Time Management: A Constant Confidence Crusher

Ah, summer. Warm breezes, sunshine, and ice cream. I leave my window open at night just to feel the cool air on my skin as I sleep. One of the best feelings in the world.

But it's also tough to juggle freelance work during these gorgeous, sunny days. I want to be outside. All. Of. The. Time. After all, I just spent the last nine months freezing my arse off and I am finally comfortable. Everyone entering my home gasps, "Can you turn on the air conditioning?" because I like temperatures at 77 Fahrenheit or warmer. If I'm not doing housework, working out, or have my kids that day, I don't bother with air conditioning until it gets about 85. Stick a fan in front of me, and I'm great. And place a book in my hands, I'm f-ing terrific.

However, I also need to pay my bills. Feed my kids. Buy shoes.

So I've been buckling down and writing during the day. I tell myself, "You did this for much of your life. Worked while wistfully staring out the window, wishing to be released to nature." And I imagine most other people in America do this as well. But gosh darn it! Those people like air conditioning. They don't want sweat dribbling down their back as they putter in the yard. They hate running in hazy heat. They don't mind working when it's hot outside.

But like I said before, I am finally comfortable. I should have been born in Florida.

So, I have had to do some shuffling and organizing in order to have my cake and eat it, too. And that means structuring my time. Which, by the way, the hippie part of me abhors. I want to be outside. In nature.

I'm trying to learn how to structure my time. Today, I walked around the block (over 8,000 steps, which is my daily goal), mind-plotting my novel as I did so (now that's multi-tasking!), showered, and washed my dishes. It doesn't seem like much because it's 12:30 in the afternoon right now. But for me, with a to-do list that rivals the amount of words in one of my novels, it's huge.

I'm about to finish tackling the last part of a memoir for a female client. Then, I'll spend an hour typing for another client, and then get a bunch of housework done before becoming involved with the latest memoir project. Tonight, I facilitate my writer's workshop at Barnes and Noble.

Let's get down to business.