The short answer? I honestly don’t do a good job. I’ve never been good at balancing tasks. The best I can do is make a list and power through it. One thing I am good at, completing projects under pressure. So the best thing for me to do is to add pressure to myself. I will give myself hard deadlines and offer rewards to myself when I hit those deadlines. 

Another thing that has helped me with the balancing act is to take my writing and narrating careers seriously. They are not hobbies, they are what I want to ultimately use as my main source of income. I’m tired of working in the hospitality industry, I want my business to thrive enough that I can work on it full time. Of course it already feels like I’m working full time on both of these careers. Every free hour I have is spent working toward my business goals.

I may have a regular 9am-5pm but beforehand, at 7am-9am I’m working on marketing and posts. Then 5pm-10pm I’m editing audio and writing my books. When phones and emails are slow at my “official” job, I’m writing or editing audio. Then one weekends, you guessed it, I’m working on my business dreams again normally 8am-10pm with minimal breaks. It’s not a hobby or a side hustle, I’m working 2 full times jobs practically. One just pays more right now than the other.

It’s not like I’m obsessed… I can, and do take rest days so I don’t get burnt out. The funny thing is that I still manage to find time to do all my favorite things. I still hang out with friends. Once a week two of my girlfriends and I get together and we have what I like to call Boss Babes’ time. Each of us are entrepreneurs who are starting up our own businesses. So once a week we get together for 2-4 hours (depending on the season), and we work on our businesses. We collaborate on engaging content and offer insights on marketing ideas as well as typical business management strategies. 

Boss Babes’ time is one of my favorite days of the week. It helps me connect with other women who are as passionate at making their business a success as I am. Another one of my favorite days is my studio day. With my current hospitality job, I only have 1 opportunity to get to the recording studio per week. While I’m sad that it’s only one day, I still think it’s the best day of the week.

In no other place do I feel so at home. I feel the most joy and the highest level of comfortability in the recording studio. It’s just me and my project. The outside world no longer exists when I’ve got those headphones on. I’ve never felt such intense focus before my journey into narration. That being said, the same passion I have for audiobook narration and voice acting comes out when I make the time to write my novels. 

Writing is one of my best outlets for pent up emotions. And after 28 years of crazy life experiences, I’ve got plenty of emotions stored up. Though I genuinely feel like I’ve healed from most of it, the body still remembers. Writing and thrusting my emotions into the story helps my body work through in a safe space. I think that’s why I get comments from beta readers that my characters grabbed them by the throat and forced them to feel something deep and internal.

I hate writing “fluff” pieces, stories with little emotional impact that don’t ask the reader to chew on tough themes. I prefer to pack a punch with my writing. The theme will always be something important, something I wish the world knew. Something that could change your perspective. But writing with such feeling and intensity is draining. 

That’s why I am a big supporter of authors finding rest. It’s okay if your story gets to be too much for you. Take a break and come back to it. Give your body a reset. Writing is such an intimate process and it pushes us to relive some of our darkest days in the name of creativity. 

In the current writing challenge, the Jack Frost Love Story challenge, I have planned plenty of engaging mini-challenges and community milestones that will come up throughout the year. But I will also be recommending some intentional rest time. What is your favorite activity to relax as a writer? Share an idea that you believe authors should try. 

While the balance of one’s passions and career is extremely important, so is the balance of rest and running. We can all try to run toward our dreams with a renewed obsession, but that will only last so long. Eventually you’ll find your body crashing. Not from lack of will, but from the toll of the constant energy rush you needed from your body. So in everything you do, whether it be your “official” job or your dream pursuits, make sure to add rest to your to-do list.

NO AI was used in the writing of this blog post.