This post was originally sent through my author newsletter on May 26th, 2023. To subscribe to my newsletter and receive up-to-date news, musings, and more, click HERE.
I've had what I call a "shallow" work-week.
These are the weeks that include a million small tasks pertaining to a million different projects. (Okay, a million might be exaggerating, but sometimes it feels like that...) I started brainstorming for the second book in my write-for-hire contract. I prepped for and did a school visit, my last of the year. I worked on designing some new Class Critters bookmarks. I'm putting the finishing touches on one freelance dance article while trying to schedule interviews for another two that are due in June. Scheduling interviews mostly means sending lots of emails. I also sent emails about soliciting promotional blurbs for The Thirteenth Circle. And I sent emails about an upcoming author visit (not me! someone else) at my daughter's elementary school. And I ordered and picked up the classroom books for that author visit. Oh, and I booked an extra week of summer camp for my daughter.
There's more. But you get the idea.
In a "shallow" week, I dip my toes into a million puddles.
I vastly prefer "deep" work-weeks.
Immersing myself in one enormous task (or maybe two) is so much more satisfying. The work may be harder, but it's also more engrossing. Tasks like writing 10,000 new words in a zero-draft or finishing line edits on an entire book yield a greater sense of triumph than sending 100 (necessary!) emails.
But it's all part of the process. It all matters. And to be honest, it's easier when I can divide my weeks into one or the other. I've had periods of time where I'm both puddle-jumping and scuba-diving, and that's when things really start to spin out of control. My brain likes to pick a style and stick to it for at least a couple days.
In Madison Morris is NOT a Mouse!, Madison spends a chapter listing her strengths and weaknesses. One of my strengths—like Madison—is that I am organized. But I'm also a working parent, a freelancer with multiple gigs, and like most of us, I am TIRED. That's why, on a week like the one I've just had, I like to come back to an analogy I read and love:
Romance author Nora Roberts was once asked at a Q&A session for tips on balancing writing and kids. Her answer was that some of the balls you have in the air are plastic, and some of them are glass. You have to know which is which. If you're juggling and you drop a glass ball, it will shatter. That's potentially disastrous. But if you drop a plastic ball, it will bounce. You can pick it up again later. Roberts went on to add that you can't divide balls up strictly by category: some work balls will be plastic and others will be glass, and the same with family matters, and on and on. Sometimes, you'll have to choose to drop a plastic ball in order to catch a glass one—and that's okay.
For me, a "deep" week might mean I'm juggling two or three glass balls, whereas a "shallow" week might involve a dozen plastic ones. Plastic balls are easier to juggle in bulk. They're lighter and less fragile. Juggling glass balls requires concentration and care.
Are you a professional juggler? Do you prefer to work on one or two "deep" tasks or cross off a million "shallow" to-dos? What's the most important glass ball in your juggling act right now?
~Kathryn
What I'm:
Reading: More of the historical romances I mentioned last week (why is it that library holds always all arrive at the same time?!), plus Once & Future, a YA sci-fi retelling of Arthurian legend set in space.
Watching: Only one episode of "Ted Lasso" to go... Season 3 has been a bit rocky, but can they stick the landing?
Baking: This is a cheat, because I haven't done it yet, but I am pumped to make my mom's classic cake mix chocolate chip cookie recipe for a Memorial Day BBQ on Monday! I love watching someone try one of these cookies for the first time.
Loving: My daughter had her first dance recital last weekend, and let's just say, the stage presence is definitely there.