The Balancing Act

With things going so great with my writing and the mojo fairy practically shacking up in my apartment these days, you'd think my life would finally have found a natural, harmonious rhythm.  But instead I find myself creeping around feeling incredibly guilty, because it never fails that when one area of my life begins to go great another area undoubtedly goes to the poop bowl.

Why this happens?  I'm sure there's a laundry list of reasons that could be thrown up on the drawing board...lack of discipline, laziness, over committing, laziness, poor time management, laziness...
I'm sure you get the point.

So for a bit of an update and to also get some junk off my chest.  Here's the 411 on me as of lately...

1) I've started a new WIP! (Hurray!) New projects are always just the medicine I need when I feel myself getting into a slump with an old project. That is until IT becomes the "old project". Hm.

2) Edits on book one of my THE CREED series is actually coming along fabulously.  Even though I didn't finish when I had originally hoped I would, at this point it's all about getting the story told the way I need to tell it. (Hopefully that made sense and will make the final product worth the wait.)

3) And as some of you may or may not know, while I am married, my husband and I have yet to begin to fill the world with our brilliant progeny. (Pffffffft, uh huh.)  But seriously, I always feel like such a  total slacker when I see my friends who are mom and dads, multiple kids, cranking out books that sparkle and shine, while maintaing house and home, and in some cases working outside the home.  By the way, major kudos to you ALL!!!  My lame excuse in most cases is that I usually find myself being distracted by my EVIL narcissistic cat, Daisy, and all her furry adorableness. All that valuable time that could be spent pounding out the next great American novel is instead spent playing peekaboo or doing the "Daisy, what tha...get out of there...don't touch that...No...DAISY...don't you even....DAISY...oh CRAP!!!" game.

4) I am now at the point where I'm turning down hanging out with family and friends, and even outings with my husband.  I know, I feel like such an awful person. Ugh.  The guilt just keeps piling on, and I'm pretty sure it's driving my husband insane at this point.  I've pretty much confiscated the spare bedroom as my writing cave and spend hours on end trying to get inspired or typing up a storm when my mojo decides to make an appearance, which has been quite a bit lately.  And while I do manage to keep the place generally clean, a hot meal available (most) every night, and the fridge stocked with groceries...most of my time when home is spent in writer's mode.  Secluded & often times as shut off from the world as I can get myself.

5) For those of you who didn't know, I do in fact hold down a full-time 8-5, Monday through Friday day job, which I absolutely LOVE! So I really don't get to spend as much time writing and getting edits and other awesome things done that I'd like to, but someday my pretties, someday.

So as you can see while my life isn't quite a disaster zone, it's definitely a bit of a cluttered closet, but hey it's my cluttered closet, and at least I know where the chocolate is stashed.  But this leads me to my share-the-love question.  How do YOU prevent your life from becoming a complete train wreck and keep balance in your life?  Or if you're like me and are not doing so hot in the balance area, how do you manage to keep the "I'm a total slacker-loser-friend-wife-daughter" mantra from completely pulling you off the wagon?

I find that chocolate and making lists (LOVE lists) are definitely two things that help me focus and feel more productive throughout my day.  And while I still have a ways to go on figuring this whole balance thing out, you can be sure that I'm gonna keep working at it and giving it my best. 

Happy Writing & Happy Reading!