Category Archives: Guest Posts

Spring is in the Air (Guest Post)

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Image by sunflair from Pixabay

Spring is in the Air

by Steph Beth Nickel

It has been a remarkably mild winter in Ontario. Not great for those who love winter activities, but wonderful for those of us who are not big fans.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the beauty of a pristine, snow-covered landscape—from the warmth of my home.

Even though it’s only February, spring is definitely in the air.

The sparrows have been chirping away in the lilac bush next to our home for weeks now. Even on cooler days, it sounds like spring.

And today, Family Day, it looks like spring. The sun is shining. There is virtually no snow in sight. And the thermometer says it’s above zero. Three of the reasons my hubby and I will be going for a walk.

Spring is Dave’s favourite season of the year. And I must admit that it’s pretty much tied neck and neck with autumn as my favourite season as well.

So, what do spring and all the signs of its imminent arrival have to do with writing?

Typically, we set annual goals at the beginning of the new year. In January. In the midst of what can be a cold and uninviting season.

But why not sit down with pen in hand in the springtime and set our writing goals for the next few months?

Spring overflows with unique sights, sounds, and smells. How can you incorporate them into your writing to make it come alive like creation in the spring?

Signs of new life and growth are everywhere. We just have to take the time to look. How can we bring new life to our writing and grow as writers in the coming months?

And speaking of growth…

Is it time to grow your mailing list? Your social media following? Your marketing efforts?

With all this evidence of new life around us comes beauty that has been dormant for the last few months.

Not everything we write about is beautiful. In fact, some of what we address is dark, difficult, and heartbreaking.

But, as Christians, we often seek to incorporate hope into our work. We want to offer our readers at least a glimmer of hope, a glimpse of beauty.

How can you incorporate beauty into your current work-in-progress?

It’s still early in the year. We may have more cold, dreary days in the weeks to come. In fact, we may even get more snow. But warmer, brighter, more colourful days are coming.

You may be in the midst of a dark time with your writing. Subject matter. Lack of motivation. An overwhelming schedule. All these things and more can keep us from getting words on paper. And even if our words are flowing now, we may encounter a roadblock in the days ahead.

Regardless, spring is coming. And while we have no say about the changing seasons, we do have a say about getting our words on paper.

How will you breathe new life into your writing this month? I’d love to hear about it.

Photo of Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, writer, and birth doula. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com;
join her Facebook group:
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2725853534313738;
or visit her website-in-progress: nurtureandinspire.com.

Re-evaluating Resolutions (Guest Post)

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Steps leading into a wooded path.
Image credit: Steph Beth Nickel

Re-evaluating Resolutions

by Steph Beth Nickel

You may not call them resolutions. You may call them goals, aspirations, or dreams.

Whatever you call them, the end of January is a great time to revisit those decisions you made about what you wanted to accomplish in 2023.

Revisit Your Goals

Pull out that list you made as 2022 wound down or as 2023 dawned.

If you didn’t make a list, why not do so now? Include at least one thing you would like to accomplish this year in each area of your life. Now’s the time to let your imagination soar. It’s okay to squelch those condemning voices that tell you that you might as well give up before you begin.

Break Down Your Goals

Want to write and publish a book this year? Awesome!

When there are 12 shiny new months stretched out before us, that goal may seem easily achievable. If you’re like me, you may push back getting started because a whole year sounds like a long time. After all, many people are self-publishing far more than one book a year.

However, if you break down the goal into each step that you need to accomplish, you’ll realize the year will fly by and you may just be motivated to get started TODAY.

Some of the steps include writing the first draft, self-editing the book, having the book professionally edited, revising the book, having the book proofread, revising the book again, hiring a cover designer and a book formatter, determining on which platforms you will release the book, launching the book, promoting the book…

Each of these steps can be further broken down into even smaller steps.

Suddenly, a year doesn’t seem like much time at all.

Fight Discouragement & Celebrate Success

At this point, writers have a choice.

We can give into discouragement, throw up our hands, and scrap our goals altogether.

Or…

We can complete the task of breaking down our goal of writing and publishing a book into small doable tasks and place them on our schedule.

It may take us more than a year to release that book, but with each bite-sized goal crossed off our To-Do List, we will be one step closer.

Don’t wait until you upload your completed manuscript; celebrate each small achievement. Small doesn’t mean insignificant.

Stay Motivated

Easier said than done, you may think.

