It seems most people you ask, “How are you doing?” these days will answer:

“Busy!”

I’m right there with them.  This year’s been a big year.  In writing, I’ve completed three new novels, a total of about 400,000 new words.  I’ve also worked on edits for three other novels, and began planning for a big indie publishing push, which will kick off in the near future.  The final deals of that effort will be finalized soon, with more details to follow.

So it’s been a busy year.  At times, it’s easy to feel the stress of deadlines and goals, particularly when all the other aspects of life seem intent on interfering.  I still work a day job, I’m now a scoutmaster for a very active local troop, my family life is full with my wife and our four kids rushing in different directions, and I’m active in my church congregation.  All of those priorities are important and require dedicated time and focus.

How do we keep it in balance?

I think this is one of the most critical and most common questions many people face.  As we roll into the upcoming holiday season (which is my favorite time of year!), it seems the intensity of our busy schedules only increases.  People are busy, with tons of activities and conflicting priorities on their plates, and struggle with keeping the balance.

For me, I made a conscious decision to embrace the wild ride.  Sometimes we resent how busy we are and that resentment leads to a negative outlook as our schedules fill with so many activities planned or committed to by other members of our families.  But I’ve found it helps so much to let that stress-inducing resentment go and accept the fact that life’s going to be crazy-busy for a few months (if not the entire year).  With the new attitude, I can roll with the surprises better because I’m already expecting them.

The other thing I’ve done is schedule dedicated time for each of these priorities.  Work clearly takes precedent during weekdays, as does my writing.  Family times are Sundays and most of the weeknights.

In addition to the regular weekly schedule, I planned dedicated, focused time with family.  I took a Scuba dive trip to Cozumel with my lovely wife, Jenny, for our anniversary.  I also dove off the Channel Islands with my son, Kyle – a trip we planned for six months.

Our family likes to travel during Thanksgiving, so this year we rented an RV and toured the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park.  We made meaningful memories with our family that was totally worth the time and expense.

Did those family-focused trips create issues with my very aggressive writing goals?  You bet.  And the stress crept in more than once.  I had to recognize it, accept it, and then let it go.  I made plans to deal with deadlines and other responsibilities.  It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.

Another excellent side-effect of scheduling dedicated time for family, spouse, etc (in addition to them not feeling like I’m still ignoring them) is that I return to work and writing refreshed, eager to jump back into my goals.

So this coming year, I’m already looking at my schedule.  If I had nothing else to do, I could fill every month with writing goals, conventions, and events tied to publishing up to 8 novels.  I’m going to add what I can, but I also need to plan Scout campouts, a family vacation, and other events forced into my schedule from outside.

2015 is looking to be another busy year, but that’s okay.  It’s going to be a great year, filled with wonderful memories.