I’m not the most coordinated person, so juggling physical objects would be an exercise in futility, and if they were sharp or heavy objects, probably a lot worse. But I’ve also found that juggling all the parts and pieces of my life can be just as hazardous to my health in this semi-post-pandemic time.
We all know the toll COVID took on us, but now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I’ve felt compelled to jump back into “real” life again with gusto. I got my two shots, signed up to teach more classes at the Community College, booked a mini-vacation, am working on edits for two books due out this year, while finishing up another book in each series. My husband and I are also starting a remodel on the outside of the house. And it’s time to get the garden in shape…
Can you see the problem here? At first it was just so exciting to be able to get back to doing something here and there that I hadn’t been able to for the past year. But then the reality of working full time, and the awareness that more and more of my free time was being filled in on the calendar, set in.
A lot of blogs and articles have popped up about how we all can start to return to normal (whatever that ends up being), but I’m here to caution you about taking it slow and easy getting back into the swing of things lest your enthusiasm and over-commitment overwhelms you. I heard the best way of explaining this at a workshop yesterday. When you’re juggling all these balls, consider some of them are plastic, and some are glass. If you drop a plastic one, it’s no big deal, right? But if you drop a glass one, the results can spread far and wide.
Take some time to decide what, of all the things you’re juggling right now, could be dropped, as least for now, without doing permanent damage, and what you need to make sure you can keep up with.
For me, those glass balls include taking care of relationships with family and managing my day job, but also ensuring I have time to write for the enjoyment of it, not just because I have a deadline to meet or a class handout to prepare.
So, as you’re penciling in all those events and meetups you’ve been missing so much, don’t forget to ink in some time to find a fun (and perhaps public place) to WRITE ON!
PS: Be sure to ink in Colorado Gold this October on you calendar! It’s going to be a combo in-person and virtual. I can’t wait to hang out with all you writerly people again.