Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Normally I talk about the things I know or I try to give solid writing and publishing advice. Today I’m turning the tables. I’d like you to give advice. When you’ve come home from a long trip away, a heavy conference or you’ve just completed a gigantic pile of work, how do you recharge your batteries?
I just returned from a complicated, multi-function trip late last week. Home to more than a thousand emails and several phone messages. Home to laundry and unpacking. Home to notebooks filled with notes that need to be processed. Home to a stack of writer business cards and what feels like an avalanche of requested proposals. I’m still not recharged enough to dive right in and process everything. August looks to be my most productive month– only two short trips. I can’t afford to waste an hour.
So my question is this: How do you recharge? Many of you have a recharge routine after you finish writing a book. Others have a method for working though emails. If you help me recharge by commenting below, I’ll put your name in the hat and chose one person to get a great stack of summer reading, compliments of my clients.
So let’s hear it. Recharge!
Image courtesy of © Ymgerman | Dreamstime
Sounds to me like you need to go surfing. I’d be happy to take you sometime. No electronics aloud.
A nap always works wonders for me. Coffee with a friend. A stroll through my favorite store or a trip to the movies with my husband or best friend always refreshes me.
Wow, people are so diverse and fascinating. Your relaxing items are all things that would add to my load. Especially the nap and the store and the friend. Ha ha, I’m so weird. Naps destroy me, though. I’m not sure what it is they do to my body, but I’ve learned never to risk it, no matter how little sleep I’ve gotten. My husband is refreshed by naps though. This is so interesting to read everyone’s responses!
Sleep. “He makes me lie down” (Psalm 23:2). All that stuff has waited this long. It can wait eight hours more. And it all looks more do-able after a good night’s sleep on my own pillow.
Lord, restore Wendy’s soul, refresh her spirit. And fill her with your discernment and energizer-bunny perseverance. Amen.
Emails – set the date to reflect the order received and then work on them fifteen minutes out of each hour until done. We used to wait days for responses by snail mail. We can settle back a bit and allow slower responses. If someone needs something ASAP, they will contact by other means or send the same email five times. When one appears repetitively, skip until the end. 😉
I love to read a good book, bake, or spend a few quiet minutes digging around in my flowerbeds to recharge after an exhausting week.
As far as working through emails, I’ve found it helps to set a time limit. That way I don’t get overwhelmed, and I can ensure I have time to complete the other tasks begging for my attention.
When I need to recharge, there are several things that help. I go to bed early and then wake up very early (like before dawn) and I get good coffee with just cream (no sugar) and something healthy for breakfast. I recharge in the quiet, in those peaceful predawn hours. I sip my coffee and read a good book. I take a walk in the forest and just soak up God’s creation. I think about book ideas but don’t write. I let myself be swept away by a story and read on a quilt out on the razor grass under our ponderosa pines. Living in the forest helps, but there are lovely forested hiking trails that would work just as well. So, coffee, books, forest. That is my recipe. Enjoy! I just took some flower pictures on a walk at the camp where we live. Take a look if you need a visual of that forest.
https://www.facebook.com/CamasMeadowsBibleCamp/photos/pcb.1549848995075372/1549847391742199/?type=3&theater
Good morning Wendy, and welcome home.
My answer will depend on whether this is a “short” recharge or a “long & deep” recharge.
For a short recharge I’ll do one of two things. 1) I’ll lie on the Great Room floor, on my back with pillows under my knees (to flatten out the small of my back), directly in the center/sweet spot of the stereo speakers, and there I’ll listen to soft Jazz or Classical, or perhaps some solo piano music. Or, 2) I’ll sit on the back deck with my best friend, my wife, and we will sip a glass of wine while watching the Canadian Cascade Mountain Range dance to a beautiful sunset, perhaps, again, with some soft music.
If this is a long recharge, I may take an entire day without a cell phone, and hike one of the many trails around Mount Baker. We have hundreds of miles of stunning trails in Whatcom County, WA.
Damon, I hate to say this, but Whatcom sounds like an internet business with a profound identity crisis.
