I’ve had a very stressful month, and all my writing plans went out the window as life turned to custard. I’d barely got myself back into a writing schedule and begun to have a few days a week with a decent word count when life reared its ugly head. On the bright side the jersey I’m knitting for my daughter is nearly finished. I got a LOT of knitting down while sitting by my mother’s bedside in the hospital.

After three very busy weeks filled with worry and stress, things are finally slowly getting back to what passes for normal. However, as life settles down, I now need to start working through the very long list to do list that I needed to shove to one side while I prioritised life and family.

A friend reminded me that life gets in the way of even the most dedicated writers, and although mentally I knew that, it was still something I needed to hear. It’s all too easy to guilt myself about everything I want to do that is piling up around me, and lose sight of the things I’m still achieving.

I have an overseas friend coming to stay for a couple of weeks next week, so I’m looking forward to some down time to recharge my batteries and start afresh mid July. In the meantime I’m trying to follow the advice I tend to give others—and not take myself—which to break the big to-do list down to manageable chunks, even if it’s just a ‘I can achieve this today’ list, and the rest will have to wait for another day. In our NZ Rainbow Romance Writers Facebook group we post weekly goals, and check back on the previous week’s as part of the process. I find this very helpful and I’m often surprised as to how far I did get the previous week. The trick is to set achievable goals: that is, what I think I can achieve, rather than what I want to achieve.

As part of last month’s chaos I didn’t get as far as choosing winners from last month’s post. I’m really sorry about the delay. As you read this, I’ve replied to those comments, chosen the winner, and emailed her.

Next month will be a better one, right?

If you have advice and tips as to how you get through life’s hurdle I’d love to hear from you!