Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Finding balance

Does anyone else have trouble finding balance in their lives? I have a personality type where it's sort of all or nothing. I have trouble focusing on more than one thing.

If I'm writing, I'm writing to the exclusion of all else. If the writing is going well, my hunger signals don't even get through to me. My house doesn't get cleaned, supper is a simple meal thrown together, or Brian cooks. I forget to read my Bible, etc. Because I'm writing.

If I get on a cleaning kick, that's all I want to do--clean and organize.

For the moment I have a new focus that's distracting me from all my work. In a way I'm on fire to write after the conference, but I haven't gotten to it yet. No writing or reviewing--I read two books that I have to write reviews for--and no blogging for a month, just my new obsession.

So if you have trouble balancing the various aspects of your life, but have found a way to balance, please give me some tips. I don't want advice from those of you who have always been able to find balance with no trouble. I don't want to hear from you, because I don't like you. *smile*

But if this is a problem you've overcome, please share.

4 comments:

Richard L. Mabry, MD said...

Tina,
No suggestions, just commiseration. We moved almost six weeks ago, and I haven't written a word on my WIP since. But soon....
Hang in there.

Avily Jerome said...

Just discovering your blog- love it! Thanks!
I tend to be the opposite- somewhat ADD, so although I want to sit down and focus, I get distracted easily, and have to go do something else or forget what I was in the middle of or whatever. I do tend to focus better on the things I like to do than chores or whatever, so one thing that I've done sometimes is assign myself a chore, and then reward myself with a chapter of the book I'm on or something else I like to do, but set a limit. One chapter, half an hour of a game, etc. Then, I make myself get up and go do another chore, followed by another reward.
It helps to break up the monotony, but you get a lot done because you're in a hurry to get back to whatever the fun thing is you want to do! :)

Bonnie Way aka the Koala Mom said...

Hmmm, don't know what to suggest. :) Schedule? Like, take twenty minutes to do the dishes, then twenty to post to a blog, then a couple hours to write (or pursue whatever other passion you have right then)... Right now, the thing that keeps me focusing on one thing too much is my baby--she demands attention or a change of activity frequently! :)

Tina Helmuth said...

Congratulations on the birth of your baby. She was probably born a long time ago, but I hadn't heard from you in a while. I'd nearly forgotten you were expecting.