* In seriousness…may I suggest “River” from Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack to “The Mission”? It’s very short, but it will take you far, far away. It has some of the magic of the opening bars to Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto (which, for some reason, always takes me back to New York, and the TWA terminal at JFK, the one designed by Eero Saarinen).
And, Damon, you might want to check out Lars-Erik Larsson’s “Forkladd Gut”; one of the choral movements (I believe the sixth; it’s about 12 minutes into the piece) is just stunning.
Thanks Andrew. Always open to new relaxing musical suggestions.
BTW, “Whatcom” means “noisy waters.”
If I were in your situation, here is what I would do. I would sit down and journal a prayer where I talk to God about everything that is on my mind. In the middle of that prayer I would make a list of everything on my mind. I would keep writing until I couldn’t think of anything else. Personally, when I get to this point I feel less stressed because I feel like at least it’s all on paper. When you have it all on paper take a two hour nap. Don’t feel guilty about it, enjoy it! When you wake up start sorting out your list into categories … Delegate, Do This Week, In The Future. Now just focus on what has to be done this week, and it will seem way less stressful.
Take a Southern Sunday, Wendy. Go to church, shoot guns, and eat fried chicken.
Now that sounds like a good Sunday, Andrew.
Angela, there’s no beating it! 🙂
Do pink BB guns count, Andrew?! I wish for a cooler day … a day to throw out a blanket on the ground and eat fried chicken, without horse flies or mesquitoes. 🙂
Shelli, pink BB guns sure do count!
When I finish one novel, I’ve already started the next in the series. As I do all the nitpicking things to bring a polished book to market, I have to set aside the next one. My batteries recharge when I get to start on it again and can focus on creating new instead of polishing old.
*For any task that looks overwhelming, I analyze how I can divide it into smaller tasks. Then I simply start working on them. My kids used to roll their eyes when I asked, “How do you eat an elephant?” (One bite at a time.) Sounds silly, but it works.
I find that I need to recharge more frequently than in the past. It generally happens on Saturday, when I’ve worked in the yard, in the house, gone for groceries, after having spent five hard days at work and evenings writing or researching. Late Saturday afternoon comes, and I find myself in The Dungeon, at my computer, and I can’t do another productive thing. So I listen to the music I loved when I was young. I search for “The Best Part of Breaking Up” by the Ronettes, which will take me to YouTube and a Ronettes medley. I start that; it will run an hour with only a few commercial interruptions. When that’s over I’ll select a doo-wop medley. Those were oldies when I began listening to music, but I love them. Nothing recharges me more than listening to two hours of songs like “Pretty Little Angel Eyes”, “Blue Moon”, “Runaround Sue”, and “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” while doing light things on the computer.
I thought The Best Part of Breaking Up was Folgers in your cup. ???
I have found that even if i took a lengthy vacation, I cannot recharge without the wilderness. I need the stillness of the woods, the lapping of the water against rock and sand, and the quiet only God can bring to my soul.
Given life’s busy schedule, that usually means a quick one or two day adventure to a nearby state park here in MN. When I lived in California, I loved traveling up to the Santa Cruz region where my roommate’s parents have a home right along a creek in the middle of the Redwoods.
I read. I just pile a bunch of books and read and read and read and read.
If I have a little time to work with (or a little sleep I can do without – not a good idea perhaps, but I’m guilty), my preferred method to recharge is to make a pot of tea and read a book that I want (not need) to read. Straight through, no coming up for air unless I’m hungry and need a snack. Focusing on someone else’s reality for a little while seems to help.
Bronc riding is a good way to get refreshed; modern hospital beds are quite comfortable.
And they even give you a menu with real food choices! At least they did in Santa Fe last November.
Wendy, I plow through everything, then sit out on my South-facing, second-floor deck, with an ice-cold Iced Tea, listening to the wind in the trees, the birds, crickets, and cicadas, with Classical MPR on the radio — and nod off! I then get back at it. And repeat. Bless your day! Michael.
