Goals for Year 3 of Covid: Finding Balance Between Writing and Life, Again

by Kassandra Lamb ~ Finding a sense of balance between writing and life is an ongoing challenge for most writers. Many are also dealing with multiple responsibilities such as day jobs and families.

Others of us who are retired may not have as much trouble finding time to write. Our issues tend to revolve more around the fact that our lives are less structured. For me, at least, the tendency is to spend too much time on my writing business and not enough on other fun and interesting things.

After a while, I become a “dull girl” from all the work and no play.

Finally, in 2019, I felt like I had a pretty good routine going.

I took Wednesdays “off” to play mah jongg, and every other Sunday to play cards. And a couple of times a month, I’d have a long, leisurely lunch with friends.

The rest of the days of the week, I tended to still spend too much time on book-business issues (not on the writing itself; that’s always worth the time!) But at least I had those built-in breaks.

Then Covid happened.

And all those leisure activities went away.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m sooo glad I had the writing to keep me busy during a year of lockdown. Otherwise, I would have gone absolutely bonkers.

But unfortunately having nothing better to do than write and tend to my business fed right into my workaholic nature.

Off and on in 2021, things got better. There were even a few short periods when life came close to being normal again. Then a new Covid variant and a new surge would happen.

But some of the ladies I’d once played mah jongg with regrouped at one person’s house (rather than the rec center, where exposure would be greater) for a weekly session of fun.

And I got into a good routine with the business stuff versus the writing itself, focusing on the first one day and the other the next. This was really important so that (1) I actually spent more time writing, and (2) on the days I wrote, I actually ended my “work” day at a decent hour.

Because the reality is, there will always be something more that needs to be done on the business end of things.

Most recent disruptions…

Lately, the balance between writing and life has been thrown off by more normal non-Covid events, such as a new book launch and a Christmas trip to visit son and family.

So it’s time for new/old goals (perhaps I should call them “vows”).

Main Goal: Get as close to my pre-Covid world as I can (without taking undue risks) by once again finding the balance between writing and life.

Sub-goals:

• Read more for pleasure.
• Start playing the piano again.
• Take more time off.
• When safe to do so, get the card-playing gang together again.

What are your goals/vows/resolutions for 2022?

Posted by Kassandra Lamb. Kassandra is a retired psychotherapist turned mystery writer. She is the author of the Kate Huntington psychological mysteries, set in her native Maryland, and the Marcia Banks and Buddy cozy mysteries, set in Central Florida. She also writes romantic suspense under the pen name of Jessica Dale.

Misterio press produces an array of quality crime fiction. We post here twice a month, usually on Tuesdays, to alert you to new releases, to entertain, and to inform.

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