by Lisa Jordan, @lisajordan
This past week, I flew to St. Louis, Missouri for the annual ACFW Conference. I didn’t have a direct flight and found myself spending nearly ten hours during a layover in the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
As I waited for my flight, I sat in a rocking chair lining the concourse and listened to beautiful live piano music while doing my work, catching up on social media, sorting through email, and people watching. I needed that time for a mental layover to simply relax.
The months leading up to the conference had been full of challenges—illnesses, book deadlines, family issues. While I do understand life throws us challenges every day, these struggles left me feeling fatigued and needing a break.
As I relaxed in that rocking chair, I contemplated the importance of mental layovers in our lives. Direct flights are great timesavers—one flight saves you the hassle of deplaning, waiting, and boarding a different flight to reach your final destination. However, they aren’t always available, so planes must land to let off passengers, then refuel for the next flight. Layovers allow passengers a chance to stretch their legs, catch their breath and maybe grab something to eat.
Writers need mental layovers in their lives. When we’re juggling family, church, work, friends, sporting activities, school functions and trying to meet deadlines, we can become exhausted very quickly.
We need to schedule layovers in our daily planning so we can refuel our bodies and our minds. We need to learn to delegate, say no and prioritize our commitments. We need to take time to enjoy our surroundings and reflect.
However, that’s very difficult to do, especially when life happens while we are on deadline. So, how are writers supposed to find time for a mental layover? Here are my three suggestions:
- Intentional planning. I love using the My Brilliant Writing Planner. Since I strive to live a values-based life, it helps me to stay focused and intentional with my time. No matter what you use, write in all of your commitments on your calendar. Then take time to figure out your daily to-do lists, deadlines, word count goals, etc. Look for blocks of white space and schedule in a mental layover. That intentional planning could be something as simple as a twenty-minute cat nap, reading the paper or good book with a favorite cup of coffee or tea, journaling, or even watching a favorite TV show. Whatever it is, make it intentional—something that gives your body and spirit time to rest.
- Nourish your body. Are you so busy that you’re grabbing a cup of coffee and calling it breakfast? Maybe dinner is grabbing something from the drive-thru on your way to your next obligation. When you’re in a constant rush and not giving your body the necessary nourishment and exercise it requires, you’re going to wear down much faster. Even though it may seem like “one more thing,” take time to plan healthy meals that will give you more clarity and more energy. Drinking plenty of water (water in your coffee doesn’t count!) and walking fifteen-thirty minutes a day will provide purposeful hydration and exercise for your body and your spirit. Taking care of yourself allows you the ability to care for others.
- Re-evaluate your commitments. During an airport layover, you’re confined to the terminals and limited to doing what’s around you or what you may have carried on the plane with you. But, when you’re back at home, it’s so easy to fill up your time with other commitments. At the beginning of each month, review your commitments on your calendar, then determine your priorities such as family and your career. Write in the deadlines. Create a word count schedule. Release unnecessary obligations in order to create a necessary daily mental layover in your schedule.
When you schedule intentional mental layovers for yourself, you’re taking time to rest and refuel so you can reach the finish line of your goals with better mental clarity and a renewed purpose.
A veteran in need of a fresh start will get more than he bargained for…
Veteran Micah Holland’s scars go deeper than anyone knows. An inheritance from his mentor could be a new beginning—if he shares the inherited goat farm with fiercely independent Paige Watson. Now the only way they can keep the farm is to work together. But first Micah must prove he’s a changed man to keep his dream and the woman he’s falling for.
Heart, home, and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories with those elements come naturally. Represented by Cynthia Ruchti of Books & Such Literary Management, Lisa is an award-winning author for Love Inspired, writing contemporary Christian romances that promise hope and happily ever after. Her latest book, His Road to Redemption, releases in January 2022. She is the content manager for Novel Academy, powered by My Book Therapy. Happily married to her own real-life hero for over thirty years, Lisa and her husband have two grown sons. When she isn’t writing, Lisa enjoys quality family time and being creative with words, photos, fibers, and papers. Learn more about her at lisajordanbooks.com.