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Balancing Writing in Your Life by Kitty Bucholtz

Last month, I explained my WHOLE PATH System for Writers, an acronym encompassing nine main areas of life: Writing, Heart & Soul, Organization, Laughter, Economics, People, Accountability, Time, and Health. Today, I’d like to talk more about the first (and sometimes, but not alway,s the most important) area, Writing.

The hormone changes from perimenopause had devastating effects on my mental health. It’s been several years and I’m still trying to get back to myself. Being angry, anxious, depressed, and antisocial is not a good mindset for writing, especially in my current genre, Romantic Comedy. I’ve gotten very little writing done since I published my last book in August 2017.

But a new doctor and some changes to both my HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and vitamin supplements have helped me feel almost like “the real me” the last couple weeks! I took a sabbatical from my coaching business so I could focus on my health, and it’s been remarkably difficult to relax and rest and play. Not doing any work has been a struggle I don’t always win — and that in itself underscores that I needed the rest. I am THRILLED to say that I’m finally feeling like writing! Woohoo!!

Just in case life circumstances have taken the joy out of writing for you as well, I wanted to share what I’m doing in case it helps.

1. As I said, I’m trying to manage the chemistry in my body with HRT, supplements, and better nutrition as well as more exercise. Not just running, but more strength building as well. (I just heard about Japanese HIIT walking and I’ve started that, too. I love it!) I’ve also been cutting way back on sugar and processed foods.
2. I’m trying to manage my mindset by returning to things that have kept me positive and strong in the past (Bible reading, especially the praise Psalms, and music I love to sing to), and I’m trying to focus on what I’m grateful for rather than what’s bothering me. I want to journal more, but it has been like pulling teeth; I’ll keep trying.
3. Now that my brain fog is lifting (I still have problems remembering the word I’m trying to say, but it seems to be cyclical during the month with easy weeks and hard weeks), I’m finding myself thinking about all the unfinished stories! I started trying to write for at least 30 minutes every weekday, but that brought my anxiety back. So now I am writing 2-5 days a week, anytime, for any amount of time, on anything that feels fun at the time. I’ve been focusing on “fun” over anything else to get my brain back into a joyful space. It’s slowly working!
4. Which leads to the next major point — sadly, I’ve found I need to retrain my brain in how to have fun again. So I’m trying to focus on anything that I think might fit the bill — going to a new town on the train, wandering through secondhand shops and anything with a shop window that catches my eye (yesterday I went into three shops that sell new or used electronics, looking at CD players and record albums 😄), re-reading the Harry Potter series, putting together puzzles, etc. I’ve also been spending a lot more time with friends without looking at the clock to see when I have to be back.
5. This is almost a repeat of the above — Prioritizing play and exercise. It’s making it a priority that is so important. In fact, I took a week where I got on a writing sprint call at 5:30 am my time with friends in Australia, but on those days I did little to no exercise because I couldn’t get myself to stop working on my computer after the writing. So now I’m back to exercising first so it gets done. Play is next in importance, and writing comes after that. But when I think of something funny and fun that I want to put on paper, that counts as play so I do it. Again, training my brain to remember when writing was always play and go back to that.

I hope this gives you some ideas for things you might want to try or change in your life. Writing is important to me! But in order to enjoy a sustainable writing life, writing needs to not always be in the #1 slot in my life. I want to be as joyful and healthy as I can be for the rest of my life, which is going to take some degree of work on my part for the rest of my life. It’ll be worth it!

If you have found other things that work for you, please share them with everyone in the comments! Also, check out Johnny B Truant’s current Kickstarter for The Artisan Author (ends August 14) for more ideas on how to relax and be yourself and create your own version of a sustainable career. Maybe I’ll see you in his Artisan University next month!