Unscheduled time off writing

Hello once again!

In preparation for writing this post, I checked my old posts to make sure I wouldn't just end up repeating myself (a common precaution for me.) I discovered I have two posts about writing when sick vs taking a break to feel better... but both times, I was rather hard on myself and decided that I had been lazy not to write. Well, as of writing this, I've been sick for a little over two weeks, (I'm finally getting over one of the worst colds I've had in quite a long time) and I have some thoughts.

I try not to plug my other social media accounts too often, but there is a post coming out on my Author Facebook page that pretty well sums up my thoughts on the matter:

"So, I've been sick for about two weeks now, and I thought you might like to know if I write when I'm sick.

The answer is... sometimes. 

On one hand, I am also VERY prone to burnout, so if I'm not feeling well AND struggling to focus, I might take some time off to rest and feel better. 

On the other hand, I have chronic pain, migraines, and horrible allergies, so if I only wrote when I felt 100%, I would simply never write. 

I try to find balance between these two by pushing myself while giving myself enough grace to take a break if I absolutely need it."

The part I left out of this post, is that I took a solid week and a half off of writing because I couldn't focus at all. The first day I was sick, I'd planned to write a little, but within five minutes of taking my place on the couch to rest, I lost three things in quick succession (and I hadn't even moved!) After this, I knew I wouldn't be able to add anything constructive to my book, so I decided to take a break until I could think a little more clearly. 

So... I am excited to announce that I am getting back into writing now, as I'm on day three of writing consecutively, which is a huge step after over a week off!

I am trying to be patient with myself this time around, as I slowly ease myself back into a regular writing schedule. I am only trying to write two pages a day (today I only managed about 200 words due to a migraine,) and making sure I keep getting plenty of rest as well.

To close, I'm going to shamelessly share another post, this one from my Instagram account:

Have a great day, and keep writing!