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Blogs by Pamela C Labud
Eight days a week... 8/25/2005 3:32:39 AM
Why isn't there enough time to get everything done?
Yeah, I'm sticking to old Beatle tunes to get this week's blog in. I've only got a few minutes to make this entry so stick with me on this.
The truth is that it stinks when so many things make such a demand on your time that you end up barely getting anything accomplished at all.
What this entry should be about is organizing your time to increase writing productivity. It should give lots of clever hints about ways to multi-task and achieve one's goals in a timely fashion.
Yeah, right. If I could figure that out I could probably solve the national debt, restore the ozone level, and achieve world peace.
As it is, I barely have time to even write in my journal each day. That would be acceptable most days, except that I find when I am able to carve out an afternoon or a few hours time, I don't have the motivation to write. Some days it's like pulling teeth without the benefit of anesthesia.
Even worse than that is, that when I am crushed to go somewhere, like now when I have to get dressed to take the girls to school, I find that I have this incredible urge to write and the ideas flow like crazy.
Is that insanity or what?
You would think that now that I am published that in itself would be enough to push me into overdrive. The truth is, being published is as much a detriment as it is an incentive. Along with the heady feeling of moderate success is the huge mountain of self-doubt that rises up threatening to crush you like a hundred foot tidal wave.
I came back from the RWA national conference in Reno on fire with my ideas, ready to write like a firestorm. Unfortunately about the time the plane touched down, my 'other' life landed on me as well. Kids, work, school, bills, and other less pleasant aspects of my existence crowded their way into my time and writing quickly fell to the lowest priorty.
Add to all that last week a close family member of mine broke her leg, spend six days waiting to go to sugery to have it fixed, and is now recouperating in intensive care, well, you see my point. Now, work, school, kids, job, housework and writing are wedged in between long hours spent at the hospital and trips to and from.
That would be bad enough, but something happens to your creative energy when you have to watch someone you care about suffer severe pain and you're also worrying about their chances getting past this in the face of a multitude of other health problems they have. Did I mention that sometimes life stinks?
So, writing takes another dip down on the daily routine.
What's the answer? The best I can come up with is that as a writer and a human being, (which I'm pretty sure most of us are) is that you must take a few moments each day to try to plan out your time. Prioritize your most important tasks, and then scrape together every moment you have to write.
There are ways to get around that whole not motivated thing, too. I always start in my journal, or even writing my blog. Those activities get my creative juices flowing. Also, I give myself permission to write badly. I know that I can throw it away if I don't like it, or better yet, go back and fix things later. Also, I read what I've written already a couple of times. That usually does the trick. If it's worse than that, I take a few days and find my favorite authors and read, read, read.
Well, enough blogging wisdom for now. I've got to run kids to school. Hugs to you all and thanks for listening to me babble on. Happy reading! Pam.
