Life Balance Meme

I read a post by Michael Hyatt on his blog From Where I Sit about balancing work with the rest of life. That started me thinking, and I wrote a post about balance in life.

Mihaela Lica (Mig) at eWritings - Online Public Relations suggested I transform the post into meme … so here it is.

As Mig said, we can all learn from each other. So in addition to the bloggers who are tagged, the meme is open to anyone who would like to share.

To participate, write a post about balance in life and link back to this post. Answer any or all of the following questions or simply share your thoughts about life balance.
How do you achieve balance in your life?
What is your biggest challenge in balancing your life?
What are your priorities?
How have your priorities changed over time and why?
What advice can you share to help all of us balance our own lives?

Then tag five other bloggers and/or issue an open invitation to your readers to participate.

I’m tagging the following writers I know will have good advice to share:
Mihaela Lica (Mig) at eWritings - Online Public Relations (who suggested the meme)
Laura Spencer at Writing Thoughts (who was the first to comment on my original post)
David Bowles at Writing the Western Sagas (who juggles a business, genealogy, writing, and volunteer work)
Beth G. Sanders at bgsblog (who has an eclectic resume and blogs on a variety of topics)
Matt Keegan at The Article Writer (who recently posted about merging his work and family by speaking at career day at his son’s school)

I’m looking forward to hearing many great ideas from these bloggers, those they tag for the meme, and others who will join in.

[tags]life balance, priorities, meme[/tags]

Balance in Life

Michael Hyatt has a post How Do You Balance Work with the Rest of Your Life?

This is a question many of us struggle with. We want to do it all and have it all. But Mike wisely reminds us that we can’t do it all, so we have to set priorities. He gives his priorities, “and they are arranged in a specific order:
1. God
2. Self
3. Family
4. Work
5. Church
6. Everything Else”

I like this list, though I’ve always found it difficult to put myself #2. However, several years ago after I had a stroke at the hands of a chiropractor, I had to learn the importance of taking care of myself. If I had not spent months completely focused on my recovery, I would not have been able to return to work, church, and everything else. And my family (my husband) would have had to continue to take care of me because for some time I couldn’t do anything for myself. Although I still have “deficits,” as the doctors call the residual effects of the stroke, I have been functional and independent for years. But I have to continue to remind myself to take care of myself or I can’t continue doing the things I do.

As much as I love working from home, one of the disadvantages is that I’m always near “the office” (which is in a separate building but only a few steps outside the back door). And my clients know they can reach me anytime (because of my medical condition, I seldom leave the house except to go to church). I’ve told them all now that I’m not available on Sundays; as I explained in my post Rebooting and the Fourth Commandment, I’m determined to honor the Sabbath.

I’ve been focusing on making sure I take breaks to go into the house to spend time with my husband. He’s retired and has had some health problems in recent years, and I want to spend as much time with him as I can.

Just as one of the disadvantages of my home office is that I’m always close to work, one of the advantages is that I’m always close to home. So I don’t have to wait til the end of the workday to spend time with my husband - I can make a number of short visits throughout the workday. And when I’m having a bad day physically, I can take a nap if I need to.

I’ve always been a night owl, and I usually feel better at night and can be more productive. So one of the ways I take care of myself is to work from late afternoon until the early morning and sleep in the mornings. My clients know not to call me in the mornings, but they also know I’ll adjust my schedule if needed for their rush projects. And I do a better job for them when I’m working at my best instead of trying to force myself into “normal” work hours.

Sometimes church takes priority over work, but I am learning to say I can’t do something that will interfere with client work. I maintain the church Web site, edit the newsletter, moderate the prayer chain, manage the membership records, compile the weekly bulletins, and do just about any writing, administrative, or computer work that is needed. Right now, I’m spending more time on church activities as we are preparing for Holy Week with several special services, but after Easter my workload for church will decrease.

There may be variations in the order of the other priorities, but God always has to come first. Like Michael Hyatt, I pray periodically throughout the day. My main devotional time comes before I go to bed, which for me is early morning. I read a chapter of the Bible, spend time in intercessory prayer for the people on my prayer list, and read from Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest and either Evening Prayer or Family Prayer. During Lent (and Advent), I do additional readings.

How do you maintain balance in your life? What are your priorities?

[tags]life balance, priorities[/tags]

If only this quiz represented my complete knowledge of the Bible

Reservist still teaches college classes online while serving in Afghanistan

My client Ted Janicki is a reservist in the US Air Force currently deployed to Afghanistan. That would be more than enough to keep most people busy, but Captain Janicki wanted to maintain some normalcy during his deployment. Since he’s a college professor at Mount Olive College, Mount Olive, North Carolina, nothing is more normal to him than teaching.

So Dr. Janicki has been teaching computer science online to Mount Olive students while he’s in Afghanistan -getting up early, missing meals, or staying up late to handle his teaching duties so they wouldn’t interfere with his military responsibilities. He teaches communication to 8600 Army/Police level officers and soldiers and mentors Afghan Army and Police Signal Commanders.

