I'm glad you're reprogramming your brain to find quiet moments and put aside the stress. Caring for kids and working frantically at the same time, for all those years, must've been so incredibly draining!
Your writing update reveals a paradox: letting go of the endless list has expanded your creativity rather than diminished it. You managed to write, submit, translate, research, and advance projects, all while making space for guitar, letters, drawing, walking, and the sea. Slowing down hasn’t diminished your seriousness; instead, it allows your work to coexist with life. After years of borrowing minutes from obligations, the challenge now is not finding more time but trusting that not every hour needs to prove its worth.
As you continue this experiment, consider how to identify opportunities that truly enrich your writing life versus those that merely rekindle the old push to prove you are doing enough.
Thank you Jay. Yes, that's what I'm discovering. I'm still finding time to do the essentials for continued survival alongside the things that do enrich my life and brings me joy. So I'll keep pulling back whenever my brain wants to start galloping, that is a constant challenge at the moment 🙏🏼🤓
The fact that you can hear when your brain begins to gallop may already be part of the change, Lisa. What once felt like an unquestionable command can gradually become a signal you’re allowed to examine.
Survival still needs its place, but so do the things that make survival meaningful. I hope the quieter pace eventually feels less like pulling back on the reins and more like discovering your natural gait. 🙏🏼
This sounds so good, Lisa! Humans are habit creatures. Once you get used to rushing through your days (which is, of course, needed sometimes), it's hard to do it any other way - even if you don't like rushing! I'm sure the voices will go quiet after a while. And what you've done is, as always, so impressive. I've edited two chapters of my book draft, and I call that a success! 🙈🤣
Thank you Elina. Yes, that's exactly it. I'm trying to create new habits. Two chapters are amazing though. That is definitely success. I'm in the hammock now, about to put my nose inside a book before the evening starts to get cold 🤓
You're incredible, Lisa - you and all the mothers out there, the way you've mastered this efficiency.
Do you think this is something mothers are generally better at than fathers? I'm one of the most inefficient people around and I can't get much done unless I have massive chunks of time to faff about in between 'working'. I realise that mothers take on a bigger share of the parenting responsibilities in most relationships - right? - but in my case, I was the parent who spent more time caring for our daughter and spending time with her. I'm hopeless at getting anything done when she's around, even though she's 8 and fairly independent.
You've been busy, and congrats on all those achievements and successes. I too have - or am about to - submit something to The Madrid Review 😁
Thank you, Daniel. For me I think it was a matter of survival. My husband was working all the time, and away from home, so I just had to get on with things. But it's probably personality too, because I have friends who were much more chilled, although they were also in a better financial position. I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I hadn't taken on so much responsibility. If I'd said "I can't work too." But yes, it's this "personality trait" of shouldering too much that I'm trying to shrug off now, and I think you should enjoy not being able to do much while your daughter's around. That may be the right way to be.
Good luck with your submission to Madrid Review. Mine is a strange one that has already had a bunch of rejections, about a woman who finds a porcelain eye on the pavement, takes it home and plants it. I'm not holding my breath 🤓
I do enjoy your Writing Life musings , Lisa - and I can relate to this particular piece more than you know !! My children are still quite young and my struggle is finding the time to write yet they are now old enough for me to know the power of ten minutes ( this summer holiday has been so tricky to write anything ). I also have this fear of ‘wasting time ‘ too and feeling like everything must have a purpose , which i’m trying to work on too and just pursue something creative for the fun of it with no outcome to hope for - and ignore that nagging voice . What a powerful start you have made with this! And congratulations with the short story acceptance . I really love to hear it , it’s writing soul fuel ❤️- and you deserve it ! X
I'm glad you're reprogramming your brain to find quiet moments and put aside the stress. Caring for kids and working frantically at the same time, for all those years, must've been so incredibly draining!
