Waving from warm, sunny Orlando today. Quite a change from last month’s endless snow.

I wish I could say I’m on vacation. Instead, I’m rocking the day job, teaching at my firm’s management school and taking a (shh! really boring) mandatory class made bearable by my peers (who also have to take it).

This week made me think about careers and balancing. I know authors who have ditched their day job to write full time. Many others are like me—working full-time at a job that pays the bills and offers health insurance. Since it’s the season to count your blessings and make plans for the new year, I’ll start with gratitude. I have an interesting job that sends me money twice a month. 

Layer in writing, volunteer gigs and the rest of my life, however, and it’s a lot of balls to keep in the air. Over the past few weeks, I’ve read a number of blog posts talking about time management and work/life balance. Consistently, the best advice I’ve received is write every day. Even if it’s only a line or two, put those words on the page first thing in the morning. Otherwise, the day’s demands catch up (and often overwhelm) leaving you exhausted at the end of the day with no creative energy. I find if I get out of the “habit” of writing, days or weeks can slide past.

What about you? Are you rocking the day job? Writing full time? Balancing other commitments? What’s your best advice for maintaining balance or finding time to write?

Oh. And the deer came over to welcome me home to the snow.