When Life Gets In the Way

Most of us are orderly creatures. We like our coffee or tea in the morning. We have our favorite television programs. We organize our days, either on paper or in our heads, and we try to anticipate disruptions.

Then life happens.

I’m one of those people who likes to get up early, have coffee and a breakfast bar while writing my first words around six o’clock in the morning. I check social media first, then I get out my lists…yes lists. If I didn’t have them, I’d forget something. Then I get to work.

This was my schedule more or less while living on Sea Bear, our Nordic Tug. This past year I’ve spent most of my time on land, which means distractions like cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, and volunteering (because I still have a hard time saying no).

Don’t get me wrong. I have tasks when on the boat, but there is so much less space and no car to run downtown in or big kitchen to cook in. Meals are simple and carefully planned. Laundry is once a week at most. Cleaning is a breeze in a tiny galley. And there is plenty of time for writing because boat operation and maintenance are Captain Mark’s job.

So for 2017, at least until we’re on the boat again come May, I have to get my act together and become a consummate planner. I have a new notebook for my lists, a new schedule for my writing, and new resolve to be better organized about what I do in the house.

I’m going to put the butt in the chair by 6 a.m. and start on that daily list until every item is checked off because I have a book coming out in February, plus I’ve committed to a novella in April, and another book in July. I also have a contract (unsigned yet) committing me to a written, but unedited, historical novel in the fall.

So can I do all this and still find time for household chores? I can and I will. It’s all about resolve, commitment, and not letting those pesky little distractions bog you down. For now I’ll take some advice from Benjamin Franklin who said, “Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”

Or as Oprah Winfrey said, “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”

Happy New Year.