Work, and lots of it

For the past year and a half, I've been really fortunate to work only part-time, so that I dedicate a lot of time to writing my first novel. Right about the time that Meant to Be landed in my lap, I saw a posting for an amazing part-time job in my field that paid really well and ... well, it just all worked out (you can read more about that here ... it was a big decision to leave my full-time job). Lucky me! So I worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9-3:30 every week, and I wrote all day on Mondays and Fridays.

Or at least, that was the plan...

I learned a few things about myself over the last year and a half. The first is that excessive time is my enemy. The more time I have to waste, the more time I'll waste. And man, am I champion time waster. Often on those magical Mondays and Fridays, I wouldn't start at my computer until 6 ... PM! And if I had something due on Friday ... well, let's just say I'm not making the best use of all my days. Another thing I learned about myself is that it turns out that there's nothing like the crushing threat of an impending deadline to really get my creative juices flowing. I wrote nearly all of Meant to Be in the days leading up to various deadlines.

What I'm saying is that my part-time job and time off was starting to feel a little ... indulgent. Slovenly. Just plain lazy. Sure, I ran errands and did housewife stuff and took the dog to the park several times a day, but the purpose of the part-time job was to actually be WRITING.

I'm bringin' back the classic navy JanSport backpack for my daily writing/commute (er, maybe not...)

So when a full-time job came open in my office (which I love, by the way), I jumped on it. And today marks the first day of my return to the 9-5, Monday-Friday work force. And I'm PSYCHED about it (not least of all because a full-time paycheck is pretty great, but also because I love my office and the people I work with). I've got my MacBook Air in my backpack ready to write for a half hour around lunchtime, and I'll be using my evenings more fruitfully to get stuff done. Because when there's only a few free hours, I've got not choice but to fill them with writing.

Lucy wishes I would have kept the part-time job

Oh, and one last thing before I start organizing my snazzy new office (pictures to come, of course!). I posted this over on my Tumblr (are you following my Tumblr? Because you totally should). Random House made an It Gets Better video! I was always insanely proud to be a Random House author, but this just makes it even better.