He occasionally writes articles for the base newspaper, and he’s an Air Force representative for AnySoldier.com, serving as the point of contact for donations sent to his unit. This is a wonderful way to support the troops, and you can read more on Captain Janicki’s blog.

You can also read a newspaper article about this soldier-educator in the News & Observer article about his recent speaking engagement while home on leave.

Books We Love Reader Appreciation Days

As writers, we appreciate our readers. After all, if no one read our books, we wouldn’t be writers.

Books We Love Reader Appreciation Days give readers an opportunity to show their appreciation for their favorite Books We Love authors and have a chance to win some great prizes.

Just sign the guestbooks of your favorite authors. Each guest book signature mentioning Reader Appreciation Days gives you one entry in the prize drawing.

My clients and friends David Bowles and Grace Anne Schaefer are there along with many wonderful writers. Check out the Books We Love authors, and you’re sure to find several favorites.

Maybe even … Lillie Ammann.

[tags]Books We Love, Reader Appreciation[/tags]

The New Day Dawns is a contest finalist!

Grace Anne Schaefer received an e-mail today telling her that her book “The New Day Dawns: People of the Frozen Earth Book 1 … has been chosen as a finalist for the 2007 North Texas Book Festival Award in the general trade book category.”

I’m excited and thrilled for Grace Anne - she and I have been friends since we met at freshman orientation at Southwestern University more than 40 years ago. And I was one of several editors chosen by GASLight Publishing to edit the book.

Congratulations, Grace Anne! Your fans will be glad to know that Book 2: As Shadows Fall will be available in a few weeks.

[tags]North Texas Book Festival award, Grace Anne Schaefer, The New Day Dawns, As Shadows Fall, People of the Frozen Earth.[/tags]

Resurrection Bible Study

I’m taking another online Bible study from Pastor Ralph Wilson: Resurrection and Easter Faith.

This is a five-week study that is a great addition to a Lenten devotional program.

The Last Boat Out is an EPPIE winner!

The Last Boat Out: Memoirs of a Triumphant Vietnamese-American Family won the EPPIE for General Nonfiction! (Note: as of 2/1/08, this book is no longer in print.)

The EPPIE award, the e-publishing version of the Oscar, is presented by EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Connection, for e-books (Last Boat Out is available in both print and e-book). Awards in a number of categories were presented at a gala ceremony at the EPIC conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia tonight.

The authors are a husband and wife - he was a South Vietnamese military officer and she was a housewife injured in the Tet Offensive. Their daughter-in-law, who grew up in Vietnam and only came to the States a few years ago, translated their diaries from Vietnamese to English. Her husband, the couple’s son who was also injured in the Tet Offensive, helped her. Since the English is a second language for the translator, the book required extensive editing. GASLight Publishing, owned by my friends Grace Anne and Ken Schaefer, published the book.

I took the two translated diaries, combined them so the text flowed in logical order, and edited the manuscript to retain the individual Vietnamese voices while making it readable for an American audience.

We got a great quote from the head of the Vietnamese-American project at the Smithsonian and a lot of wonderful reviews. But this award caps it for me because the EPPIE is recognized as the premier award in e-publishing and the judges are all my peers.

[tags]EPPIE award, The Last Boat Out, GASLight Publishing[/tags]

March is Small Press Month

Not only is this week Read an E-book Week, but the entire month of March is Small Press Month.

According to the Small Press Month Web site, “Almost 80% of all books published in 2005 were by “small’ independent presses.

“Small Press Month, now in its 11th year, is a nationwide promotion highlighting the valuable work produced by independent publishers. An annual celebration of the independent spirit of small publishers, Small Press Month is an effort to showcase the diverse, unique, and often most significant voices being published today. This year’s slogan is Celebrate Great Writing.”

I hope you’ll join me and celebrate great writing by reading an e-book (or maybe several!) this week and enjoying more books from small press publishers throughout the month and beyond.

[tags]Small Press Month, Read an E-book Week, independent publishing[/tags]

Read an E-Book Week

Read an E-book Week is March 4 - 10, 2007.

The week is designed to celebrate e-books and to educate the public about them.

If you’ve read this blog for any time at all, you probably know I’m a big advocate of e-books. My novel Stroke of Luck is published as an e-book, and I’ve been excited about e-books ever since an e-publisher wanted my story of a disabled heroine. Traditional publishers told me no one wanted to read a romance with a handicapped heroine.

That’s when I learned that e-publishers are open to story lines and characters that don’t fit the marketing plan of major publishers. Not only do I enjoy great stories in e-books, but I also find them easier to read because I can adjust the font for my poor eyesight. And they generally cost less than print books, so I can read more books for the same amount of money.

Some publishers are offering a free e-book with every e-book ordered during Read an E-book Week. Visit the Supporters page to find out where to find these deals.

And on the e-books page of my Web site, you’ll find links to e-book directories and publishers, free e-books, and more information about e-books and e-publishing. If  you’re already a fan of e-books, share with other during this week. And if you’ve never read an e-book, maybe Read an E-book Week is the perfect time to try one.

[tags]Read an E-book Week, e-books, Stroke of Luck[/tags]

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