Familiar words for anyone who's ever watched an episode of Project Runway. Lately, I've stolen a page from Tim Gunn's portfolio and made his personal mantra my own, because it's the only way I think I'm going to get through the next couple of years of my life.
It's been almost 2 months since I got the call from my agent telling me I'd sold a two book deal to Berkley. And while it's been an exciting time, it's also been a little stressful. As reality settles in, I've had to take a hard look at my life and wonder just how am I going to fit in this book writing thing? I already have a job. A house. A husband. 3 kids. 2 dogs. 2 cats. (you get the picture) And while I've been writing for the past 5 years, it's not the same anymore. Now, someone is actually paying me to do it and going to be expecting me to follow through on deadlines. While I'd love to quit the job and hire a maid, that's just not going to happen - at least not for a couple of years :) So I've got to find a way to make it work (hence the title of this blog)- See, I really do have a point here.
Thus began the Spring Cleaning of my own life. I'm going through my closets and tossing away those parts of my life that just don't work for me anymore. I'm being ruthless too. Nothing stays unless it's absolutely essential.
1. JOB. check! Disclaimer: If you're my boss and you're reading this, skip down to #2. Yes, the job is essential for now. But my goal is to cut down on my hours at work. Currently, I work 3 twelve hour shifts a week. While it might not seem that much, when you add it up it's 36 hours and I work nights (which plays havoc with your sleep and other health habits). Financially, I can afford to cut down to 2 shifts a week, but we're so short staffed right now I don't think I'll be able to do that until the end of summer.
2. HUSBAND. check! Gotta keep the husband. Gotta keep him watered, fed and fertilized. There's really no way I can weed out this closet.
3. KIDS. check! Same as #2.
4. COOKING. Being Cuban-American and married to a man who's half Italian, food is pretty much synonymous with love in my house. "What's for dinner?" is the first question out of my high-schooler's mouth when they walk in the door. So while I can't completely stop cooking (the hubby is great at cleaning the kitchen, doing housework, etc, but his idea of cooking is a drive through) I have to cook smarter, not harder. I'm doubling recipes and freezing them and taking advantage of places like Your Secret Pantry, where in less than an hour I can whip up 2 weeks worth of meals without all the shopping, dicing, cleaning, etc... Gotta love that.
I'm going tomorrow and putting together Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas, Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese, Ropa Vieja, and Chicken Focaccia Parmesan. Yum!5. HOUSEWORK. Until I get that maid, this is one area that seriously needs a huge overhaul. If I was a person who could stand a messy house, then I'd say screw it. But unfortunately, I just can't go there. So while the kids and hubby do their share, I still have to do some occasional cleaning and dusting. But I'm limiting it one hour a day, 4 days a week. I'm setting a timer and in that hour, I'm power cleaning. When the hour is done, then so am I.
6. ENTERTAINMENT (this includes TV, internet, daydreaming, etc) Thank God for my TIVO. I record almost all my tv now. That way, when I need a break, I sit down and go through the shows I absolutely have to see (sans commercial). I figure it cuts my absolute-must-see-TV time in almost half. The internet is a little bit trickier. But I have pared it down to checking my emails only twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. Okay, I do cheat a little on that one, but I'm much better now than I was before, so I figure that's an improvement. As for Daydreaming, well, I figure that's part of the writing, so there's no real way I can cut that out.
When all is said and done, I figure I should be able to squeeze out 2 writing hours on the days I work, and 4 writing hours on the days I'm off. That comes out to 22 writing hours a week.
Do-able, I think.
What about you? Anyone else out there spring cleaning their life?
3 comments:
I've been trying to spring clean my life too but it hasn't been working so well. Guess I need to work harder at it. :)
Great post.
I think this is brilliant! And you're broken it down into categories I can totally relate to.
Now I know what I'll be working on tonight....:)
Great post!
Thanks for stopping by, Lucy and Gillian!
Lucy, I fall off the spring cleaning bangwagon all the time. So I dust myself off and start over. I figure if I do that enough, it will ingrain itself in my psyche:)
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