Since I began working on a novel, one of the things that I've become very cognizant of is time...and how little there is of it. As I spend more time on social media venues like Twitter, blogs (mine and others), chat groups etc, I began to see what a time suck the internet is. I'm amazed at how many hours I can spend on Twitter. It's like having a lot of very interesting people right in your living room at all hours of the night or day. You can just look at the screen and hit them up as you see fit. Honestly, I think I was becoming addicted to Twitter.
Then there's blogging. I remember being so apprehensive about starting a blog. I was playing around with Blogger for the first time and accidentally created a blog by mistake. Oh, the panic. I was scared to death and hurried to delete it. Now, I love my blog. I really do. I enjoy interacting with so many great people. I've met people I never would have. But this blog takes time. I'm a bit obsessive, I think. I like things to be a certain way. Probably things no one else will even notice, but if I'm bothered by it, I have to fix it.
This takes time. I notice over the last few months, some very well know blogs have bitten the dust. Their owners have ceased blogging. One of the reasons expressed is to make more time for other things. I don't plan to do that, but I can certainly empathize with the sentiment.
I love promoting books and authors. That means reading the books to review. Sometimes authors contact me or I reach out to them for interviews and whatever else. I thoroughly enjoy it, but there's goes that time thing again. In the midst of all this, I'm working on my own novel, revising, rewriting, plotting etc. I've had to cut back on typing of all sorts because my hands were actually starting to hurt. The first thing to cut back on was Twitter. Oh, I'm still on it, but not nearly as much as I was. I miss it, but something has to give. I need my hands if I'm going to write a book. I've got to set priorities. Justine Larbalestier, author of
Liar, hasn't blogged since June 2010 because of RSI. Believe me, I feel her pain, literally.
There's a verse in the bible that says "redeem the time." I now have a much better understanding of what that means. You really have to take stock of time. You must be aware of it's passage and plan accordingly. This may mean something as simplistic as making a list and checking off your goals as you accomplish them--whether you decide to do it daily, weekly, whatever. I know I've done this and it does help--if I follow through.
In essence, what's the message of this post? Time, life passes a lot faster than you think, especially if you're not thinking about it, so do--think about it that is and plan accordingly. I'm sure incorporating this element, living life with more forethought and strategy can only help. You certainly won't regret it.
Toodles!
