The easiest moment to remember that you have a website! Also, an excellent reason to discuss priorities.
See, I intended to keep a regular blog in this space, one to draw in attention to this freelance editing business I’m trying to build. It’s fairly obvious I never quite managed to reach that particular goal. I worried, for a bit, that this would look unprofessional, that potential clients would visit the website, browse a bit, see my inconsistency, and move on. It’s entirely possible this has happened. It’s entirely possible this will happen again. But I’m not worried about it anymore.
Like I said: I want to take this moment to talk about priorities. I’m trying to start a personal business. This is incredibly important to me. However, there are, in fact, higher priorities in my life. First and foremost is my family. I’m mother to three children who need quite a lot of my energy, most of it, in fact. My partner is extremely patient and supportive, but our relationship takes work. My health is also a fairly significant concern, as I can hardly care for my family if I wear myself ragged, which is all too easy to do, especially with all the physical demands of managing a house with 5 ADHD inhabitants. Following that, I have any obligations I contractually undertake. A relatively low position on the list of priorities is balanced by self-awareness and honesty: I will not pledge my time and energy, commit to an endeavor, if I am not confident in my ability to meet expectations.
Thus stand my obligations.
Even the disabled deserve personal time and entertainment, though. So, in my own time, I write. While I do hope to make a career of it, I legitimately write for the fun of it. And, when my mind is clear but my body is weak, I write.
Building a business takes energy. I did a lot of research. I built a website. I talk it up on social media as much as I can. It’s been slow, but I expected it to be slow. I believe, I hope, that managing a blog will help, but I don’t think failing to reflects on my ability to edit or my ability to meet commitments. I believe the authors I want to work with are able to tell the difference between a personal goal and a business contract.
What I want us all to remember–writers, editors, parents, people–is that priorities shift, and they should. That space to breathe, to find pleasure, and to rest should be priorities. Maybe they have to drop a little lower on the list than they should to get us a through a season, but they should never be abandoned. That it’s okay for some goals to progress slowly. We are on no one’s timeline but our own. That setbacks aren’t failures, failures don’t need to be final, and that even when they are, even when they come with mourning, they do not make us less.
Some people will breeze past us making snap judgments that are unjust. And we’ll breeze past others doing the same. Because we are tired or in a hurry or distracted or unwell or just in a bad mood. It always says more about the judge than the judged, and it’s often neutral. It often just is. Often, the priorities just don’t align in the moment, and that’s part of life.
Be careful with your priorities. Manage them with intention. No one can do everything.