Thankfully, although the writing itself is a solitary endeavour, there are countless resources and communities available to keep you on track.

You can…

Read skills development books.

Read well-written books in the genre you’re writing in. (Some authors prefer not to do this when they’re in the process of writing their own book, but it’s good to know what reader expectations are and determine the elements you want to incorporate in your own work.)

Join a social media community that will spur you on and motivate you to write.

Attend events online or in person that will fill your creative well.

Connect with a fellow writer and become accountability partners for one another.

These are only a few of the possibilities of things that may keep you motivated.

Just a word of warning: Don’t fill your time with these pursuits instead of writing.

Give Yourself Permission

So, now that we’re at the end of January, let’s give ourselves the permission to do the following:

  1. Dream big.
  2. Break down our big goals into doable tasks.
  3. Take longer than we’d originally planned to achieve our goals.
  4. Keep working toward our goals one step at a time.
  5. Seek accountability from individuals and communities that will encourage and motivate us to keep writing.
Photo of Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, writer, and birth doula. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com;
join her Facebook group:
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2725853534313738;
or visit her website-in-progress: nurtureandinspire.com.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead (Guest Post)

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Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

by Steph Beth Nickel

“Finish strong.”

We’ve all heard it. We may even be overjoyed with what we’ve accomplished this year.

Or not…

On her podcast, “The Next Right Thing,” Emily P. Freeman acknowledged the goal may not be to finish strong but simply to finish.

Let’s wrap up 2022 on a positive note—even if we didn’t achieve everything we wanted to in 2022.

First, let’s look back so we can look ahead with clearer vision.

Let’s ask ourselves the following questions about the past year:

Did I achieve my goals for 2022? At least some of them?

Did I take strides forward—even small ones? With regard to my physical health? My emotional wellbeing? My relationships? My writing goals?

Did I overcome procrastination—at least some of the time?

Did I change course when I recognized I was no longer moving in the right direction?

What goals do I want to carry over into 2023? And what goals do I want to set aside?

As we look to the year ahead, let’s be kind to ourselves.

Let’s consider the following questions as we look ahead to the new year:

What goals am I carrying over from 2022?

What would I say is my #1 goal for the year? For the first quarter of the year? For January?

Are there things I need to set aside, even if they’re incomplete?

How can I prevent those persistent dreams from always sinking to the bottom of my list of priorities?

How can I factor in white space in my schedule?

The term Simple, Not Easy has come across my screen from several sources. This is my phrase for the coming year.

This is how I plan to implement my Phrase of the Year:

Choose quarterly goals. From there, break them down into monthly and weekly goals.

Schedule in adequate white space: downtime and time to rejig when things don’t go as planned.

Commit to the incomplete and ongoing tasks I’m carrying over from 2022.

Be willing to set aside tasks when they are no longer moving me in the direction I believe I am to go.

Prayerfully consider new opportunities that come across my path. Just because I can doesn’t mean I should.

How does looking back help you determine your goals for the days ahead?

What’s your #1 goal for the first quarter of 2023?

Do you have a Word or Phrase of the Year?

Photo of Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, writer, and birth doula. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com;
join her Facebook group:
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2725853534313738;
or visit her website-in-progress: nurtureandinspire.com.

Goal Setting and Finishing Strong (Guest Post)

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Letters: GOAL
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Goal Setting and Finishing Strong

by Steph Beth Nickel

This is the time of year when we may 1) be tempted to abandon our goals altogether or 2) buckle down and finish strong.

While I intend to choose the second option, it will require modifying my goals.

I’m content to push out self-imposed deadlines and plan to “do better” next year, next month, even next week. Others consider it a failure if they’ve bitten off more than they can chew or if the unexpected happens.

Instead of giving up altogether, let’s be kind to ourselves and set a limited number of goals that we’ll likely be able to accomplish—even if things don’t go exactly as planned.

As we’re setting, or adjusting, our goals, let’s ask a series of questions:

  1. Am I trying to accomplish goals in too many areas of my life at the same time?
  2. Is this something others are counting on and am I the only one who can accomplish this task?
  3. Is there any hard and fast reason I can’t push out the deadline for this particular goal?
  4. Are there items on my To-Do List I can abandon, ask someone else to do, or reschedule to make room for the goals with firm deadlines?
  5. Have I left some goals on my list that are “just for me”? (Achieving these goals is important and can energize you for the non-negotiables.)