It’s the treadmill for me! I get on there and walk until I can’t walk anymore. I can do a lot of thinking and praying during that time, or I can listen to sermons/audiobooks/podcasts. I can even watch a movie on the iPad if I want or read a book.
I woke up way too early this morning to get my kids settled/fed before slipping out to a 7 a.m. coffee with a girlfriend. I find a good start to the morning (often outside the home, where the mountain of minutia beckons) can prime a whole day.
Thank you for hosting this contest, Wendy. 🙂 Reading for pleasure, taking nature walks, and gardening are my threesome for recharging my writing batteries. Nature walks are my fave because they take me away from the house–away from technology (except for my trusty camera–of course).
Blessings as you choose the recharge methods that work best for you ~ Wendy Mac
Walk, walk, walk! I’m blessed to live across the street from a forest (Wickenden Forest!), and my two dogs and I wander through the woods when I need to recharge. There really is a different type of energy in the forest – those mossy trees, wooden boardwalks, rocky paths, roots and ferns…definitely fills me up in a way nothing else can. Jesus is meets me there every time 🙂
I reward myself with a massage after each completed book. Last summer, however, I was so fried after finishing Mrs. Oswald Chambers, I asked my husband to take me away to some place where I could stare at water. He needed to take all screens away from me.
He found a gorgeous spot on the Straits of Juan de Fuca–because while he did take the phone and Ipad away, he knew I still needed to be filled by people who loved me in a place where I didn’t feel the need to visit every historic spot and cultural center.
Three sets of dear friends shared meals with us, told me stories and reminded me of how much God loves me and how the project goes beyond me. The natural beauty of Washington State–where we lived for four years–refreshed me and reminded me of a wonderful life there. And hiking nine miles to the lighthouse on Dungeness Spit–a bucket list item–on a gorgeous day met my heart.
I came back ready to go again, grateful for my terrific patron of the arts and thankful for so very much.
And, of course, always happy to go again! 🙂
Ooooooo, a massage. That sounds like a GREAT way to recharge. I’ve never had a professional massage. May need to get that one the “recharge” bucket list.
So lovely, Michelle.
May God bless your husband and you too.
I just got back from two back-t-back weekends away. I’ve discovered that I need to give myself a day to move more slowly. I’m learning there is rest that comes in not rushing into “the next thing.”
*Sleep is always a good refresher. Sometimes that comes via a nap during the day. 😉
*Reading a good book, watching a movie, reconnecting with my family via games and time together is always good.
Seriously, though, Wendy, I like to focus intently and intensely on my work in a focused and deliberate way until I’m done. And then I like to chill, veg, crash, sleep, rest, relax, wander lonely as a cloud, etc., etc., until I feel renewed and refreshed — and the Creative Juices come back online again. I’m not actually very good at relaxing as I am working, and I need to learn to do that more. So, any tips YOU have in managing A Writer’s Life are greatly appreciated from your end of things. Welcome Home again, and I will be praying that you can, with the Lord, bring Order Out of Chaos! Looking forward to seeing if we can work together. Meanwhile, BLESS YOUR DAY.
Welcome back, Wendy.
Sometimes I read, sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I hang out with friends. In the summer, I putter in my garden.
Also, usually every summer, I spend hours on refinishing projects. But I don’t have one going on this summer. Long story.
But I’ve realized lately that I actively seek solitude (indoors and out), both before and after a Big Trip, and after finishing a first draft.
The last few weeks, I’ve re-read favourite books.
This seems all over the map, but I need different fuels for different situations.
Whew, I know the feeling, Wendy! I’m not actually very good at this recharging myself, so I probably am not the best to give advice. But I like my favorite Elisabeth Elliot quote for this situation: “Just do the next thing.” She originally meant this in reference to coping with grief, and that’s how I usually apply the marvelous bit of wisdom, but I think it would be helpful in the situation you’re describing, as well. When I’m overwhelmed by the amount of work before me (and how much I’ve fallen behind), my first tendency is to avoid the seemingly insurmountable work (probably from a fear of facing it and failing to make headway). But if you instead view only ONE task at a time, just do that one next thing, rather than always seeing the daunting mound before you, the work will get done without making you feel overwhelmed or discouraged. And doing one thing at a time will give you that time to recharge while still accomplishing what needs to be done. Praying God helps you rejuvenate this week!
