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Today as I am writing my blog post, the sun is shining, and the church bell is chiming to let me know it’s 12:00. The thought of sitting inside writing all day is deflating. I can hear the school children, cheering each other on – it’s sports day today and I have promised my children I will come across to the football field to watch them at lunch time. It is on days like this that I hate the fact that I have to work. I know I work for myself and can take the time off, but I just seem to be so busy lately.  It happens every now and again and I feel it building, the resentment, the boredom, and the longing to be working on my own writing. Today though I have to put those feelings aside and catch up on the work that pays my bills.

I don’t want to do it. I want to sit out and enjoy the sun. I live in Ireland and that means when the sun shines you really should make the most of it. But today I am having to be strict with myself. I have told myself that if I work for two hours, I can take an hour off and go and watch the kids having fun. It’s something that lots of parents don’t get to do. I work from home and that means I can take the time to watch them have fun and grow and this is something I won’t ever get to do again, so I am really grateful that I can do this.

Don’t Let Your Work Prevent You From Making Time For Your Passions

On Tuesday I had no broadband so I am playing catch up today. I had an urgent article to complete, which I have just uploaded to my client’s system, so I am taking a short breather to pull this blog post together. I have told myself that my writing is important too and as I sit here and type this I can feel the stress leaving my body. I’m not researching and finding specifics for client articles, I am allowing my fingers to flow effortlessly across the keys typing what I want to type. Writing the words that come naturally to me. It’s amazing how peaceful and fulfilling it feels. It is moment likes this that make me realise how important my own writing is to me. Yes client work is what pays the bills but it doesn’t allow me to use my creativity in a way that I want. It does allow me to just let go, to create stories and characters that come alive on paper. It doesn’t allow the use of metaphors and imagery that will pull the reader in. It’s keywords, search engine optimization, facts and figures, and without being able to do some of my own writing it gets very boring.

It think the point of the post today is about allowing yourself the time you need to work on your own passions and joys. Work will always be there. House work will always be there. These are things that you know that you will complete on time. Your own personal passions and creations though are something different altogether. If they are not given time, they never mature. I know this to be so true. There are times when I don’t allow myself to focus on my passion and this is when my mood drops. It feels like something is missing, a part of me. I can last about two weeks before I break and I have to write. It might be just a couple of lines, a poem, a journal entry, just something, and the results are the same every time. I find peace. It’s like a sense of joy washes over me. My mood lifts and I feel great again.

If I have anything to share with anyone today, it is don’t allow your dreams and passions to suffer. Make time, even just five minutes each day to do what you love. It will keep your mood boosted, keep you positive, and you’ll be surprised at how great you will feel inside.

Until next time,

Amanda

Amanda J Evans

Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author and writing coach. Amanda writes adult romance that often crosses into paranormal and fantasy. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012.

www.amandajevans.com