Self-care and sanity.

I recently read an excerpt from Do Nothing by Celeste Headlee and in it she argues that the line between home and office has blurred. In the modern workplace, people often do non-work activities at work; for example, making personal online purchases or checking social media. And in their non-work time they answer work emails out of hours, take reports home, or find themselves thinking about work issues off the job. This leads to a sense of never being totally separate from your job.

Writers know the struggle well. You can’t pause your thoughts because the creative mind rarely sleeps. I just can’t switch off, especially if I’ve got a plot point to work out – or when those flipping characters won’t shut up! Which isn’t a complaint, by the way! It often leads to great ideas and lightbulb moments; but the flip side is that because I can’t switch off everything else tends to creep in: the admin, the social media, the checking of metrics, the ‘I should be doing x, y or z’ nagging voice in the back of your head.

However, I increasingly feel the need to create a few boundaries for those things that aren’t part of the creative process, and I believe this could apply to many authors. For instance, how many of you check social media, emails, or sales ranks while watching TV, cooking dinner, or waiting for the bath to run?

As an author, do you feel ‘on call’ 24/7? When you spot an email from your agent, your editor, or a reader, do you feel the urge to deal with it immediately, and you can’t settle until you have, even if there is a chapter you need to finish because you haven’t met your word count for the day, or you’re out to lunch with friends?

I recently asked myself how many hours do I actually spend being a writer – and not just the writing itself, but everything else that comes with it?  I kept track of them for a whole day and was shocked. Only two hours and five minutes were spent actually putting pen to paper, and I spent  a total of four hours on non-writing author activities, those bits that aren’t strictly ‘creative writing’ but consume chunks of time regardless, such as research or amending a book cover. That doesn’t include the time I spent on social media!

This revelation led me to consider a few questions, such as:

·         Can I set definite times (and limits) for social media or emails?

·         Can I decide when my writing time begins and ends?

·         Can I avoid reading, watching or listening to writing-research material outside of ‘work hours?’

For me, my writing must take priority, so I’ve now sectioned off time in the day to write and only write. No distractions: no checking emails because I can’t think of a word, no fact-checking mid-paragraph. Just writing. Then I’m fitting in the rest of the authory stuff around it, with strict(ish) time limits.

So the message is, work smarter, not harder, and don’t try to do everything all at once. And most of all, protect your precious writing time!

It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing what matters.

It’s also vital to take time out away from my desk, so this is what I’ve been doing this week when I haven't been chasing my tail.

What’s your biggest time-suck? Or do you have any tips for saving your sanity?

Let me know in the comments.

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About the Author

Lilac Mills writes heartwarming romance inspired by life in the Welsh countryside, her love of simple pleasures, and the beauty of everyday moments. She’s the author of over twenty feel-good novels, and also writes as Liz Davies and Etti Summers.

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Lilac Mills' books