Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Chores vs. Writing

Life is always a balance.  Some of the balancing acts in my life are as follows:
  • A balance between junk food and healthy food.   
  • A balance between the kids having free time and having organized activities.
  • A balance between "I want that purse" and "But college is expensive"...stupid responsible saving
  • A balance between "it's not worth the fight" with my kids and "I'll fight this all day long with you"
But now there is a new balance as well...housework and writing.  Turns out I love sitting down and writing for hours on end and I do not love laundry, dishes, mopping, sweeping, toilet cleaning, toy straightening or litter-box emptying.  Amazing revelation, right?  But even though this is an obvious revelation, it is still an important one.  Because if I don't acknowledge it, I won't be able to balance it.

The weird thing is that my family and I seem to need clean clothes, dishes to eat off of, non-sticky floors, and so on.  Another weird thing is that I NEED to write!  So, I make up schedules.  I love schedules.  I love grabbing an index card and writing it out like, "9-9:15 Dishes, 9:15-9:30 Laundry, 9:30-10:30 Real Job stuff, 10:30-11 Write".  Of course, inevitably the air conditioner stops working at 9:07 and the whole day is shot, but I tried!!

P.S.  I make a cameo appearance in Esther's blog today!  Go see!  Click here!

9 comments:

  1. Go you good thing!!! It's such a struggle to balance it all, isn't it. Let me know if you find the answer :)

    Rach

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  2. On my writing days I will 'officially' tell myself it's OK to let the kitchen be a complete mess, because I can make emptying and reloading a dishwasher (and stopping halfway to do a million other little things) take me all day.

    I agree, it's a process of balance, prioritization, and compromise! Especially when there are husbands and children involved.

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  3. Well, you had me for the first little bit - but then you started talking about 'schedules' and I thought, No way! You're on your own there, Megan.

    But all the best with it! I hope it works for you. Me... Well... on a whim, I think I'd better go and mop the floor. (We have vistors coming tomorrow - so needs, must. :D )

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  4. Schedules are cool. I should have one to balance my writing, university, and cleaning... But I discovered something important today. I was trying to figure out how to continue with my story, so I folded some laundry and it came to me as I folded! So, housework can act as a time-away-from-computer time-for-inspiration!

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  5. Thanks for joining me, Megan, lovely to see you there.

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  6. Non-sticky floors are required? Dang! ;)

    Congrats on getting a mention on Esther's blog. That house looked familiar-- I think I may have had a field trip there once. Glad you had a good time!

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  7. You sound like me and every writer out there. Fortunately my husband is very forgiving. I do, though, sneak in housework as a break. It's a great way to get moving after sitting on my butt for so long. :)

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  8. I am so with you on this one, except for the scheduling, I'm out quite a lot. No week is the same really. I have found something works this week though. Blog/read blogs first thing in the morning and sporadically during the day. Take writing away from the pc and do a bit during the day and again at night. (So I shouldn't be on here now oops!)I like what someone said at Writeoncon, let one thing ride each week and change that one thing, so you don't get too behind. Tips are always welcome, keep them coming!

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