Fun for Friday: The Big Pink Book Prompt 8: Zen?
On Monday, I posted the eighth prompt from the Big Pink Book, which had some zen-like vibes. Rather than use those vibes to write fiction, I used this page to think a little bit about balancing the various demands on my time. This was likely because I worked on it after having participated in the WriteHive online conference for two solid days, during which I watched a video on recovering from burnout (more on that once I can share that video!). So I was definitely thinking about balance!
The photo I’m sharing from this page is just a small portion of it. At the top, I listed out things that require my time and energy:
- writing
- editing
- crafting
- blog
- social media
- gaming
- day job
- household
- reading
- video editing
- contest support
- submissions
- partner
A lot of the things on the list (8 of the 13, in fact) are related to writing. The others include hobbies (crafting and gaming), household obligations, my day job, and my partner. Of the 8 connected to writing, only one of those is actual writing. But the others are all of those small business of writing things that can eat up time.
Obviously, the most time consuming of all of these is my day job, as that’s 40 hours a week, not including commute times on the two days a week when I go to the office, which probably adds another hour (and change). I didn’t list sleep (maybe I should have), but that would ideally be 56 hours a week. Between those two things, that’s about 58 percent of my time in any given week. So I have to fit the other 12 things into the remaining 42 percent, or 71 hours.
Granted, not all of these things require my time every week, and some of them can be done at the same time. I often crochet or knit while I’m gaming, and all of my games are ones that my partner also plays. Some household tasks are also things that get done in conjunction with my partner. But there’s still a lot to cram into the time I have available.
After I listed out those 13 things, I divided them into piles of gives energy and drains energy. There was also a large middle section for the things that can go in either direction. (I didn’t include those lists here because I don’t want anyone to feel like they’re part of the drain on my energy. But I can assure you that my partner is in the “gives energy” pile!)
After that, I looked at things like how many days a week these things need to be done. There are always household tasks like shopping, laundry, tidying, making food (even if it’s just grabbing something from the fridge or cabinet), and taking care of the cats. I need to work five days a week. Those things are pretty static. Other things vary a lot more, and some can’t even really be pinned down to a regular schedule. For example, some weeks we have only one game, and some weeks we have three. (Weeks with zero games are pretty much nonexistent in our household). Some weeks during the year, there are two or three days a week when I need to do contest support tasks, but there are also probably more weeks in the year when I have zero responsibilities on that task.
I also made a lot of notes about ways to make the balance better, like giving more time to the things that give me energy and possible ways to make some of the things that drain my energy more positive for me. In the end, it’s about figuring out a strategy that works for me so I can get things done without burning out or letting things fall by the wayside for too long.
I’m curious to hear how other people used this prompt. Did you go the introspective route like me, or did you use it for fiction? Let me know!
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