Keeping Up
When I was a little girl, I remember watching a man on some evening show twirl plates on long sticks. He would get the plates started and then have to dash between the sticks over and over, to keep the plates spinning. If he didn’t get to a plate in time, it would crash to the ground and break into little pieces.
Now that I’m older, I understand what a challenge that must have been. He had to keep track of all the plates so he knew which one was most likely to fall and which ones would do fine for a couple more seconds. My life seems to be like that some days. Changing careers has helped a lot, in that I have control over my hours and what I do with them. I don’t punch a clock for anyone else.
But that also means, I have to be disciplined and dedicated, to borrow a few words from Michelle Styles comments on eHarlequin’s subcare. I have to go into my study and sit down to write. I have to spend time marketing, revising, researching. . . keeping my nose to the grindstone, so to speak.
At the same time, I am a mom, a wife, a small business owner, a neighbor, a friend. . . lots of different plates twirling around in my life. And sometimes, it’s easier, more fun, more. . . something to step away from my writing and twirl a different plate, even if it means my writing will come crashing down. By keeping a schedule, I’m finding it easier to keep all of my plates spinning — and I’ve also learned to delegate so that I don’t have to work at it all by myself.
So, how do you keep your writing plate twirling? What works for you to stay caught up and have time for all the other plates in your life?
