You Deserve Time Off!

It’s summertime. That season between reaping and sowing when it’s hot, you’re tired, and the pool, BBQ, and couch beckon. If you’re anything like me, you’ve found yourself slowing down a bit as of late, savoring moments doing simple, even silly things like blowing bubbles into the wind, teaching the dog to surf on a pool mat, attempting to outpace small children on swings, and baking late-night cream cheese brownies.

But I’ve also felt more heartfelt this season—sensitive and drawn toward spending chunks of time on the phone and in person with loved ones.

I was seriously starting to judge myself for my sentimentality and lost productivity when it occurred to me that I’ve recently been through several emotional milestones that seem to require a bit of downtime:

~The death of a very dear relative—two days before I was set to see her to say goodbye.

~Helping my best friend through the heartbreaking task of signing her divorce papers.

~The acquisition of a hyper puppy (even joyous events are jarring to one’s nervous system).

~Moving and selling/giving away nearly everything I own (extremely joyous, albeit jarring).

~Sending my son off to college and getting him situated into his first apartment (ditto).

If it’s not okay to cut myself some slack and honor the changes in my life and slow myself down, then what the heck is this life about anyway? After all… it’s summertime, so shouldn’t we all be slowing down? The fall and its demands for reaping/harvesting will be here any moment. If not now, when?

I’m on this train of thought because a woman signed up for our late August Carmel writing retreat today and sent me an excited email: “What should I do to get ready? What should I be working on?”

I get this question a lot. Normally I say, “Whatever you feel compelled to work on. Whatever’s up for you. Whatever ideas you have that are aching for attention and that you want group feedback on.” Today, however, all I wanted to say was: “NOTHING! For Pete’s sake, don’t do anything! Your kid is 12; she’s going off to middle school in 3 weeks. You’ll be fine. Your creativity will be rejuvenated when you get there. For now, play, frolic (what a great word!), watch the clouds roll by, take a nap in the hammock and throw sticks. Anything but work.”

But then I remembered, writing isn’t work. If done in the spirit of creativity and not as another to-do on your list, writing is play. It’s therapy and meditation and love and self-care all wrapped into one. My client, like most writers, knows that fall is a great time to sell her work, so she wants to give her creativity some TLC before the busy season starts.

Smart move. I’m all for it, as long as she takes time out for her nearest and dearest and fun in the sun (or whatever floats her family boat).

If you’re finding yourself wanting to be productive this summer, I have an idea that might help you get further along in your writing process, while taking some of the grunt “work” out of it. See if this feels helpful and fun. If so, let me know. I just might schedule it…

My idea: to kick off a new 6-week summer Book Proposal tele-course on Tuesday, August 2nd, with a very small group of people—five at the most—where your proposal will be broken up into easy-to-digest parts. (We’ll end on September 13^th, with a week off for my Carmel retreat at the end of August.) Each Tuesday evening (and taped in case you have to miss), we’ll have a weekly phone/Internet meeting covering the weeks’ section, and brainstorm for one another, and talk through any blocks. Each week you’ll write one (only one) section of your proposal and send it to me for 30-minutes of private editing before the group class. If you want to share your work with the group, we’ll do an example or two together live online for everyone to see as a “before-and-after” tutorial. That way you’ll learn from each other. At the end of the course, or whenever you feel your work is ready, I’ll give your proposal a 2-hour polish. If it’s an example of writing that feels agent-ready, I’ll refer you to those I believe who can help sell your work to publishers.

If that sounds like something that will help you over the proposal hump while still allowing you time to enjoy your summer, let me know and I’ll give you the deets and I’ll launch the course. In the meantime, here are some luxurious quotes to encourage you to take care of yourself and RELAX…

“The best cure for an off day is a day off.” ~Frank Tyger

“The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.” ~Author Unknown

“There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.” ~Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” ~Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A.A. Milne

   “Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.” ~John De Paola

“How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward.” ~Spanish Proverb

“If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.” ~Doug Larson

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ~J. Lubbock

“A life spent in constant labor is a life wasted, save a man be such a fool as to regard a fulsome obituary notice as ample reward.” ~George Jean Nathan

“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” ~Etty Hillesum

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” ~Attributed to both Jim Goodwin and Sydney J. Harris

“Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.” ~Richard Carlson

“Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live.” ~Margaret Fuller

“For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.” ~Lily Tomlin

“No one can get inner peace by pouncing on it.” ~Harry Emerson Fosdick

Yours,

Linda

Retreat Link

LCharmed@mac.com

(323) 769-5153

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LindaSivertsen