Achieving Balance (a.k.a. Trying to Do it All)

As I gear up for the big Defy cover reveal on March 29th, I frequently find myself spinning in circles trying to get everything done. If you know me, you know this is rather unusual. I'm a Type A who takes planning to a whole other level. So this feeling of spiraling out of control has been more than a little disconcerting!

Like many indie authors, I have another full-time job. My wedding planning career absorbs my day from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with a one-hour break to go and pick my daughter up from Kindergarten. After 6:00 p.m. comes family time with my husband and daughter. We make dinner and catch up on each other's days. My daughter goes to bed at 8:00, and I usually work on author tasks from then until 9:00, at which time my hubby and I watch a TV show or tackle chores. By 11:00, he's in bed and my writing tasks begin.

Yes, it's after 11:00 p.m. as I type this. Yes, I have to get up early with my daughter in the morning. Don't judge.

Oh, okay...you can judge! The truth is, this isn't a healthy lifestyle. While I am taking care to watch what I eat and going for three-mile walks three times a week, I'm operating off far less sleep than I did back in July of last year before my books were published. But, as I tell my husband, I've got to do what I've got to do. And I truly wouldn't change thing (except add more hours in the day!).

I'm wise enough to know that there are ways to find balance even in the craziest life circumstances. After realizing how much I had to tackle in the coming weeks leading up to the cover reveal, I took some steps to keep from derailing. There are almost always ways to achieve a goal. Here's what I've done:

1. Hired a book tour organizer. I'm still a relative newbie to the whole author deal, so I've been doing all of my own marketing and promoting. My author friend, Bethany Lopez, however, recently hired a couple of blog tour organizers with varying success. Based on her advice, I've started working with YA Bound, and Trisha Wolfe has been absolutely wonderful! I'm now excited rather than stressed about the kickoff of the book tour on April 30th.

2. Taken people up on offers of help. I've always been one who is happy to offer a helping hand, but I'm reluctant to accept one when I need it. Not now! When I needed a fresh round of beta readers to firm up Defy, for example, I turned to some of my writer friends who I trusted to provide honest feedback. Thanks to them, I know I'm producing an amazing book...and that's one less stressful thing to have on my plate with the launch looming!

3. Scheduled some time off. Okay, it won't be until July, but I'm still thrilled about it! That will be one year since the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy was published. Just knowing that the down-time is on the horizon will help get me through these crazy months ahead.

4. Scratched things off my list. My husband pokes fun at me because I have lists for everything. He's a tech geek, so when he sees my multiple Word docs open on my laptop it does this weird thing to a vein in his forehead. Anyhow, there is a serious feeling of accomplishment in scratching off even the smallest list item. Trust me on this!

On that note, I'll scratch off my "Write a post for The Writer's Voice" list item and thank you all for continuing to follow me on my journey. For my next post, I'll have an excerpt from Defy as I prepare for the cover reveal just two days later!

What do you do to achieve balance?