These questions, among others, will help you set and achieve your goals.

And what about finishing strong?

Finishing strong doesn’t necessarily mean achieving all the goals we set for ourselves way back at the beginning of the year or even at the beginning of October, for those of us who set quarterly goals.

Finishing strong means taking an honest look at those non-negotiables I mentioned and choosing one goal we’d still like to accomplish. For example, although I set the goal of hitting the 50K-word mark during November (National Novel Writing Month) combining words reviewed and new words edited in my YA spec fiction manuscript, I likely won’t be able to hit that goal.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t finish strong and write 1,000-1,500 words each day until the end of the month (and beyond).

So, go ahead and adjust your goals as needed. Choose one goal/adjusted goal you’d like to accomplish and aim to finish strong.

I’d love to hear what questions you ask yourself when you’re setting goals … as well as in what area you plan to finish strong—even if you’ve had to adjust your original goal.

Please note: Some of you have had tragedy strike and making it through to the end of the year is the most you can hope for. My prayer for you is that the God of All Comfort will hold you close, enable you to set aside goals you had hoped to accomplish, and sense His love, which is not dependent on what you can achieve.

Photo of Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, writer, and birth doula. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com;
join her Facebook group:
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2725853534313738;
or visit her website-in-progress: nurtureandinspire.com.

Writers Earning an Income (Guest Post)

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Clock, coins, seedlings.
Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay

Writers Earning an Income

by Steph Beth Nickel

Some writers put pen to paper exclusively as a means of creative expression. Some writers, whether they’re paid or not, do so to make readers aware of important issues. Others write what they love and seek to sell their work. Still others write exclusively for the purpose of earning an income. For many, it’s a combination of reasons.

There are countless reasons to write, but if you’re seeking to supplement your income or earn a full-time living from your writing, here are some things to consider:

  1. Authors rarely earn enough to live on exclusively from the books they write.
  2. If you would, eventually, like to earn a full-time living from your books, you’ll want to publish regularly.
  3. Building a devoted readership takes time. Plus, in most cases, it’s far easier to do if you stick with a single niche. Multi-passionate authors who write across genres about multiple topics can earn a good living, but it can be more challenging. You’ll want to weigh the pros and cons. Personally, I can’t imagine writing only one type of book forever and always.
  4. There are countless opportunities in the job market to earn an income using your ability to string together interesting, coherent sentences and paragraphs.
  5. If you want to earn an income with your words, there are times you may have to supplement your most impassioned writing with pieces on topics that are of little to no interest to you personally. I write about railcar movers, yard equipment, and various styles of fireplaces, for example. Don’t tell, but these aren’t my passion projects.

And finally…

If you’re an author who wants to earn a significant amount of money from your books, you’ll want to consider the following:

  1. Indie authors who self-publish retain far more of their royalties than traditionally published authors. However, they are responsible to foot the bill for editing, cover design, promotion, etc. This route requires a great deal of self-discipline and the willingness to learn about all facets of publishing and promotion, as well as writing, but can be very lucrative and satisfying for those who want control over every aspect of the process. It’s the route I intend to take with my yet unfinished series—plural.
  2. Only the extremely rare outlier hits it big with a single book. Writers who want to earn a steady income from their books will have to produce and promote an ever-increasing list of titles. Even traditionally published authors will have to promote their books—especially those on their backlist, provided they’re still in print.
  3. Authors typically earn supplemental income from their books while holding down a day job or a part-time job, perhaps one that makes use of their writing skills, perhaps not. I recently heard an author who has been in the business for over a decade say that a day job that doesn’t use up your creative skills leaves you with energy to pursue your writing even at the end of a long day. Interesting! It’s definitely something to consider, especially if you’re finding it difficult to even consider working on your book after you get home.

Remember! Your words have value, and there are readers who need them. And although you may produce thousands of words that never earn a dime, it is not wrong or unspiritual to earn an income from your writing.

Photo of Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, writer, and birth doula. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com;
join her Facebook group:
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2725853534313738;
or visit her website-in-progress: nurtureandinspire.com.

Is Balance a Bad Word? (Guest Post)

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Letter tiles spelling out "Balance".
Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay

Is Balance a Bad Word?

by Steph Beth Nickel

How do you feel about the word balance?

When I was in Bible College (approximately a million years ago), I thought the word was synonymous with compromise.

