The Deep Irony in Asking Me to Write About Balance

This isn’t me. I wish it was me. What a gorgeous place to do yoga!

Y’all. I didn’t get home until almost 7 last night. I’ve only spent one entire day at home since August 13th, and I am a homebody. I (try to) maintain a full-time job, a healthy marriage, and I’m currently actively working on THREE manuscripts. And that’s not taking into account the dogs, or exercise, or eating real, healthy food on a regular basis. I clearly did not get the memo about how to live a balanced life.

Here’s what I need to work on:

  • My massive overscheduling problem. I don’t for a minute regret any of the events or trips that have kept me away from home for the last month and a half, but I definitely need to get better at scheduling time to breathe and recharge.
  • Taking time off. For as long as I’ve been writing books, I’ve seen my weekends as bonus work days when I can really dig in and get more work done. I know that my debut year is going to be super busy, all caps kind of BUSY, but I want to make sure that I take time for myself. Even if that just means taking a Sunday afternoon to marathon the X-Files with my main squeeze.
  •  Meal prep. This one seems simple, but hell if I’ve got it figured out yet. So many nights I leave my day job only to tackle the book work waiting for me at home, and the last thing I want to do is cook. On those nights, it would be so great if I had something easy and ready to throw together in the fridge so that we don’t end up ordering take out. Again.
  • Being more generous with myself. I mean, this is kind of the story of my life. I’m a Type A overachiever with anxiety. I don’t just want to get in shape, I want to be the strongest woman on the planet. I don’t just want to make a good birthday cake for a friend, I want it to be the best damn cake anyone has ever tasted. I’m SUPER FUN at parties.

And this is what I’m doing pretty well:

  • Staying organized. Y’all. In addition to the Google calendar that rules my life, I keep a wall calendar and a calendar book up to date at all times. I have promo spreadsheets, event spreadsheets, ARC spreadsheets. I have lists that link to those calendars and spreadsheets. My organizational game is doing just fine.
  • Keeping my focus. Remember that three books in progress thing? Yeah. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s ambition and work ethic.

Here’s what it comes down to, for me. I want find a way to balance all of the things I want to achieve with having some fun every once in a while. Let me know if you have any tips or tricks.

Author: Kaitlyn Sage Patterson

Kaitlyn Sage Patterson grew up with her nose in a book outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After completing her M.F.A., she moved to South Korea, where she taught English and started writing her debut novel. THE DIMINISHED will be published by HarlequinTEEN in April 2018, followed by its sequel in 2019. When she's not staring off into space and trying to untangle some particularly troublesome plot point, she can be found in her kitchen, perfecting the most difficult recipe she can find; or at the barn, where she rides and trains dressage horses; or with her husband, spoiling their sweet rescue dogs.

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