March was a month just for me. After finally recognizing my burnout in February, I set aside all “non-essential” activities and focused on de-stressing and enjoying life. Between a trip home to visit family and friends in Kansas, my birthday, and lots of support from Daniel, it was easier than I expected to relax and recharge.
While I’m recommitting to some goals in April, there are others that I will cut loose. As part of this, I’ve started a bullet journal, where I can combine my calendar and objectives in a custom layout that perfectly fits my needs. Going forward, I want to maintain a better balance and keep the perspective I gained this month. There’s very little that I have to do to survive, so everything I choose to do should add value and joy to my life. It’s something we all know but often forget. I hope it’s a good reminder for you too.
Writing
It seems I’m the tortoise in 2018 — slow and steady writing, which will eventually accumulate into a complete book. Right now, my focus is consistency as opposed to output, so as long as I keep plodding along, that’s good enough for me. In addition to working on Desertera #4, I’ve been dabbling with an unrelated short story… which I may or may not share, as it’s not sci-fi or fantasy, and I don’t plan to publish it (it’s more a private learning exercise).
Other Projects
Ask Me Anything Videos I recorded the March AMA, and you can watch it here. You’ll learn how I invented Desertera’s setting, how to find an editor for your own books, and more.
Parallel Magic Podcast If you haven’t tuned into the podcast I host with Jonas Lee yet, you’re missing out. In this month’s most popular episode, we debated Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Listen in for one of my rare negative rants.
Reading
After reading six books in February, I chose not to ready any in March. I did, however, read and review several short stories for a writer group to which I belong. Daniel and I also watched several new movies: highlights for me included Thoroughbreds, Tomb Raider, and Ready Player One.
Personal Life
Physical health Okay, so the whole “eating healthy” thing kind of went off the rails. But can you blame me when I had a birthday (hello, Dairy Queen ice cream cake!) and my mom’s home cooking? I didn’t think so. Exercise suffered a bit during my vacation as well, but I kept on top of it at the beginning and end of the month. I’m actually surprised how much I’m enjoying it!
Mental health After recognizing the extent of my burnout at the end of last month, I gave myself a break from self-imposed stress in March. I focused on enjoying my time with family, indulging in TV/movies, and spending quality time with Daniel and Thomas. Heading into April, I’m finally feeling recharged! I’m getting back to my goals, but still focusing on not overextending myself.
April Goal
Win Camp NaNoWriMo! For April’s Camp session, I’m tracking my progress in hours instead of word count. As I wade back into the deeper waters of creativity, I know my biggest challenge is putting in the time and staying positive. So, rather than beat myself up over hitting a particular number of words, all I have to do is show up and try my best. It’s taken a lot of the pressure off and already made me more productive!
What did you accomplish in March? What are your April or Camp NaNoWriMo goals? Share in the comments!
Kate M. Colby 
I was wondering if you’d seen the movie of Ready Player One yet since you hadn’t mentioned it in your last blog post. Glad you enjoyed it – I thought it was very well done and the changes from the book mostly worked.
Birthday cake impacted my healthy eating too, and this week there were Easter eggs as well! Now that it’s spring, I’m going to increase my running. Besides that, I’ve kept up my reading, got a few domestic chores out of the way, and wrote a movie review for Rotoscopers.
Good luck with Camp Nanowrimo!
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Thank you! Yeah, I enjoyed the Reader Player One movie, but not as much as the book. I want to see it again when it hits streaming now that I know what to expect. I’m glad you liked it too!
Sounds like you had a productive month too. Good luck with your spring exercise goals. You got this!
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As an indie author with still a lot of things going on, how do you manage to recharge? I constantly worry that if I drop something (especially with a book coming out in August) that I won’t be able to keep up with my deadlines. Did you just spend more time doing relaxing things, or did you have to let go of stuff beyond not reading?
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This probably warrants a whole blog post in itself! The short answer is that I’ve put my author business on the back burner for now, because I simply don’t have the resources to take it where I want. So I’m in a maintaining mode, where I’m only writing, emailing my list, and doing a couple content marketing things. No extended social media or marketing right now. I can’t really reveal my full reasons why until later this year.
For March specifically, I scaled back even more and also introduced more leisure activities. I used to be able to do all the business stuff and just cut out TV or social media to find recharge time, but my life has entered a place where that just doesn’t cut it right now.
I hope that makes sense. The balance kind of ebbs and flows over time, so the best you can do is find a system that works for you then be flexible enough to change it when it no longer works.
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That does make sense, and you could definitely fill this out to a whole blog post–whether it’s how to take a break or how to rest your business. I know that it all hinges on one’s personal life and capacity. I know that once August comes, I need to plan some kind of sabbatical. Like, be around to make sales but chill the heck out.
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Good luck for Nanowrimo, I hope the writing muse will give you a helping hand.
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Thank you! It’s taking a little work, but she’s starting to warm up to me again. 😉
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Good luck with camp Nano.
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Thank you, Galit! I hope your writing is going well too. 🙂
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Thanks Kate 🙂
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