The best laid plans…often go awry…  Robert Burns

I’m definitely a planner. I’ve talked about this often. I do a lot of scheduling, lists, goals, etc., for both my every day life and my creative life too.

But many times I don’t take into account how outside forces/life happenings/family needs/many other things can affect or halt those plans. I’ll admit, I’m not good at “going with the flow”, so these types of things often derail me.

My goal for the early part of this year was to get my new series started, specifically write the first of my contemporary gothic books. I knew my day job was going to ramp up, because my colleague retired and I would take on her job until we hired a replacement, but in true Dani-fashion, I reasoned I could do it all somehow.

But the strain of the pandemic on our family and doing a job I had to learn and do took its toll. Every evening, my brain was so tired it simply could not create (or do much of anything else).

So I spent a few weeks beating myself up for my lack of productivity (outside of the day job) before coming to my senses. Here’s what I started to tell myself INSTEAD:

• Sometimes, you can’t do it all.
• Sometimes, forcing yourself to do something doesn’t produce your best work.
• Sometimes, you have to set goals aside for a season and come back to them when you can.
• Sometimes, the “dig deep” button is not worth resurrecting. (Brene Brown)

So, why am I telling you this? Well, I’m pretty sure there’s someone else out there like me who needs to be reminded there is a season for everything. Beating yourself up over that serves no purpose other than to compound your own misery and sorrow.

Be kind to yourself. Be gentle with yourself. And come back to what you love, what feeds your soul, without regret for the time you had to spend away.

Take care of yourself.

~Dani

Gunner’s story is coming soon! Have you started the Backstage Pass series?? Book 1, FINDING HER RHYTHM, is FREE on all platforms.