You know, life these days is pretty crazy. We’re all running, running, running, trying to keep up with this and that and the other thing, with kids’ activities and our own, with our complicated lives, jobs, church commitments, you name it.
Rarely do I have a season lately that I don’t deem “crazy.” But October is always the worst for me. And this year, for some reason I thought it would be fun to schedule a ton of fall releases for WhiteFire, LOL, so I have a bunch of editing on top of it (I’ve been prepping five different books). I’ve got Octoberfest (last weekend), family reunion (this weekend), my daughter’s birthday, an extra night of ballet starts next week for Nutcracker rehearsal–and this year, her physical therapy twice a week on top of it, not to mention that whole moving thing that still isn’t finished.
Yeah. Wee bit crazy around here. I’ve been getting up at 5:30 every day, scheduling every minute of my day, and falling into bed exhausted every night. And I still don’t feel exactly on top of things. But the schedule helps. A block of time for writing. Then blogging. A block for exercising, showering, eating, and reading my Bible. School. Running out and about. More school. Editing. Picking up the house, cooking, evening activities. Somewhere in there I’m trying to squeeze in a research book. And laundry, LOL.
I know, though, that I’m not the only one with one of those crazy-beyond-comprehension months–October just happens to be mine.
What time of year are you busiest? Christmas? Summer? Some random month like mine? What are your tricks for keeping your head above water?
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
My trick is to just take everything one moment at a time. Plan, but be flexible, because God's bound to change something along the way. Trust that He will give me enough time/energy/reserves for whatever each day holds.
Blessings,
Andrea
My son is on the school soccer team for the very first time this year – and it has been CRAZY. But playoffs start Monday, so we're close to the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm a schedule freak, so that helps a ton – so does reminding myself (over and over and over as necessary LOL) that it IS just a season – whether it's a sports season, a month, even a year. There IS an end in sight!
AND – I remember that I can't do everything – that it's all right to let some of the not so crucial stuff go.
Sometimes it's more a question of "when do you get to take a break?" Anyway, routine is what keeps my head from exploding. For me, the less variation in weekly schedule the better (which is only possible to a certain extent), but if I can have my 45 minutes in the morning alone to read my bible, eat my cereal while drinking my scorching tea, check email etc, I am usually good to go. Having that time to myself goes a long way toward reducing the stress of the day.