creativity

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Battling Writer's Block with ADHD

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First 2 graphs here …I had a few weeks of what can only be described as writer's block/overwhelming anxiety. But if you’ve been following me over on Threads, you may have seen I’ve started challenging myself to weekly writing goals for the book I’m currently writing. (I talked more about it in my most recent newsletter for Creative Independent Podcasters.)

My writer’s block wasn’t necessarily anxiety over writing my book. I was confident enough in my idea to know it was possible. And I like what the book is becoming.

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Defining Rest for Increased Creativity and Productivity

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Recently I edited a podcast where the guest was talking about his creativity cycle and how he learned to lean into the different stages. He used the acronym CPR as a way to remember that after Creation comes Promotion, and after that should come Rest.

When I heard this, it dawned on me that this was why I had been suffering from so much burnout back in 2020 — I had continuously put aside rest in order to do what I loved. I felt energized by it and I figured if I needed to rest, I would surely just know to do it, right? Wrong.

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Not-So-Quick Blog Update + Top 20 Introverted Mom Blog Announcement!

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First off, thank you to Anuj Agarwal for including Emily: Out Loud in Feedspot’s list of the Top 20 Introverted Mom Blogs!

Secondly, seeing that inspired me to write a quick update (Note: I thought it would be a “quick” update when I began writing it. My writing brain had other plans.)

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Marking the New Year and Picking My 2022 Word — COURAGE

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Is it weird that I still carry a tiny glimmer of hope for the new year? For a lot of December 2021, I wasn’t sure I would. I wasn’t feeling the same excitement about a new year, even though I can’t say I was a huge fan of much of 2021.

But nonetheless, I found myself looking forward to the start of a new year. And it is nice to bid farewell to the past year and feel that sense of new beginning

I don’t do resolutions anymore for the new year and I’ll talk more about that in a bit, but I do have a few traditions. The first two are very mundane and tedious if I’m being honest. But they’re still my own traditions that have oddly helped me bring in the coming year with a sense of newness, and you’d be surprised at how satisfying it is when they’re done.

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December Focus: Relax & Reflect

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After last month’s focus on Writing and creating this blog, plus all the other life happenings lately, I really felt like I had no choice but to declare this month’s focus to be Rest and Reflect.

Most Decembers, this mode seems to happen automatically and I've learned to keep the holiday season from getting too overwhelming and overbooked. With the extra stress of my mom’s health being up in the air, plus the ongoing stress of parenting through a pandemic, I know this is as good a season as any to take it easy and not push for a big project.

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Life Update + November 2021 Roundup

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I took this photo the other day in the hospital while waiting for my mom to get back from an MRI. She had a seizure the last week of November after a mini-stroke/TIA a few weeks earlier. Her health has been up in-the-air and, to be honest, it’s been a really difficult time.

Like last month, I’m still sitting in what I now call my little Kitchen nook to get the sunlight first thing in the morning to help my mental health, but with so much that seems out of my control right now, the overwhelm has meant a few more dark days. I’m using flowery language a bit. I’ve had days where everything is just f*cking terrible and feel like they kick my ass.

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The (Kind of Morbid) Push I Needed to Press Publish

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The (Kind of Morbid) Push I Needed to Press Publish

I published my blog last night. I'm oddly not nervous at all. It's my corner of the internet I created for me and those who may find my story helpful.

I bought the domain emilyoutloud.com and forwarded it to the site for now. And I put the link on my links page for my bio, though I haven’t announced anything formally yet.

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November Focus: Write!

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It’s November, and my friends who participate in NaNoWriMo (or NaPodPoMo for podcasters!) every year have finally inspired me and I want to get into writing this month.

November seems like the most idyllic time for writing when I picture it in my mind. Cozy sweaters, candlelight, warmth from a fire, or a heating pad in my case. It’s currently 6:51 a.m. and it’s been the first time in I don’t know how long I’ve woken up before my son, who is the loudest alarm clock on the planet.