If you “balanced” your spiritual life with your other responsibilities, weren’t you denying the scriptural mandate to do everything as if doing it for the Lord?

It took time, but I realized balance is not a bad word. It doesn’t necessarily mean compromise. Plus, it doesn’t mean that you believe God is more interested in certain aspects of your life than in others.

For example, we are faced with the challenge of balancing how we spend out time and what we focus on every. single. day.

Do I stop and pray for those in the path of hurricanes such as Fiona, which recently affected friends in both Bermuda and the Atlantic provinces of Canada or do I forge ahead, crossing off items from my never-ending To-Do List?

The answer should be BOTH.

As I pray, I can ask God if He wants me to become more personally involved.

If the answer is yes, then I may have to set aside items on my list that are not of high priority.

I must find the right balance.

When I hear about things that are important to me, things that fire me up, I can be tempted to change course, to take up a banner that is not mine to carry, to get distracted from the call of God on my life. I can—and often do—become unbalanced.

I have to ask myself some questions when I’m tempted to change course, something that happens far more frequently than you might imagine.

These questions might also help you if you’re trying to balance your priorities and pursuits.

  1. What are my current obligations? Are there any I could consider setting aside? Which are non-negotiable?
  2. If a new opportunity comes my way, do I have room in my schedule and the energy to take on something more or will I have to set aside something I’m currently working on?
  3. Do I say yes to tasks because I feel God has brought these opportunities into my life or do I say yes because I have a hard time saying no to people—especially if the opportunity intrigues me and is something I have the skill set to accomplish?
  4. On the other hand, do I wear blinders and miss opportunities that the Lord brings my way because I’m so focused on sticking to my current To-Do List?
  5. Do I take on things because I’m “a fixer” who genuinely cares about coming alongside others? Still, there is only so much I’m responsible for, and it’s important to prayerfully discern God’s priorities before jumping in and trying to “fix” something He hasn’t called me to fix.

As a woman of a certain age (61), I’ve finally had to admit that I can’t pursue every shiny object or take up every cause that is important to me.

I foresee that I will always be eclectically interested and eclectically involved. However, I am prayerfully trying to focus my energies on accomplishing the tasks that God has clearly given me and leaving the rest up to others.

Have I found the perfect balance? Not by a long shot, but I’m getting closer.

Photo of Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, writer, and birth doula. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com;
join her Facebook group:
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2725853534313738;
or visit her website-in-progress: nurtureandinspire.com.

Did Bobby McFerrin Have It Right? (Guest Post)

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Image by Sirpa P from Pixabay

Did Bobby McFerrin Have It Right?

by Steph Beth Nickel

Whether it’s cancer, COVID, or corruption, it seems everywhere we look there is something threatening to steal our peace.

And in the writer’s world there are contacts, conferences, and contracts to consider as well. While these may be exciting, they can still cause stress.

So, what are we to do?

Should we simply do our best to follow Bobby McFerrin’s advice: Don’t worry; be happy. (Yes, Bob Marley sang it, but Bobby McFerrin wrote the lyrics.)

We can only ignore what’s going on around us for so long. Plus, in the long term, this is 1) virtually impossible and 2) extremely irresponsible.

We are called to fulfill our commitments. Granted, some of us (read “most of us”) take on too much—at least at times. But even if we’ve learned to say, “No, I’m unable to add that to my schedule,” it’s probably because our plate is already full to overflowing.

And would we really be at peace, worry-free, if we could sing and dance our way through life without any thought to the heartaches going on all around us?

Sure, we need to take regular breaks to clear our mind and refresh our body. But the real happiness, the real peace, comes from obeying God’s commands in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (ESV).

If we try to obey the first part of this verse in our own strength, we’ll soon throw up our hands in defeat. It isn’t as easy as choosing happiness instead of worry.

However, as He always does, God shows us how we can set aside our anxiety. Pray and give thanks.

That sounds easy enough, but we all know it’s not “one and done.”

I have a tendency to obsess over (read “worry about”) things I can’t change until God reminds me AGAIN of Philippians 4:6.

So, what are you laser focussed on with regard to your writing right now? Is it stressing you out? Is that stress quickly turning into full-fledged worry? Is it immobilizing you, which adds to your stress levels?

Be encouraged. God cares about you. He can—and will—work out all the details.

Take your concerns and requests to Him. Focus on all the things you have to be thankful for. “Rinse and repeat” as necessary. If you’re anything like me that will be often.

