What to Do When Life Gets in the Way of Writing....

What can you do when life gets in the way of your writing? Let's face it, life happens. Things you cannot even imagine can and will happen. In a split second the plans you had for the day, the week, or the month will be altered.  Your writing may be the first thing that gets ignored unless you have a plan. I know first hand, it happened to me. Soon after Christmas I had a fall and broke three ribs and injured my leg. Guess what I forgot to get done? Yep, the post to this blog.


So what could I have done to prevent missing my deadline? Here are some tips I have put into place so I won't miss another post or any other important writing deadline.

• Keep a calendar at all times. It doesn't work well for me to have things on my phone but I now have a smaller paper datebook in my purse and a larger one on my desk to keep dates organized. for others the phone thing might be all that is needed to keep organized. Whatever you do planning your writing week well ahead can keep you from missing an important due date.
• Blog posts and sometimes other writing can be pre-scheduled. Writing posts when time permits helps to keep ahead of the game, something I should have done rather than procrastinating. Writing several blog posts and pre-scheduling is a great tool to help you work ahead. . 
• Try not to over schedule yourself or take on more assignments than you can do in a healthy perfect state of mind and body. Allow some wiggle room for writing assignments so when that unexpected "life happens" comes along,  you can still keep your writing commitments.
• Many writers have portable notepads and other electronics that allow writing wherever you are, but a good old notepad and pencil are always a good thing to keep handy for jotting down things when you can't be in your writing space.

Finally, the most important thing I learned about what you can do when life happens is to forgive yourself. Illness and injury, family emergencies, and even your "day job" obligations can all take time away from writing and writing commitments. Apologize to those who need it and move on. Life happens but it doesn't have to be the end to your writing dream.