On the first Friday of each
month, Novelista Annie Burrows will be drawing a question out of the jar where
we've been putting all the questions about the writing process posed by readers
-
This month, the question was:
"How do you manage the
work/life balance?"
Well, it's funny you should
ask, Cheryl. Because right now I'd like
to know the answer to that myself. The
deadline for my 23rd book for Harlequin fell at the end of July, and my
daughter is getting married in August. The boiler developed a leak and blew the fuses
downstairs which meant my freezer went off, my dyson started making a noise
which sounded as though it had sucked up an angry chicken (well, I suppose any
chicken would be angry if it had been sucked up a vacuum cleaner) and then on
Monday the plug socket in my study went off "Spang" (which is the
word I've coined to describe the combined flash of the spark and noise of the
short) when I tried to turn on my computer.
The wedding planner called to say the groom's passport was in a
different name to the birth certificate, which meant the marriage in Greece wasn't going to be legal, and the bridal shop sent
the wrong wedding dress.
And that was just the last
two weeks.
The only way to keep my
sanity when a deadline is approaching is to drop some of the plates I have spinning. I cannot deal with everything. This time, the consumption of alcohol has been steadily
increasing the closer the deadline/wedding approaches and my ulcer is starting
to keep me awake at night.
So I've had to
prioritise. Decide what is really
important, and put that at the top of my to-do list. And yes, I do write to-do lists. I get tremendous satisfaction from ticking
things off it. It makes me feel as if
I'm getting somewhere, even if I'm adding things to do to the bottom of the
list as fast as I'm ticking them off at the top.
Firstly, I have let the
garden turn to jungle, although I bet not many people have 4ft tall thistles.
I have also delegated the
vacuuming to my husband. The first week
he moved all the furniture in the bedroom, did the stairs with the crevice
tool, and forgot the door mats altogether.
The second week, he looked at me with a hangdog expression, and asked if
he really needed to move the furniture.
I confessed I only ever vacuum under the chairs once a year. He cheered up considerably at the prospect of
only flicking round the middle of the floors.
He also found it easier to do the stairs with the correct tool, and now
has all the downstairs mats on his rota.
In fact, since he's discovered the power of the newly serviced dyson, (it
was a worn bearing on the brush bar, not a stray chicken making the noise in
case you're interested) he has also started vacuuming the kitchen and bathrooms
(instead of me going round with the broom).
I'm saying nothing. The floors
are getting done, which is one chore off my list.
If you follow me on facebook
or twitter, you will have noticed that I've gone quiet lately. This last week I have only scrolled through
my emails to attend to the urgent things that crop up. I will just have to hope that my readers
won't forget who I am if I don't constantly bombard them with little reminders
of my existence on social media. I
haven't even looked at the Bookbub bargains for about a week. Well, my kindle is chock-a-block with dozens
of bargains already. 152 to be
precise. So do I really need any more
books?
I managed to deliver my book
in late afternoon of the deadline day, which was my work priority. I have made sure my daughter has the correct
dress, the groom a legal passport, and husband and I have full stomachs and
clean clothes to wear. Although, I have
discovered that if I'm careful about how I peg the washing out, it doesn't need
ironing. I mean, who notices peg marks
underneath the armpits?
In short, I have stopped
trying to do everything myself. And the
things that aren't absolutely essential are being skimped.
An author friend of mine, the
late Cathering King once said to me "A woman's work is never done. Which is why I never do any."
I think that is very good
advice.
Well, that's how I cope with
the work. As to the life part of the
question?
Ummm....
Next question!
