Day 7: Sometimes You Just Need a Day Off

Sometimes, after work, chores, writing groups and/or classes, etc…, you just want to go crawl into the bed and sleep.  Well, you know what…that’s okay!  We all have to recharge.  Some of us sleep, others go out into nature, others listen to music or meditate and some people actually go to the gym.  Personally, I think that’s insanity, but who am I to judge?  And the reasons that we need to recharge are as diverse as we are.  I have an empathic nature and I soak up other people’s energy so if the people I’m around are angry or tense or depressed, etc…, it affects me in a negative way.  My husband, bless his heart, knows that when I come home from work, I need at least a half hour to recover and decompress before I am human again so he leaves me alone with my little Chihuahua, Dude, and we cuddle while my day just fades away.  Sometimes, everything about my day was so extremely negative that it takes much longer…plus a rant to my husband…to even begin to clear it away.  It doesn’t matter why…if you need time off, take it.  Do whatever it is that recharges you and gets you back into a writing frame of mind.  Most of us have divided our lives into 2 parts…writing and everything else.  When you’re juggling as many things as we are, you really do need that separation.  And we shouldn’t feel bad about it.  But we do at times.  We feel as though we’re neglecting someone or something when we shut ourselves away to write and, honestly, sometimes we are.  So sit down and make a list of your responsibilities and obligations including family, work, friends, self-care (never forget that 1), writing and so on.  Does your significant other have a hobby that they indulge in on a regular basis and can you schedule your writing time during the time that they’re otherwise engaged?  Do your kids have playdates that you don’t need to be present for?  Will your house still be standing if you only do laundry and vacuum once a week rather than twice?  Will it literally kill someone to eat take-out once a week rather than a homecooked meal?  If you skip 1 happy hour with your friends will it do irreparable damage to the friendship?  You see where this is going.  Make your list then look at it and decide where you can carve out some me time that can be used for self-care or to write.  And stop feeling guilty about it.  You are a multi-faceted person and every part of your life deserves the attention that you give it.  You also need rest and relaxation because, without an adequate amount of both, you will not be able to handle everything that’s going on in your life, much less find time to write.  Stop feeling guilty because you were born human and because there are only 24 hours in your day and you have to fit every responsibility that you have into that limited amount of time.  So, sit back, relax and decide just how you’re going to use that 24 hours you’ve been given.  Visualize what it will be like then tweak it and tweak it again until you have a 24 hour period that you can not just live with but that you’re excited about.  So rest a little.  Relax a little.  And write a lot!

“Writing is like giving yourself homework, really hard homework, every day, for the rest of your life.  You want glamorous?  Throw glitter at the computer screen.” ~ Katrina Monroe

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