Am always here for prioritising chat as it's something I'm not brilliant at and have made a sort of resolution about. I don't know if I'm being ruthless... yet.. but I like the idea.
Last year I realised that work and writing-wise I was trying to cram too many things in to each working day. It wasn't just that the to-do list was too long, it was the feeling of letting things/people down that Hattie describes and the attention switching required to keep on top of it. This year I'm try to be more ruthless with how I plan my time, blocking out days where there's one main focus. If I finish that thing early, great, I can use the time for something else BUT not instead of the thing that needs doing. I've already found my head feeling clearer and it being easier to concentrate without an oppressive to-do list for each day. I just hope I can stick to it...
That sounds great Laura – very wise. As a fellow journalist though, I'm interested in how you manage that when an editor gets in touch about something urgent (and it feels like it's always 'something urgent'...)?! Do you have allotted time to check and reply to emails?
Great question. I've tried really hard over the past year to filter my inbox first thing and mark anything important as "action" - then I allot a time to come back to those, a concentrated slot of 30 minutes, usually at a time of day when I'm not good for much else. Otherwise I get caught in a trap of emails begetting emails!
I totally hear you about those urgent requests. In a slightly self-protecting way, I try to treat them the same way. Maybe they are urgent to the editor but how urgent? Are they urgent to me or going to pull me out of something that really needs doing? Otherwise I feel like I lose the tiny bit of control I have over my week as a freelancer. That said, this system all goes out the window if the urgent thing is something super exciting or interesting!
Yes. I hear you! As a freelancer, I’m finding that I’m putting my writing second at the moment in favour of an influx of work. Then there’s the time I have to dedicate to worrying about what project is next (and if there’ll even be a project) once this one is completed. All the time, there is so much content out there vying for attention. How are we supposed to manage 😆
Reading this on a MA creative writing deadline and I relate to it all! Sacrifices: home is a MESS. I've got emails and texts I need to reply to. I've not been out in the sunshine today even though it looks beautiful, but I'm very much appreciating the light coming through the window while I'm panic-editing. Juggling freelance paid work with unpaid creative work is so tricky, and I never feel I've got the balance right – but maybe sometimes it is about being ruthless and not feeling the guilt. Thanks for the link – will look forward to reading it.
Hi Hattie! Not to dismiss your viscerally familiar yet reassuring description of the discomfort you’re experiencing about being late, the avoidance mood (ugh the worst) but...trust that at least for one subscriber here (me!), this edition of realness arrived perfectly on time 🤗 thank you for sharing it today.
Speaking of subscriber problems, my paid sub is on a different email but I used this one on the app and now I’m just getting it twice but honestly, happy about it, and might email one of these days to fix it but 😅
Haha – let me know how I can help. I think if you want to keep the paid sub, the only option probably is to unsubscribe the free one, then go into your paid account and see if you can transfer it to the other email address, so that you get it on the app. Sorry, so complicated!
Thanks for the shout out! And appreciate your in the moment reflections on trying to figure out what your priorities are on the to do list as a free lancer. Bubble bath and Search Party sounds like the perfect way to recharge!
Raising my hand over here! My day job as an IT security analyst has picked up since the turn of the year, and my small business venture (an event venue in a 120-year-old building) has been a nightmare the last week with major plumbing issues and decorators not delivering as promised. And I still need to write my newsletter for Saturday and have no idea when I'll finally be able to zone out and just do the thing. AAAARRRRRGGGHHHH! Okay, I feel somewhat better now.
Yay to the paid writing projects, but remember: not all funds are worth it. I had one of those events last week and swore I will never do it again! Gotta have that time to think and create!
Love your mental gyrations and self-doubt. As soon as I finish an essay, I think that well, that's the last one. There's nothing left. And then the ideas start flowing again.
This week, I had that annoying strawberry seed stuck-in-my-tooth obsession about finding the reason for why I'm writing so much about memories from my long life. I cogitated and cogitated and came up with the answer in my piece, "Think.Think.Think."
I'm still having a hard time navigating and understanding Substack. But I'm trying each day to learn how to manage my substack and write in the appropriate place. It's a bit humbling, but I must continue to try.
Was ridiculously busy Oct, Nov and Dec, such that I kept getting ill from tiredness and overwork. Was dying for a quieter time work-wise and now I've got it, I'm panicking! And trying to resist the urge to run out and chase down some new work. There are things I need to do with this quieter time...The eternal nature of freelance! On the plus side, I have launched my own Substack which I didn't have time to do before Christmas and I'm loving that! But ti's not an earner, so still panicking...!
Maybe it's because I'm recently into my thirties but lately the force helping me make time for writing has been this feeling of "if not now, when?" That thought keeps nudges me forward when I'm feeling discouraged or anxious or like I'd rather just be avoiding my responsibilities. So I guess I'll get to work on that query letter now...
