Feelin’ the Squeeze…And it Ain’t Resulting in Juice

A writer friend just posted an entry about her backlog of stories and understanding her feeling of stress last week. Her post was well thought out and got me thinking. Yes, that is the smoke you are seeing out here in Northern California. Any-who. I started thinking about my overall workload right now and how I’ve organized my life.

As I think most of you know, in my “day life” (which bleeds into evenings and weekends sometimes….okay, often) I’m a project manager. So, for the most part, I have organization, time schedules, productivity ratios, and all sorts of tips and tricks in my toolbox of life that keep me well balanced. (And, my brain is just kind of wired this way - It’s a sickness really.)

But lately, I’ve been feeling the squeeze.

I won’t go too much into here - in the public eye of the World Wide Web - but a lot is happening on the personal front which has impacted my ability to manage the workload. In turn, a lot of the peripheral activities and tasks are getting dropped. It sucks really, but it is the way it is for now. For the most part, everyone is very understanding and I have a super duper supportive circle which makes the slips easier to clean up and repair.

And that’s the core of it really, don’t you think?

As writers, sometimes we can become so zoned into the fiction inside our heads, we forget the real life stuff happening around us. And a lot of times writers don’t take the time to build on the core of their circle that is family, friends, and community. So, when the hard times hit, a lot of writers can end up in a very difficult spot…all alone.

My question for today is…Are you spending enough time in the real world? Are you making time for you or is it all going to the characters of your imagination?

If not, will the characters be there to help you when you need a helping hand?