Taking Care of You

Finding Balance in your Writing Life

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Writing can take a lot of you, affecting you mentally, physically, and spiritually. To be productive, you need to find balance. Fall seems the perfect season to reflect on what you are currently doing and perhaps plan to do things differently. 

We all have different situations. Some of us have trouble finding time to write, and others don’t know how to stop. Most everyone agrees a writer needs to write; to do this, it’s helpful to have a plan. Setting a specific writing goal, something you know is attainable, and keeping it somewhere you can see it assists you in meeting goals. Even writing two hours a day can build up your word count. 

On the other side of the spectrum are those writing seven to ten hours a day, but that could be a problem too. Without proper breaks, writing on a computer that much can lead to physical injury, back and hip issues, and/or carpal tunnel syndrome. And then there’s the mental side: you can get grumpy, have trouble focusing, or experience burnout keeping those hours consistently. 

What’s a writer to do? You have NaNoWriMo coming up. You need to plot. In addition, you’re editing an existing story and marketing one that’s already released or on the verge of being so. On top of this, many of you have day jobs and families with family demands. Add all the social media platforms you’ve been told you need to maintain and keep active, and you’re snowed under. All of this seems necessary. The problem is that it’s up to you to decide your priorities and change them to meet your needs. 

Sometimes you operate under a false belief system that to achieve something, you need to perform feats of endurance that are not realistic. Do you need to work harder or smarter?

There will be times when you’ll focus more hours on marketing, other times when you’ll be editing, and still others when you are refilling your cup. Perhaps doing no writing at all, but going to art museums or attending live music events, or reading a favorite genre instead. 

Some authors use a seasonal approach to these activities, using winter to focus on writing, spring to focus on marketing and writing workshops, summer for focusing on family activities, and fall to focus on editing and setting goals for the following year. Sometimes you can’t plan because you or a loved one becomes sick, and even this can make you a better writer, giving you the empathy and the experience to write about characters just like you. 

In “The Miracle Morning, “author Hal Elrod suggests a morning ritual frame your day, S.A.V.E.R.S. It consists of silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing. I’ve found the ritual brought balance to my life, meeting my spiritual, mental, and physical needs. The book also encourages you to get up earlier. I found this advice challenging. I’m a night owl and enjoy writing at night. However, I became more productive and happier when I went to bed by eleven pm and got up earlier. 

The author suggests beginning your day with silence (meditation). This can be as simple as using an app like Calm or doing it the old-fashioned way; Sit, breathe, concentrate on the breath, and repeat. Even meditating for ten minutes makes a big difference.

Affirmations. Pick two positive things about yourself or something you wish to achieve. Write them down twelve times each. Depending on the length of the affirmation, that can take another five minutes. I will write a successful newsletter; I love coming up with new ideas.

Visualization. Visualize yourself doing the thing you wrote as an affirmation. I will write a successful newsletter. Imagine the steps you’ll take: generating ideas, researching your subject matter, corresponding with other authors, outlining, writing, and editing the story, and readers commenting and “liking” it. Do the visualization activity for five minutes. 

Exercise. I find yoga or stretching perfect for morning exercise, but it doesn’t take the place of going to the gym or anything like that. You’re only doing it for ten-fifteen minutes.

Reading. This could include fiction or non-fiction material of your choice. 

Scribing (writing). Any free-form writing activity or journaling could fit in nicely. 

I can complete all these activities in an hour, providing the perfect entry into the day. Still, it is up to you to carry out these activities for the time you need.

What can you do to keep your writing life in balance?

• Know what you want. Discipline is essential in reaching goals, but knowing and honoring your physical, spiritual, and mental needs is necessary, too. Make your goals small and attainable and if you meet them, make new goals.

• Celebrate accomplishments. Finishing a first chapter or a first draft are all reasons to pat yourself on the back. Don’t compare your achievements to others. It’s great that others can turn out a manuscript in two months, but don’t beat yourself up if yours takes three years or even longer.

• Spend time on recreational or entertainment activities. They can inspire and get your creative juices going and feed your writing.

• Don’t live your life inside a book and ignore your “real life.” You have people that love you, and they are real.

• Do one physical activity every day. Walking and yoga are two activities you can fit into your life easily.

• Don’t forget to have fun. If every part of the writing life brings misery, why are you doing it? Find something else that brings you joy.

• Take a bath or a shower. It may not keep your life in balance, but at least you’ll smell good, and if you’re like me, the best ideas seem to pop into your head while doing it. 

How do you bring balance to your writing life? Sharing is caring, the expression goes. Be part of the discussion and leave a comment below. Have a great week, and don’t forget to have fun!