Hi Hattie, thank you for this. It definitely came at the right time for me as I have been irritated this week about how much I wanted to write and get all the stuff out of my head on to paper but I kept getting thwarted and having my time sucked away by other things. I’m starting to see how I need to clear creative time and writing isn’t something I can do in a few spare moments. I’ve started to be ruthless and am removing things from my life that are getting in the way. Obviously I’ll keep my husband, children and some friends! I don’t think there can ever be enough written on how complex being a writer is so thank you for your insights. P.S. I’ve also just read Oliver Burkeman Four Thousand Weeks which I’ve found really useful in terms of how I view my limited time. Deborah (https://deborahsloan.substack.com/)
Thanks Hattie for this - I’ve listened to your podcast which is excellent so will have another listen to this episode. I’m currently sitting in front of my laptop with a document open that only says ‘write something’ so I’m now wondering if I write best quickly when inspired rather than when I actually clear time to do it...I guess inspiration propels.
Love the insight and vulnerability in your writing. It's all quite relatable as I try to navigate writing and running my coaching/consulting business. The imperative to make money in the short term is always such a potent distraction. Often I find myself simply needing to be open to the idea of grieving the ideas/projects that I can't seem to get to, while striving to ruthlessly wrangle my time to align with my ultimate values.
Thanks Ross. Recently I've been trying to get my head around a bigger truth about life, which is that there isn't a way of doing things that will work out perfectly. Imperfect is the best we can do in any area of our lives, and the wisdom that we acquire as we get older, I think, is mostly about letting things go.
Totally agree. Reminds me of Ann Patchett's "Getaway Car" in which she describes the act of writing as the difference between imagining a butterfly flying around, and closing one between the pages of a book. Perhaps we can get a bit closer to our creative ambitions than that? But so much of life seems to simply be an art of taking imperfect action.
First of all, I echo what Megan has said re the newsletter. Things happen, life gets in the way. It is normal, a part and parcel of being an adult! :D
I thank Laura for being the level - headed person that I am not, not at the moment anyway. Fitting in writing (this newsletter and other bits & bobs), doing some online courses on creative writing, reading physical books on writing in between work from about 7am to 530-6pm is proving a challenge. I am determined to carry on but I need to set some realistic daily goals rather than imagine myself a super woman...
What have I de-prioritised as a result? This community! It is lovely to chat to everyone and read your comments on here as well as your writing but I am struggling to keep up. I have not read for leisure either, for about a month and a half, and I have guilty conscience.
I am glad, in a totally selfish way, that I am not the only one!
Don't have a guilty conscience. You're doing so much. We can't do it all! Sometimes reading really falls by the wayside for me, and I feel especially guilty about that because of what I do for a living. Hey ho, we keep on striving anyway. Feel free to dip into the community as frequently or as occasionally as suits you.
Thank you,l for your comment, Hattie! And, of course, you are right. I enjoy reading and it is a good teacher in terms of my own writing but, I cannot fit anything else in, I do not think (unless I decided to cut sleep out entirely 😃).
I definitely will! I have some observations I would like to share with the group and see if anyone else is experiencing anything similar and how they go about it.
Oh, my goodness. I know you know this, because you are so cool and experienced in the world of writerly things, much more than me. But from a stranger who loves your newsletter, I want you to have all the time you need and to give yourself permission to do so. I'm excited to hear more about the unpaid passion project, as well, in the future. :)
I am trying to balance this newsletter, the excitement of being on Substack and forming a small community on here, with my part-time attained after I quit my full-time employment during my quarter life crisis (rip), with my enduring passion: writing books. I want to write and publish a book. I know it doesn't make sense--I've read Elle Griffin's articles, I work in a bookstore, I understand that it's not a way of making reliable money. Even so, I want to. I have the time now, unexpectedly (see: quarter life crisis) to give that dream everything I have. So we'll see. It's nerve-wracking, and exciting, and so many other things. But I'm happy to be here. <3
Thanks so much for this Megan. Also I don't think making money or even making sense have anything to do with the desire to write (even though, obviously, we do need to make money in order to survive). Good luck with it and thank you for being here <3
It may be difficult to write (I feel) when you're broke and the bills keep rollin in! Personally, it's taken me years to 'Let go' making the choice to just write, rather than doing dishes or lamenting over a pile of bills! And then I sit down to write, yep. Oh no, I don't like this poem...I say! I guess that's just the process we must go through, yet in the end something good will be achieved, and it all becomes worth it after all. Don't you think?
Blessings to All!....in whatever capacity you've chosen to write.
Am always here for prioritising chat as it's something I'm not brilliant at and have made a sort of resolution about. I don't know if I'm being ruthless... yet.. but I like the idea.