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Photo of Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, writer, and birth doula. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com;
join her Facebook group:
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2725853534313738;
or visit her website-in-progress: nurtureandinspire.com.

Excuses vs. Reasons (Guest Post)

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Signposts: One arrow says "one way" and the opposite one says "or another".
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Excuses vs. Reasons

By Steph Beth Nickel

Do you scold yourself when you don’t get everything done on your daily To-Do List or when you don’t achieve everything you’d hoped to achieve?

Beating yourself up about it rarely, if ever, gets the job done.

However, we all must be honest with ourselves and evaluate if we’re making excuses or have legitimate reasons for failing to cross everything off our list.

Excuses include the following (just ask me how I know):

  1. Watching “just one more” episode of a show we’re enjoying…or, at least, tolerating.
  2. Scrolling through our newsfeed for “just a few more minutes.”
  3. Thinking, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” (Trust me; I put the PRO in procrastination.)

On the other side of the coin are legitimate reasons for not achieving the things on our list:

  1. Something truly urgent comes up that demands our immediate attention.
  2. Our expectations of ourselves are unreasonable.
  3. Our physical and/or emotional well needs refilling.

These are only a handful of examples, but you get the idea.

And now for the good news!

Whether you’ve been making excuses or have perfectly good reasons for what you do or don’t get done, there are ways you can silence that finger-wagging inner voice:

  1. If you make a To-Do List or simply record deadlines and occasions you don’t want to miss, prioritize your list. What is time-sensitive and something you must/really want to remember? To make sure you don’t miss anything important, write it down somewhere you will check often—whether in a paper planner or on an app.
  2. While it’s important to take other people’s feelings and ideas into consideration, be careful not to allow their priorities to influence your schedule unless those priorities line up with what you believe to be God’s plans and purposes for you.
  3. Be reasonable. There are only so many hours in the day, and you’re only one person.
  4. If you don’t achieve everything on your list, be honest with yourself. Did you have legitimate reasons, or did you find yourself making excuses?
  5. If you find you’re making excuses, choose ONE to work on until it’s no longer a default. Don’t try to eliminate all the excuses at once, or you’ll simply become frustrated and scold yourself even more.
  6. Get into the habit of making an Accomplishments or Victory List. Record what you get done and regularly review the list. It will help when you’re tempted to become discouraged. (Include household chores and running errands. It may feel like you’re getting very little done, but an itemized list will put that misconception to rest.)
  7. As believers, committing our day to the Lord before we get out of bed, praying over each task, and laying down what we did or did not achieve before Him each night will make a huge difference in how we create our To-Do Lists. It will also help us keep our focus where it belongs and will make us more sensitive to His leading.

Be positive. Be patient. And be prayerful.

Photo of Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, writer, and birth doula. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com;
join her Facebook group:
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2725853534313738;
or visit her website-in-progress: nurtureandinspire.com.

Chasing Inspiration (Guest Post)

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Tile letters spelling "inspiration" with floral background.
Image by Mango Matter from Pixabay

Chasing Inspiration

by Steph Beth Nickel

I wrote over 40K words of my first YA speculative fiction novel during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2020. And then . . .

True confession time . . .

I left it so long that I wanted to go back and read it from the beginning, making minor changes and getting my momentum back.

But that didn’t happen. At least not until June of this year.

In just three days, I read the 44K+ words, tweaked those 140 or so pages, and organized my notes (character names, questions that needed to be answered, an idea for a possible freebie, etc.).

The more I worked on it, the more motivated I became.

Waiting for inspiration hadn’t worked. Chasing after it . . . did.

Are you stuck? Unmotivated? Uninspired?

Here are three ideas to help you get your mojo back:

