Restructuring

Sometimes all it takes is the spark to light the motivational fire. I mentioned in the previous blog that I was self imposing deadlines for a couple books by adding the cover mock-ups to my preorder forms for signings I have later this year. With that looming over me I am happy to say I have been moved to follow through with a number of things for these books.

The covers for both my novellas Crash and Combat have been created. I have designed the preorder forms and just need to upload them. I am several thousand words into Crash now while having a solid outline and a number pages full of research ready for Combat. The last book in the series is Sharing Strength and while the first draft was finished years ago I now know so much more about the characters and their stories from the novellas so I will be rewriting it and have set the release date for early 2021 including a launch party on my birthday Feb. 28th 2021. At that launch party I will also be announcing a large scale event I am planning as a fundraiser and awareness campaign for the PTSD subject that has both plagued and inspired much of my life.

I have noticed that this new found motivation is having side effects in my regular, non-writing, life as well. I push forward at the gym even when I want to give up. I take time to accomplish things around the house and make the choices needed to improve everything from my health to my financial situation instead of the usual fly by the seat of my pants style I have done for years. I recently was able to pay off my car which was a big first for me. I am slowly getting myself healthier by losing weight and training at the gym through the longer term plan of diet and exercise instead of looking for a quick fix. I have even started working with a financial advisor to plan for retirement though I am a few decades away.

While all of these are great steps forward, and honestly changes I should have made long ago, it is my personal and writing lives that have seen the biggest differences. Many people that know me personally know I have been with our local author group Coffee House Tours and have served as the Marketing Director for over a year now. It is something I love and I enjoy the planning of special events as well as helping our authors plan their own launches. Last year however I had signings every week from early February to early June and I got burnt out. Not only that but I wasn't writing nor was I spending time with my boyfriend or friends. I felt overwhelmed.

I made the decision that I would still be doing my best to help and I would have signings but I couldn't do more than 1 or 2 at most per month. There are times when special events will add to this count but for the first time I am doing everything I can to limit my extraneous activities. I am a glutton for punishment usually when it comes to my schedule but I am doing my best to restructure my priorities. How do you make sure you stick to your priorities?