Last year I realised that work and writing-wise I was trying to cram too many things in to each working day. It wasn't just that the to-do list was too long, it was the feeling of letting things/people down that Hattie describes and the attention switching required to keep on top of it. This year I'm try to be more ruthless with how I plan my time, blocking out days where there's one main focus. If I finish that thing early, great, I can use the time for something else BUT not instead of the thing that needs doing. I've already found my head feeling clearer and it being easier to concentrate without an oppressive to-do list for each day. I just hope I can stick to it...
That sounds great Laura – very wise. As a fellow journalist though, I'm interested in how you manage that when an editor gets in touch about something urgent (and it feels like it's always 'something urgent'...)?! Do you have allotted time to check and reply to emails?
Great question. I've tried really hard over the past year to filter my inbox first thing and mark anything important as "action" - then I allot a time to come back to those, a concentrated slot of 30 minutes, usually at a time of day when I'm not good for much else. Otherwise I get caught in a trap of emails begetting emails!
I totally hear you about those urgent requests. In a slightly self-protecting way, I try to treat them the same way. Maybe they are urgent to the editor but how urgent? Are they urgent to me or going to pull me out of something that really needs doing? Otherwise I feel like I lose the tiny bit of control I have over my week as a freelancer. That said, this system all goes out the window if the urgent thing is something super exciting or interesting!
Yes. I hear you! As a freelancer, I’m finding that I’m putting my writing second at the moment in favour of an influx of work. Then there’s the time I have to dedicate to worrying about what project is next (and if there’ll even be a project) once this one is completed. All the time, there is so much content out there vying for attention. How are we supposed to manage 😆
Reading this on a MA creative writing deadline and I relate to it all! Sacrifices: home is a MESS. I've got emails and texts I need to reply to. I've not been out in the sunshine today even though it looks beautiful, but I'm very much appreciating the light coming through the window while I'm panic-editing. Juggling freelance paid work with unpaid creative work is so tricky, and I never feel I've got the balance right – but maybe sometimes it is about being ruthless and not feeling the guilt. Thanks for the link – will look forward to reading it.
This is all very familiar to me! Thanks Rebecca.
:)
Hi Hattie! Not to dismiss your viscerally familiar yet reassuring description of the discomfort you’re experiencing about being late, the avoidance mood (ugh the worst) but...trust that at least for one subscriber here (me!), this edition of realness arrived perfectly on time 🤗 thank you for sharing it today.
:D That's lovely to hear. Thanks Rachel.
Speaking of subscriber problems, my paid sub is on a different email but I used this one on the app and now I’m just getting it twice but honestly, happy about it, and might email one of these days to fix it but 😅
Haha – let me know how I can help. I think if you want to keep the paid sub, the only option probably is to unsubscribe the free one, then go into your paid account and see if you can transfer it to the other email address, so that you get it on the app. Sorry, so complicated!
Thanks for the shout out! And appreciate your in the moment reflections on trying to figure out what your priorities are on the to do list as a free lancer. Bubble bath and Search Party sounds like the perfect way to recharge!
Thanks for your well-timed post!
Raising my hand over here! My day job as an IT security analyst has picked up since the turn of the year, and my small business venture (an event venue in a 120-year-old building) has been a nightmare the last week with major plumbing issues and decorators not delivering as promised. And I still need to write my newsletter for Saturday and have no idea when I'll finally be able to zone out and just do the thing. AAAARRRRRGGGHHHH! Okay, I feel somewhat better now.
Yay to the paid writing projects, but remember: not all funds are worth it. I had one of those events last week and swore I will never do it again! Gotta have that time to think and create!
Very true!
Love your mental gyrations and self-doubt. As soon as I finish an essay, I think that well, that's the last one. There's nothing left. And then the ideas start flowing again.
This week, I had that annoying strawberry seed stuck-in-my-tooth obsession about finding the reason for why I'm writing so much about memories from my long life. I cogitated and cogitated and came up with the answer in my piece, "Think.Think.Think."
https://jordanjankus.substack.com/p/think-think-think
I'm still having a hard time navigating and understanding Substack. But I'm trying each day to learn how to manage my substack and write in the appropriate place. It's a bit humbling, but I must continue to try.
Was ridiculously busy Oct, Nov and Dec, such that I kept getting ill from tiredness and overwork. Was dying for a quieter time work-wise and now I've got it, I'm panicking! And trying to resist the urge to run out and chase down some new work. There are things I need to do with this quieter time...The eternal nature of freelance! On the plus side, I have launched my own Substack which I didn't have time to do before Christmas and I'm loving that! But ti's not an earner, so still panicking...!
Maybe it's because I'm recently into my thirties but lately the force helping me make time for writing has been this feeling of "if not now, when?" That thought keeps nudges me forward when I'm feeling discouraged or anxious or like I'd rather just be avoiding my responsibilities. So I guess I'll get to work on that query letter now...
Absolutely. Thanks Zach.