  1. If you’re a discovery writer (aka a pantser) like I am, there comes a point when it’s a good idea to make yourself some notes. Keep track of who’s who. Make a list of times you dropped “the first shoe.” If you never drop the second, your readers will not be pleased. Unanswered questions and unresolved issues are not your friend. When you reread your work, be on the lookout for inconsistencies. I once had the wind inexplicably change directions—on the same page. I’m so glad I caught it before letting anyone else read that story. Diving into the details can inspire you to get back to writing.
  2. I love giving my characters the freedom of taking me where they want to go. Of slowly but surely revealing their personality traits and quirks to me. Of making me unexpectedly laugh or gasp. But if I don’t have a rough idea of where the story will end, I can find myself wandering around aimlessly by the middle of the story. I have the epilogue written for a contemporary women’s fiction story I plan to get back to. Plus, I’m currently working on the last chapter of the YA novel I mentioned earlier, even though I’ve only written approximately half the manuscript. The plan is for it to be the first book in a series. So, I need a cathartic ending that is still open-ended. I’m happy with what I’ve settled on. Writing a possible ending for your story may help you decide how to get from where you are to where you want to go.
  3. We’ve all heard it. And it may be the last thing many of us want to hear again. But I’ve found it’s true. I have to turn off Netflix (and Disney Plus and Prime Video and Paramount Plus), not to mention social media, and sit at my computer, open my writing program, and keep at it—even when the ideas don’t come pouring out. Walking away from distractions and focusing on your writing may be just the thing you need to get those words flowing again. It’s 100% fine if it begins as a trickle. Keep pumping out the words, and that trickle could very well become a steady stream.

While my focus is on fiction, the same principles apply when you’re writing nonfiction, although it’s far more challenging to apply discovery writing techniques to nonfiction.

How do you chase inspiration?

Photo of Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, writer, and birth doula. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com;
join her Facebook group:
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2725853534313738;
or visit her website-in-progress: nurtureandinspire.com.

Conquering Overestimation (Guest Post)

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Conquering Overestimation

by Steph Beth Nickel

Have you ever overestimated how much you could get done in a day? Do you perpetually add more things to your To Do List than is reasonable? Do you find yourself discouraged at the end of the day—or thinking, “Oh, well! Maybe tomorrow will be different”?

Yes?

Me, too!

Below are six ideas that help me—if I remember to implement them. (Note: I work from home and have a lot of flexibility in my schedule. Hopefully, even if you have a traditional 9-5, you’ll find some of the suggestions helpful.)

Planner notebook
Image by Miesha Moriniere from Pixabay 
  1. Start with gratitude. It’s so easy to dread our “evil day job” or resent spending time with our family if we view them as interruptions to what we really want to do. If, instead, we itemize related things we’re thankful for, it will go a long way to changing our mindset. Recently, I purchased a taskpad that says HAPPY on the cover. Each morning I fill a single page with things I’m thankful for. I use coloured markers and include stickers and washi tape because this simple expression of creativity makes me happy.
  2. Prioritize your list. Currently, I place each task I want to accomplish under one of three categories: YES, MAYBE, and HOPEFULLY.
  3. Double check your list. Is there anything that gets your mojo flowing on your YES list or do these pursuits get relegated to the MAYBE or HOPEFULLY column? A strong work ethic and sense of responsibility are admirable, but if we don’t “refill the well,” it gets more and more draining to accomplish the non-negotiables.
  4. Know yourself. Are you an early bird or a night owl? Determine when your creative juices flow most freely and when you have the highest energy levels. As much as possible, schedule your tasks accordingly. If a certain task requires a clear head and undivided focus, try to accomplish it at the most opportune time of day. You may be able to fit in those you can do on autopilot when your energy stores are running low.
  5. Schedule at least one much-loved task when your energy levels are high. Accomplishing one such task when you have abundant energy goes a long way to building your reserves. You don’t want to leave all the tasks that bring a smile to your face until you feel depleted. If you do, it’s hard to be enthusiastic about even the most eagerly anticipated items on your list.
  6. Create a schedule rather than a To Do List. This gives you a better idea of how much time a task will take. Don’t forget to add everyday responsibilities to your schedule (i.e.: appointments, household chores, coffee with friends, etc.). In this way, you can glance at your planner and see where there are available timeslots. As we hear from many sources, it’s important to leave margins in our schedule. After all, we still tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in any given 16-hour day. (Don’t laugh! Some people actually get eight hours of sleep a night.)
  7. Don’t forget to add REST to your schedule. Many of us feel we must accomplish something every waking moment or our time is wasted. There are countless benefits of going for a walk, curling up with a good book, or simply sitting outside in the sunshine—too many to go into here.

I’d love to hear how you curb your tendency to overestimate what you can accomplish and how you prioritize how you spend your time.

Photo of Steph Beth Nickel
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography

Steph Beth Nickel is an editor, writer, and birth doula. If you would like more information about her services, you can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com;
join her Facebook group:
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2725853534313738;
or visit her website-in-progress: nurtureandinspire.com.