walked a balance beam or tried to walk a curb without falling off? I have, and I can tell you gymnastics is not my calling in life. Just the thought of walking on a log across a river or encountering a swinging bridge over a waterfall shoots my stress level off the charts.
Physical balance is one thing, but what about weighing the scales of life? Is it balanced or is one side heavy and weighted?
For the record, there’s never a dull moment in my life with four grown children, twelve grandchildren, and aging parents, but I try to keep my priorities straight and balanced.
Since I no longer work outside the home, and my husband is retired, we spend a lot of time together, like, almost every waking moment. Therefore, I keep a flexible schedule but make sure to write something every day whether it’s a paragraph, a page or a chapter.
I’ve heard too many writers stressing over needing to spend time with their spouses and children, but they need to be on their laptops, and they grow frustrated. Sometimes, I get frustrated too. Especially when I’ve set a deadline for myself and life keeps interrupting, but . . . that’s life.
So, where’s the balance? Everyone is different, and everyone’s responsibilities are on a different scale, so see if this helps.
- Write down your daily duties.
- Prioritize them according to necessity and importance. Remember, God and family, are first.
- If you can’t schedule a specific time each day to pursue your craft, work at it after everyone is quiet and content.
- Don’t stress. It defeats the fun and the point of writing.
- Don’t neglect your family, and don’t feel guilty for writing or not writing. Balance your time and be at peace.
My latest discovery about my so-called balance scale is that I’d become so focused on writing novels, articles for blogs, responses to social media, and answering emails, that I’d neglected my friends. Wow!
I know during times when meeting a deadline is before me, I must make wise choices with my time out with friends, but I never meant to become so consumed with goals that I neglected to uphold my end of a friendship.
I had inadvertently removed myself from those I cared about and expected them to understand that I’m a writer, and this is what writers do.
Right? Wrong.
The Bible says, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” Proverbs 18:24 NIV. So I’m adding friends to my new Balanced, Don’t Neglect list.
Is your life balanced or does one end weigh heavier than the other? How do you balance your schedule?
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