Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

It's so good to be back!

While there is much on my to-do list, I plan to take some time visiting your blogs later. If there's something specific I missed that you think relevant (or just plain cool), point me that direction, wouldja?

For today, while I settle in and catch up at home, I ask that you answer the poll question I posted yonder. I'm curious about your thoughts on what, if any, is the "right time" for a writer to launch their author site. And why? Tell me even if you're not a writer yourself. What do you expect from the writers you read, or from those whose careers you follow? Leave any extra thoughts in the comments section.

Hope everyone's having a great week!

Time and Balance

Some days it seems I can't get anything accomplished. On those days I just can't coordinate the hours to meet my family's demands or do the tasks that endlessly mock me (laundry, anyone?), and forget about time to myself, or sitting down to write anything worthwhile. My whole day will seem stunted and sporadic and out of control. Out of balance. I hate that.

Other days I think, Wow! I've got twenty-four hours! Look at all this time! And I spend it wisely. It unfolds smoothly, with one task leading into the next, and I get so much done. I'm balanced. And at peace, when nothing ruffles my feathers.

Productive days like that lead me to wonder if I'm just lazy on the unproductive days. Is it a mindset? Is it related to mood and hormones? Is it lack of motivation?

Sure, my routine is set, and I try to follow it. But so many factors go into a day and its progress, from things I control (like pushing the snooze button one too many times) to things I don't (a last minute request from a friend or family member, or a problem with a service or product). Some days I can fly by the seat of my pants to take it as it comes [too many clichés there?], other days I feel so dogged and discouraged, like I'm inadequate and incapable.

Do you have days at both ends of the specturm? To what do you attribute them?

How do you work through it? How do you come to terms with the fact that not everyday is perfect, and make the ones that are seemingly perfect count for more?

Routine Is Key

I'm a mom. I'm a writer. Sometimes I have trouble juggling the two. I've known I'm not the only one, but it helps to see in writing that another knows exactly what I go through.

Michelle Tune from over at Writing the Cyber Highway directed me to a great article; I've just finished reading The Mother-Writer: Two Full-Time Jobs by Rebecca Laffar-Smith. In it she gives advice on how to stay sane, keep your priorities in check, and be productive at the same time.

Developing a routine is the first thing Rebecca mentions, and oh, how important it is. Not only is routine necessary to get things done for ourselves, our kids need it to thrive. And if we give our kids the structure they crave, everything else will fall into place. I've found that if I give my daughters the time and attention they want/need (which doesn't mean I have to forsake my own needs all the time - there's a happy medium), they'll be that much more likely to entertain themselves during the time I use to get my own things done.

The routine is pretty well set in my home. Meals, preschool, naps, bath; those basics all fall around the same time each day. Chores filter in accordingly, as well as quality time with my girls. Typically I get the most writing done during favorite morning cartoons, while the oldest is at preschool and the youngest is napping, and in the evenings after their bedtime. I've done some tweaking and fine-tuning the last several weeks, and I think everything works more smoothly for the lot of us.

Whether you're a mom (or dad) or not, what routine do you have?