Getting My S**t Together!

Have you ever been in a slump? You know, one of those ‘I don’t have the drive to do anything’ kind of blahs? I was in one for a long time, and am slowly crawling out of it, but let me tell you this does not happen overnight. Nope. It can take days, weeks, and sometimes months.

My slump started after my brother passed away a few years ago, and even though I was able to write two books in that time, I was not able to do more. In fact it pulled me completely out of my routine of daily activities, writing, and marketing. Instead I needed to grieve, and spend extra time with my family.

Last year I still felt out of sorts. I needed a change, get out of the house and meet new people. 

So I decided to go back to work full time at first and then part time. This was great. I loved it, but I also got further and further from my life as a writer. I began feeling like I wasn’t myself; the urge to write was so overwhelming it made me miserable. I had no time…and when I did, something always came up. 

Son #1 needed me to help him into adulthood, Son #2 needed me to drive him somewhere, Son #3 had a basketball game. It was constant, and even though the want to write was always there I became frustrated. 
I could not find the time to fulfill my need to tap away on my computer. I grew more and more restless, angry and then depressed. I had deadlines to meet, stories to tell, and all of it was not going to happen if I did not get my shit together. 

What was the problem? 

Why couldn’t I find time to do all of the things I used to do?

It boiled down to one thing.

Routine.

I’ve always had one. While raising my boys I would’ve never made it without a routine. My husband works out of town and so most of the day to day activities were my responsibility. I took the boys to hockey, lacrosse, ran a house hold and business and still wrote books. So what was my excuse?

I had no schedule!

I’m a borderline OCD introvert with a love for whiskey…I know what you’re thinking that spells disaster, but for me it is what drives me to do the things I'd put off otherwise. It is what has gotten me this far in my writing career. The fear of not finishing. The desire to have it all. The passion to write a great story that will stay with my readers for a long time. It is the wanting to learn new things, to have a close relationship with my boys, to be a good friend, a good wife. It is my makeup if you will...my inner clock timing things to where I can accomplish them without going insane. It is my determination to get things done, no matter how much sleep I am deprived of. And my love for the written word and wanting to be a part of it. 

Getting back into this mode was not an easy task. I had to set the routine in place and follow it, and I am happy to report I am heading back down the path. I have two books to write this year, and others to follow, and more importantly my family, who will always have my time first.  

Perseverance is the word that best describes my new journey, and no matter what…I will survive.

Cheers!
Kat