Thank you Helen. It was hard, but when you're in the middle of it you just keep going. Now it's all about learning new patterns, new habits 🙏🏼
Your writing update reveals a paradox: letting go of the endless list has expanded your creativity rather than diminished it. You managed to write, submit, translate, research, and advance projects, all while making space for guitar, letters, drawing, walking, and the sea. Slowing down hasn’t diminished your seriousness; instead, it allows your work to coexist with life. After years of borrowing minutes from obligations, the challenge now is not finding more time but trusting that not every hour needs to prove its worth.
As you continue this experiment, consider how to identify opportunities that truly enrich your writing life versus those that merely rekindle the old push to prove you are doing enough.
Thank you Jay. Yes, that's what I'm discovering. I'm still finding time to do the essentials for continued survival alongside the things that do enrich my life and brings me joy. So I'll keep pulling back whenever my brain wants to start galloping, that is a constant challenge at the moment 🙏🏼🤓
The fact that you can hear when your brain begins to gallop may already be part of the change, Lisa. What once felt like an unquestionable command can gradually become a signal you’re allowed to examine.
Survival still needs its place, but so do the things that make survival meaningful. I hope the quieter pace eventually feels less like pulling back on the reins and more like discovering your natural gait. 🙏🏼
Thank you so much for your kind words. Every day is a fresh decision. 🙏🏼
This sounds so good, Lisa! Humans are habit creatures. Once you get used to rushing through your days (which is, of course, needed sometimes), it's hard to do it any other way - even if you don't like rushing! I'm sure the voices will go quiet after a while. And what you've done is, as always, so impressive. I've edited two chapters of my book draft, and I call that a success! 🙈🤣
Thank you Elina. Yes, that's exactly it. I'm trying to create new habits. Two chapters are amazing though. That is definitely success. I'm in the hammock now, about to put my nose inside a book before the evening starts to get cold 🤓
Oh, hammocks are the best! Enjoy ❤️
I totally empathize. Rewiring is my new goal..
So happy to hear this. It seems like we’ve created a mad world where this sense of producing is all that matters ♥️🤗
Indeed we have. We ought to stop pandering to consumer culture!
You're incredible, Lisa - you and all the mothers out there, the way you've mastered this efficiency.
Do you think this is something mothers are generally better at than fathers? I'm one of the most inefficient people around and I can't get much done unless I have massive chunks of time to faff about in between 'working'. I realise that mothers take on a bigger share of the parenting responsibilities in most relationships - right? - but in my case, I was the parent who spent more time caring for our daughter and spending time with her. I'm hopeless at getting anything done when she's around, even though she's 8 and fairly independent.
You've been busy, and congrats on all those achievements and successes. I too have - or am about to - submit something to The Madrid Review 😁
Thank you, Daniel. For me I think it was a matter of survival. My husband was working all the time, and away from home, so I just had to get on with things. But it's probably personality too, because I have friends who were much more chilled, although they were also in a better financial position. I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I hadn't taken on so much responsibility. If I'd said "I can't work too." But yes, it's this "personality trait" of shouldering too much that I'm trying to shrug off now, and I think you should enjoy not being able to do much while your daughter's around. That may be the right way to be.
Good luck with your submission to Madrid Review. Mine is a strange one that has already had a bunch of rejections, about a woman who finds a porcelain eye on the pavement, takes it home and plants it. I'm not holding my breath 🤓
That story sounds like a hoot, it’s giving off adult Roald Dahl vibes!
Maybe I'll publish it as a post if nobody takes it on. 🤓
I do enjoy your Writing Life musings , Lisa - and I can relate to this particular piece more than you know !! My children are still quite young and my struggle is finding the time to write yet they are now old enough for me to know the power of ten minutes ( this summer holiday has been so tricky to write anything ). I also have this fear of ‘wasting time ‘ too and feeling like everything must have a purpose , which i’m trying to work on too and just pursue something creative for the fun of it with no outcome to hope for - and ignore that nagging voice . What a powerful start you have made with this! And congratulations with the short story acceptance . I really love to hear it , it’s writing soul fuel ❤️- and you deserve it ! X