Guilt. The emotion that has caught me in its deathly
grip. From the past few months I am feeling very guilty about missing in action
in the blogosphere. Though I am posting once a week, it’s been quite a struggle
coming up with a blog post. Most of my posts are last minute efforts. And let’s
not even talk of visiting my blog buddies’ blogs and leaving a comment. I am
unable to visit most of my regular blog buddies.
Sometimes I feel I am juggling too many balls in
air, glass balls at that, and more often than not, it’s a struggle trying to
keep all the balls safe. If I concentrate on my blog, I am losing out on
reading books. If I read books then it’s my blog that feels ignored. If I am
paying attention to my feature writing for the newspapers, I am late in correcting
my students’ assignments. And when I correct piles of assignments, my
manuscript is ignored.
And my current work in progress has been deserted
from seven days. I am sure the characters are feeling left out and my muse must
have gone away with his girlfriend leaving me absolutely uninspired. Even my
reading fairy has disappeared. I haven’t read a single book from more than ten
days.
I sometimes feel I am doing too much. I should
concentrate on just a few things at a time. I have reduced my blogging days
from twice a week to once a week. Even that has been further reduced. In the IWSG week, I skip my regular Friday posting. I have
stopped playing Candy Crush (trust me that’s a huge tragedy), my long chats
with my close friends has been drastically reduced (another big tragedy, but
its saving me piles of money as the phone bills are pretty less now) I am doing
everything to get more time to write.
The only thing I am sticking on to is my regular
workout. If I had to skip that too, I would be one grumpy writer. Exercise
energises me. I can’t do without it.
I am wondering how you all manage everything. Is
there a time-turner you all possess? Are you all better at time-management than
I am? Can someone please tell me how do they manage to get all their work done?
hi ma'am, how do you manage your family in the midst of all these? Does they not feel ignored?..just my thought!
ReplyDeleteI think managing time is difficult for all of us. In my case, reading generally takes a hit. I am already a slow reader! I think planning and discipline to stick with schedules is something every writer should develop.
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
I guess I just allow a certain amount of time for each thing. If there are numerous things, I focus on the top ones and skim on the others. Don't skimp on my exercise or guitar practice though.
ReplyDeleteI've never been able to keep to a schedule, even now that I'm retired. Just do one or two things well that day, the ones that must be done, and squeeze in one or two others if time permits, and don't worry about the rest.
ReplyDeleteTshewang....I am not good at managing my time. Something or the other gets ignored:sometimes its family, sometimes its work.
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity, I am trying to stick to a schedule and am avoiding distractions of all kinds.
Alex, on certain days, I just focus on my main activities and everything else gets shoved aside. Like you I can't do without my workouts.
Richard, I am trying to concentrate on a few activities everyday, as its impossible for me to do everything everyday and do them well.
I think we all go through this. Right now I am working on my mystery, getting the final parts written and rewriting earlier parts. I seriously neglect my blog at times like that and content myself with one liners on FB. In the olden days writers didn't have to think about platform, and so, quite frankly, I don't. I peek at blogs and comment, but my own posts are not regular. But I'm happy with how my book is coming along as a result.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough to get it all done. I work on a schedule. Blog time is limited to one hour, and Facebook and other social media is limited to 30 minutes. This allows me to get everything done.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel. Too many things going on - not enough writing time, which is truly a tragedy. It's necessary to change priorities and organize time in a different way. I'm doing the same. I wish us both luck. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Rachna :-) I think feeling like we don't have enough time for everything is a common thing, especially for writers. I feel that way pretty often. But like you I don't want to neglect family and other things outside of my work. So while I allow for the fact that I might feel overwhelmed, I won't let myself feel guilty! Sometimes we put too many demands on ourselves and we need to reassess...
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone, Rachna.
ReplyDeleteLots of writers/bloggers have been talking about struggling to find the balance.
I suppose it boils down to prioritizing.
...and we need to acknowledge that we can only do so much....
August tends to be quite quiet in the blogoverse, so the perfect time to slack off a bit.
ReplyDeletemood
Hang in there Rachna. I think we all understand the challenge of blogging and handling real life responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I am hot and cold with blogging depending on my work schedule. Summers are usually better for writing, but with fall and spring, my job causes me to cut back on blog writing.
You are smart to not let your exercise be impacted though...
Don't feel guilty...there's nothing to feel guilty about:) As for time, look at it this way, you'll get to the things that you're destined to get to. So don't fret, you can't mess it up. You'll be perfect exactly where you should be:)
ReplyDeleteI think we all struggle with this. I feel this pressure all the time to try to get everything done, and I always feel like I'm letting someone down. I really need to learn to focus on what I've accomplished each day, rather than what I didn't get done!
ReplyDeleteRachna, I think we are kindred spirits! May God bless you and help you to see yourself as He sees you... amazing and vibrant!
ReplyDeleteMy son would not show me how to do Candy Crush... now I really want to play!!