Hi Hattie, thank you for this. It definitely came at the right time for me as I have been irritated this week about how much I wanted to write and get all the stuff out of my head on to paper but I kept getting thwarted and having my time sucked away by other things. I’m starting to see how I need to clear creative time and writing isn’t something I can do in a few spare moments. I’ve started to be ruthless and am removing things from my life that are getting in the way. Obviously I’ll keep my husband, children and some friends! I don’t think there can ever be enough written on how complex being a writer is so thank you for your insights. P.S. I’ve also just read Oliver Burkeman Four Thousand Weeks which I’ve found really useful in terms of how I view my limited time. Deborah (https://deborahsloan.substack.com/)
Thanks Deborah. When I interviewed Curtis Sittenfeld for the podcast she was particularly good on clearing time for your writing – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/curtis-sittenfeld-novelist/id1490412801?i=1000474807704
Thanks Hattie for this - I’ve listened to your podcast which is excellent so will have another listen to this episode. I’m currently sitting in front of my laptop with a document open that only says ‘write something’ so I’m now wondering if I write best quickly when inspired rather than when I actually clear time to do it...I guess inspiration propels.
Love the insight and vulnerability in your writing. It's all quite relatable as I try to navigate writing and running my coaching/consulting business. The imperative to make money in the short term is always such a potent distraction. Often I find myself simply needing to be open to the idea of grieving the ideas/projects that I can't seem to get to, while striving to ruthlessly wrangle my time to align with my ultimate values.
Thanks Ross. Recently I've been trying to get my head around a bigger truth about life, which is that there isn't a way of doing things that will work out perfectly. Imperfect is the best we can do in any area of our lives, and the wisdom that we acquire as we get older, I think, is mostly about letting things go.
Totally agree. Reminds me of Ann Patchett's "Getaway Car" in which she describes the act of writing as the difference between imagining a butterfly flying around, and closing one between the pages of a book. Perhaps we can get a bit closer to our creative ambitions than that? But so much of life seems to simply be an art of taking imperfect action.
Hi Hattie and fellow writers,
First of all, I echo what Megan has said re the newsletter. Things happen, life gets in the way. It is normal, a part and parcel of being an adult! :D
I thank Laura for being the level - headed person that I am not, not at the moment anyway. Fitting in writing (this newsletter and other bits & bobs), doing some online courses on creative writing, reading physical books on writing in between work from about 7am to 530-6pm is proving a challenge. I am determined to carry on but I need to set some realistic daily goals rather than imagine myself a super woman...
What have I de-prioritised as a result? This community! It is lovely to chat to everyone and read your comments on here as well as your writing but I am struggling to keep up. I have not read for leisure either, for about a month and a half, and I have guilty conscience.
I am glad, in a totally selfish way, that I am not the only one!
Don't have a guilty conscience. You're doing so much. We can't do it all! Sometimes reading really falls by the wayside for me, and I feel especially guilty about that because of what I do for a living. Hey ho, we keep on striving anyway. Feel free to dip into the community as frequently or as occasionally as suits you.
Thank you,l for your comment, Hattie! And, of course, you are right. I enjoy reading and it is a good teacher in terms of my own writing but, I cannot fit anything else in, I do not think (unless I decided to cut sleep out entirely 😃).
I definitely will! I have some observations I would like to share with the group and see if anyone else is experiencing anything similar and how they go about it.
Happy Monday, everyone!
Oh, my goodness. I know you know this, because you are so cool and experienced in the world of writerly things, much more than me. But from a stranger who loves your newsletter, I want you to have all the time you need and to give yourself permission to do so. I'm excited to hear more about the unpaid passion project, as well, in the future. :)
I am trying to balance this newsletter, the excitement of being on Substack and forming a small community on here, with my part-time attained after I quit my full-time employment during my quarter life crisis (rip), with my enduring passion: writing books. I want to write and publish a book. I know it doesn't make sense--I've read Elle Griffin's articles, I work in a bookstore, I understand that it's not a way of making reliable money. Even so, I want to. I have the time now, unexpectedly (see: quarter life crisis) to give that dream everything I have. So we'll see. It's nerve-wracking, and exciting, and so many other things. But I'm happy to be here. <3
Thanks so much for this Megan. Also I don't think making money or even making sense have anything to do with the desire to write (even though, obviously, we do need to make money in order to survive). Good luck with it and thank you for being here <3
It may be difficult to write (I feel) when you're broke and the bills keep rollin in! Personally, it's taken me years to 'Let go' making the choice to just write, rather than doing dishes or lamenting over a pile of bills! And then I sit down to write, yep. Oh no, I don't like this poem...I say! I guess that's just the process we must go through, yet in the end something good will be achieved, and it all becomes worth it after all. Don't you think?
Blessings to All!....in whatever capacity you've chosen to write.
Totally agree! Thanks Mary.