Since I usually arrive home in the late afternoon or evening, I organize all of my “new stuff” by grouping it together and spreading it around the house. For example the suitcase goes in the laundry room, the business cards go in a pile on the coffee table, the new books are piled on a reading table by my rocker, etc. I then make myself some tea, sit back in my comfy chair, and just think about the trip and the fun I had. That is it for the first day. Get plenty of sleep that night. The next day I put a load in the wash. While that is processing I read some emails, then dry the clothes and start another load. I go through the day not spending more than 30 min on any one task and alternating between standing and sitting activities. It takes the same amount of time to do this as it is to do it any other way, but it breaks it down into manageable pieces and provides variety so it doesn’t seem like such a drag on my energy or mind.
I should mention that getting things done is how I recharge. If it is still waiting to get done it doesn’t matter what I do to relax, I just can’t commit to relaxing.
BTW, I was serious about sitting on the deck. It’s amazing how within moments I am calm, focused, peaceful, and serene. The surrounding sounds of nature bring my heart and mind back in tune with The Divine. There is perfect rest in THAT place. Michael.
It’s almost comical that I’m applying a trick I used on my kids when they were young. Legos and Barbie clothes and Fisher Price characters strewn all over the playroom. I set a timer for a short enough span of time they thought it wasn’t FOR-EV-ER. “For the next five minutes, pick up everything red and put it where it belongs.” It was a game they tackled much more enthusiastically than “Clean your room.” Usually, with such a targeted focus–red things–they were done before the timer went off and considered themselves heroic. “Now, anything blue for the next five minutes. Go!”
Today, I’m operating similarly for my own messy room…er, inbox. Not only am I loving Todoist, which makes sure nothing gets lost that is truly important, but I’m zeroing my inbox every day. And I start with, “What do I know I can delete–red things? Click, click, click, click (a hundred times), DELETE. Done.” The sense of accomplishment spurs me on to look for yellow things–needs my attention but not right now. I schedule them for some day in the future so I don’t fail to tackle them, but they too are then off my crazy-making plate.
By then, I can see more clearly what really needs attention. I allow myself a half hour for the one-minute tasks. Thirty of them handled!
Phone call needed? I group them as much as possible on phone call days that already have interruptions that keep me from big blocks of time for reading, etc.
I keep a Todoist folder of “Waiting for,” that I look at daily but forgive myself if I can’t move forward because I’m waiting for a response from someone else.
It’s not that I don’t still have many plates to spin, many Legos to pick up, but the mind trick has made a huge difference for me.
Back to working my plan!
I crave quiet so much that if I allow myself the treat of quiet, I’m refreshed enough to tackle the mess strewn on the floor before it rises up to swallow me!
Ha, I didn’t think I’d find a parenting tip when I was scanning through the responses, but thank you! I’m going to try your tricks on my kiddos who HATE to clean up anything.
Since writing projects and conferences take me away from my family and friends, I recharge by spending time with those I’ve missed hanging out with. I usually give myself a day to get my energy back, catch up on e-mail, and unpack/do laundry if I’ve been gone, then I have coffee or lunch with a friend, go shopping with my sisters, poke around a bookstore with Nathan and my parents, or do something else that is fun.
After I finished my single mom book, I was shocked by how emotionally depleted I felt. I turned it in right before the holidays, so I gave myself permission to slow down until after New Year. I still needed to work of course, but I didn’t pursue anything new that required a lot of energy. I made ornaments, did a lot of baking, enjoyed singing at church, and when January rolled around I had my spark back.
A friend and I were just talking about our past pattern of flying from one thing to the next without a break because that was what we had to do. Both of us agreed that we just can’t do that anymore. Taking time to refresh give me the energy I need for the next thing.
Thanks for this great topic, Wendy!
