Sunday, October 21, 2012

What I've Been Up to - Part 1

I've been completely neglecting this blog and now it's time to finally own up to it. Over the past few months, my priorities have shifted, and blogging took a serious hit. I only wish I'd realized what was happening and let my readers know to expect a break. But I didn't. And I'm sorry!

So now that that's out of the way, I thought I'd share a bit with you about the things I have been doing :)


The biggest, most time-consuming, new addition to my activity list has been this - growing a baby girl!

Being pregnant might not seem like an "activity" or something that requires time, but it is. At least for me. It's meant a huge shift where sleeping enough and eating well are prioritized. Gone are the days of drinking a strong cup of coffee to stay up late and finish that extra chapter or blog post or throwing a frozen pizza into the oven rather than preparing something fresh for dinner in order to maximize writing time. These are the days of afternoon naps and caffeine-free tea. And then there are the doctor's appointments, pregnancy exercise classes, nursery preparation, researching and buying the perfect stroller/car seat/etc., and paperwork to do!

Obviously, writing and blogging are things which need to be prioritized, too, otherwise there would always be an excuse getting in the way, preventing them from happening. And I've seen plenty of writers keep on a regular writing/blogging/interacting on social media schedule through a pregnancy and into their baby's first year without a hitch. I'm in honest awe of these ladies!

For me though, that just hasn't been possible. We're not all built the same way, and I haven't had the energy these amazing writers seem to possess. And since I don't have that energy, it's not worth prioritizing writing or blogging just for the sake of it. At this point in my writing career, I don't have any contractual obligations or deadlines, and so I've allowed writing/blogging to step down a rung on the ladder of priorities. I'll only be pregnant with my daughter once, and I won't stress myself out with self-imposed writing/blogging deadlines just because.

P.s. The baby girl is due on November 23rd - I'm almost there!

What do you think? Is there anything you other writers have let or would let take priority over the writing time you've carved out for yourself? What about the non-writers out there? Is there any particular activity you've worked to prioritize (blogging, crafting, reading, etc.)? Could you ever imagine shifting that priority back down?

17 comments:

  1. Congrats on your growing baby girl! I think you are right on. Your first priority at this time should be taking care of yourself and your baby. So Yay! for you! My writing will always be lower priority than taking care of my family. I fit my writing around my life, not my life around my writing. I think that's important, because I pull the motivation and inspiration for my writing from my life.

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    1. Thank you :) And you're so right - I hadn't thought of motivation and inspiration coming specifically from family, but I'm sure I will definitely find lots of both when my little girl is here. I'll definitely want to teach her to chase her dreams by showing her how I'm working toward my own dream of publication!

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  2. WOOHOOO! Congrats, A.K.! I wondered what happened to you. Enjoy every minute of it and do only what you feel like doing--if you don't have the energy to write right now, don't; it's not going anywhere. I've got a November baby too...but he's going to be 15, lol. Time flies.

    I think for many of us, when writing isn't your main gig, it is hard to justify carving time out for it when life's other responsibilities get in the way. For me, family is number one, and when you add my day job and keeping up the house, it doesn't leave much extra time. I do try to get in at least a couple nights worth of writing, and a little more when the kids are with their dad for the weekend. If I had deadlines, though, I'd probably carve out more time, maybe have a more regular 'schedule'.

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    1. Thanks so much :) And I'll be back before too long - can't stay away forever. I have a feeling I'll feel much better/energized once I have my body back to myself. I know the first few months might actually leave me with even less energy than I have now, but honestly, at this point, I can't really imagine that, haha.

      Definitely going to have to learn from all the other writer moms like you out there who manage to do it all. I imagine it will take a bit of an effort to get my life organized so that family is still number one, but there is also writing time. Maybe you can help me out with some tips along the way :)

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  3. Congratulations! :D How exciting!

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  4. Oh congratulations on the new baby girl! That is a very good reason to slow down on the writing and blogging.

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  5. Congratulations! Such wonderful news - a new baby is always the most exciting thing. Savour the time!
    My little boy (4 very soon, time's just flown!) is also an end of November baby... although of course born in our Spring rather than your Autumn!
    I looked on in wonder at mums who kept writing through pregnancy - my brain became a cloud of baby-land and every thought broke of into 'aww, my little one, I can't wait to meet you...' Nap time. To be honest, I stayed on cloud baby-land not just during pregnancy but for the first year with both my little ones. No writing got done... despite all my good intentions, and even my reading material went down about 20 IQ points... but watching my babies change and grow was entirely worth it - such a special time. Take care and enjoy!

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    1. Thank you so much :) And yes, this -> "aww, my little one, I can't wait to meet you...' Nap time" - I couldn't agree more, haha. I'm hoping that won't extend through the first year though - I already feel the itch to write and have several ideas brewing which I can't wait to get started on :)

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  6. Of course, your baby is priority. Give her, and you, all the energy that you can find. Writing will always be there. And, after this break, and new life, you might find new energy and stories. Blessings and congratulations to you!

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    1. So true - I'm very interested to see how this new perspective on life will affect my writing :) Thank you so much for your well wishes!

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  7. Congratulations! Enjoy this time. Good for you for not taking it for granted. We are all so busy, always. It's wonderful to hear you're slowing down to enjoy this time.

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  8. I don't think anyone could blame you for shifting your priorities around with a bun in the oven. As important as writing is to us, sometimes real life interferes. And that's obviously not always a bad thing. ;)

    Congratulations and good luck!

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