How Do You Balance WORK AND PLAY?

With our busy lifestyles: families, friends, children, jobs (inside and out of the home), social networking, and for those of us who write, how do we fit in writing time and at the same time try to balance work and play?

If you're in constant work mode like workaholics, your work will suffer and so will your health. You will burn out. You may suffer from headaches, migraines, and other illnesses. If you're a writer, you writing may lose that spark.

If you have too much playtime, you'll never accomplish anything, you'll have little motivation because you have difficulty reaching a goal. Stop wasting time, set smaller, short term goals to start and set a schedule, make it a habit. Work on one goal at the same time everyday and you will accomplish it. Then you'll be motivated to set larger goals.

We need down time, fun time to re-energize. Here are a couple tips. Please share your own.

Balance Work and Play Tips:

1. Make a schedule or write on a calender work related items, have-to-dos, and fun times. Yes, schedule fun times in.
2. Set short term and long term goals. Write them down and the steps you will do to achieve them. Read your goal list every day.
3. Keep open to new opportunities. People, places or things to help you with your goals. If you're in a goal frame of mind, these synchronistic incidents occur. Really.
4. Set priorities so you're not overwhelmed with the little stuff. Family, friends should be priority. They're your support system and also need your support. But take care of you too. Everyone needs downtime especially primary caretakers who can end up ill themselves when taking care of ill parents and spouses.
5. Plan your downtime to make the best use of the limited time. Meditate, read, watch a favorite TV show/movie, start a craft, take a class at a local college or on-line, learn a new skill (can be a great motivator and boost to your self-esteem), meet with a friend.

The idea for the blog post came to mind because I have a new anthology coming out today along with two amazing writers: Ruby Storm and Virginia Cavanaugh.
WORK AND PLAY releases today 10/30/12 at Ellora's Cave in print only and will soon be available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The stories included in this anthology:

"His Toys" by Ruby Storm
"Spring Break" by Kathy Kulig
"Mixing Business with Pleasure" by Virginia Cavanaugh

Hope you'll check it out.

This book was pre-released at the recent RomantiCon convention in Canton, Ohio and all three authors sold out of their copies!!! So it's going to be a big seller.