I sit down where I can’t see the mess and read a good book! Since I’m a fast reader and enjoy Middle Grade fiction I can usually read one in an hour or so. Then it’s time to get back to work.
Wendy, when I’m really exhausted from a trip or whatever … I allow myself to sleep in one day … to get caught up on sleep. Then I start slowly unpacking, tackling everything one by one. When I’m caught up on sleep, I can handle everything else with a good or better attitude. 🙂
When I travel, my quiet time with God suffers. I think it’s because I don’t have my usual meeting spot with him. It always helps me to return home, find my quiet spot, and spend time with God.
I hope you are able to recharge and feel refreshed for August.
Well, I’m pretty sure that Lee would have wanted Pickett to recharge at Gettysburg, but with Armistead and Garnett dead, Trimble badly wounded, and over half of the men in Longstreet’s division dead or missing…and Union artillery on the heights…it just wasn’t going to happen.
Groan!
That’s a great question! For me, because I tend to be on the anxious side, it has to fulfill a few requirements. I want something that won’t remind me of all the things waiting for me, is rejuvenating spiritually and emotionally, and taps into a different area of my life than what’s on my plate (if possible). So, I find walking at one of the nature parks near my home does wonders– it really reconnects me with my Creator to be out in His creation. I also enjoy reading, but it might have to be light reading if I’m stressed, as well as watching a good movie with my hubby, playing with my children, taking pictures, writing something that isn’t on a deadline, and just sitting with a cup of coffee and my Bible. Hope you’re getting some rest after all that travel, Wendy! It was so nice meeting you last week. 🙂
I volunteer at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum to recharge. It’s my “happy place.”
Bless your heart, Wendy – praying for rest and rejuvenation for you! Sounds like you’ve had an extremely intense summer. (And since I think my email is one of those thousand…don’t worry, mine can wait! ?) As for recharging…one thing I’ve learned more recently that can help is sitting down to watch just one episode from a really good TV series I enjoy – my latest choice is often BBC’s Father Brown. Or just taking some quiet time to be with and listen to the Lord, especially outside. As for email, I don’t think I’ve ever had 1,000, but when I’ve had a lot, it has helped to set myself a number, say 10 emails at a time, and work through it all in manageable chunks that way. Blessings!
What I do to relax probably wouldn’t work for you. I take a hot bath, then hide in my room with a book, preferably something delicious that doesn’t involve digging too deeply into myself. Fluff reading. I’m guessing you get enough to read that even fluff seems like work. I hope you find a few minutes to recharge.
My recharge routine includes unplugging, usually for a day, sometimes two. No electronics and time out in nature. Where depends on the season. And an activity or two unrelated to writing, marketing, researching, etc. Something enjoyable such as hiking, baking, coffee and visiting with a friend. Deep breathing and laughing, of course, and extra time reading devotionals as God is a master refresher. And Wendy ~ if you need a few funny photos, let me know. I’ve a few sheets full. 🙂
I was freaked out when a work colleague told me he occasionally deleted his entire email inbox to get rid of the pressure. Then it happened to me accidentally. You know, there really wasn’t any real consequence from it. I think we all feel the pressure to be on call 24/7 and maybe we could just let some of that go.
Chunk it down, and smile.
Be grateful for the adventure you had, and all the amazing people you met.
Your first day back, dress in comfortable clothes, something you would never wear to the grocery store. Sit on the couch with your favorite beverage. Within an hour your priority list will start forming. There is no need to write it down, and don’t even think about “diving in” we are chunking it!
What did you decide comes first? Logging the business cards you brought home? Grab 20 cards, and start entering them. When you are finished with the 20, and you feel you are on a roll, grab more cards. If not, throw in a load of laundry, and take a look at your email. Start by deleting things that you know are not worth your time. Move your clothes from the washer to the dryer. Keep on chunking away at it, and don’t forget to eat and enjoy! The mound of cards will magically disappear, your clothes will be clean, and you will be ready for your next trip. Throughout the process be grateful you have the opportunity to help all the people you met.