I never have enough time, and I am coming to terms with that. When I was much younger (yes, at 60 I still consider myself young), I would ask myself, “Five years from now, are you going to wish you had/hadn’t done this?”
The answer would guide my decision. It is that question which made me decide more than ten years ago to redraft three books I had stuffed in a digital closet and publish them.
But, did I mention I’m 60 now?
The question has far more permutations than it used to. Time is a commodity I am realizing is more limited than it once was. I can’t say I have 50 years ahead of me. OK, I might, but I’d probably be pushing that senility bubble a bit hard, and it would be pushing back.
Now, every second counts. But there is this elephant on my plate. Though I have reduced its size by cutting out the time suckers it used to include for padding, it’s still bigger than my plate, bigger than the table the plate sits on, and occasionally bigger than the room housing the table.
I still have to eat it one bite at a time.
That’s what I do.
Sometimes the elephant gets bigger instead of smaller, but I can only chew so fast and spoon in only so big a bite.
Still time is waving hands at me. It’s a limited commodity. I’m chewing as fast as I can.
I cut out Twitter, Goodreads and settled on Facebook and this website for my time. I started a newsletter.
Click the Signup! button on the menu bar to join it.
The rest is reserved for three major parts of the elephant.
- Writing (that’s the head of the elephant)
- Marketing (way down by the tail)
- Teaching-related stuff (my day job — the body)
- Extra: Health (somewhere down at the feet, maybe underfoot)
Until I retire, the majority of my effort goes to my day job, which, unfortunately, grabs a huge slice each day of my off time. Grading is a bear, quickly followed by planning, training, parent contacts and email.
It’s very hard to eat a bear when you are still working on an elephant. All that hair gets caught in the throat.
Don’t ask me about dessert. All I’ll say is my husband is a sweetheart; our daughter, sheer perfection; and my Labrador, loyal and true.
My point.
I have to have a point to this?
I’m eating one bite at a time. That’s what I tell myself, and it helps. My only issue is the cook keeps bringing in new elephants as soon as I finish one. But one bite at a time still works.
Fellow writer here. I enjoyed The Sharded Boy. Was a fun and enjoyable read. I’ll mention it in my newsletter that goes out later this month. Keep eating? Or writing? Or biting. Yes, one bite at a time. Keep the blog too. These social media things come and go, the blogs are something we have the most control over!
Hello fellow writer. Thank you in advance of the mention. It makes my day to hear someone enjoyed one of my books. I agree: I’ll keep the blog. Social media is not my favorite way to connect with people.