Circle of Friends Blogger Award

I received this wonderful award from Catherine A. Winn at The Writing Room.  Thanks Catherine! My job is to pass it on to five other bloggers.

Andria at My Meandering Musings

Renae at The Write Groove 

Debbie at Writing Soup

Jessie at Read Between the Lines

Michelle at Michelle Teacress 

Juggling Time

You may or may not have noticed, but I've been absent from my blog (and other blogs) for most of the summer. I had grandiose visions of being a full-time writer and dedicating my summer to finishing my novel.  

But, like some well-thought out plans, my vision failed rather quickly. I discovered that I work better on a tight, rigid schedule. With too much free time (like my summer as a teacher out of school), I tend to fill in the gaps with non-work: reading, playing with my kids, going to movies, etc. It surely didn't leave me enough time to write. In my mind, I was on vacation (loosely translated, no work!). Then it became easier and easier to push writing to my "back-burner."  

Now, three weeks before I have to return back to school, I can't imagine where the time went. Did I write every day? No. Did I finish the first draft of my novel? No. Did I stay caught up on blogging? No.  

But I can say that I had an enjoyable summer. Three months ago, my kids and I made a list of the top 50 things we wanted to do this summer. We didn't accomplish everything, but we did manage to hit 24 activities on the list. Not too bad, I think.  

What I realized this summer is that I tend to accomplish more when I have less time. Surprising, isn't it? I think I prioritize better when there's less time. I'm looking forward to getting back into a rigid schedule again, one that includes time to write. 

What about you? Did you achieve all that you wanted this summer?