I should be golfing today. Tuesday morning golf is just for the women members at my club and I try to participate as much as possible. It’s an opportunity to mingle with a truly lovely group of women of all ages, get to know them better, and work on my game which, ahem, can certainly use some help.
I should be there … but I’m not …
The problem is TIME and the enormous “to do” list that manifests itself as a messy pile of post-it notes stuck on my calendar.
I’ve got a guest post to write plus this post for my blog along with some books to send to giveaway winners – whose enthusiasm and excitement at winning a copy of my book makes me feel like a million dollars, by the way!
Then there are some submission forms to fill out and send as it is time to enter The Promise of Provence in book award competitions. (The Bridge Club did well in past years and I’m excited to see what happens with The Promise of Provence. ) So this also involves trips to my friendly and efficient PostNet office to send off the books … and gulp at the cost of postage these days. Sheesh! Never mind! It is what it is. More pieces of paper for my expense file!
I’ve got to pay attention to the business side of writing and record information that so far is sitting in an untidy stack of receipts, invoices, and assorted bits and pieces of papers like, for example, boarding passes and hotel receipts from the RWA conference. I used to be very organized about filing things like that but since I entered into the world of writing, I appear to have misplaced that skill. I have got to get it back!
I considered taking a photo of my desk to include in this blog but it’s way too
embarrassing. When I look at it, it feels just like the desk in this picture. Seriously! I am going to clean it up completely today. That’s a promise. I will post that photo.
Then of course there is social media. I usually spend the first hour of my morning taking care of that and making certain I connect with the amazing online writing community that is such an important and valued and appreciated part of my life now. That “first hour” I mentioned often turns into several … or more … so much to do, so much great information to read and discover.
Did I mention I’ve begun writing my next book? I’m still in shock about that! I thought I would have a few months to kick back, read and get organized before I started into a new novel. Here’s the thing … the absolutely fabulous thing that inspires and motivates writers … I’ve received so many emails from wonderful readers asking when the next book is coming that I knew I had to get down to it.
So I am. And I am loving it. It’s exciting for me to see what is happening to my characters too! I will spend a few hours at that today as well. I don’t need to mention the time it involves. Thank goodness I have a supportive husband … that’s all I need to say about that …
Oh, I almost forgot, part of today I am going to spend making chocolate-dipped strawberries to take to my local indie book store, A Novel Spot. They have invited me to do a book signing tomorrow evening and we will have “une petite fête” to celebrate The Promise of Provence being one of their top-ten best sellers this summer. It’s a wonderful thing to have booksellers that love your work. They are so appreciated!
But it’s not all about the writing. I’m staying home to take care of these things so that later this afternoon I can leave writing behind and spend several hours with The Adorables (ages 4 and 5). Grandchildren are the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If you are too young to even be thinking about that, just trust me.
I’m 68 and I thought this was the stage in life where there was all the time in the world to do whatever needed to be done … or whatever I wanted to do. I never had an inkling this would be what I wanted to do and I’m so incredibly glad I’m around to do it. More time in each day would be immensely helpful!
Live your life, dream your dreams, and make things happen. My golf game will just have to wait …
I’m not sure how I got from ranting about time to philosophizing about life but there you are. Gotta go attack the desk …
What are the choices you find you need to make in your life these days? Do you have any good tips for managing your time? I can use them!
