Peace: such a simple, short, one syllable word. Yet, this one word represents the difference between a calm heart, and a tortuous soul. Isn’t that the battle we freelance writers are always enduring?

We all yearn for peaceful lives, don’t we? The desire for peace unites many people who otherwise wouldn’t be in the same room together, right?

Peace (or Zen) is also something we writers desire. I don’t know about you, but I fantasize about waking up after a long, peaceful night’s rest, finding my way to the kitchen, grabbing an oversized hot mug of tea (sometimes coffee), heading to a giant chair that swallows me up, cuddling up with my laptop – and muse – and lounging around in my pajamas all day, while writing ’till my heart’s content. Ah, it sounds so very nice. Don’t you think so?

Okay, back to reality for me!

With the new year, comes endless opportunities for new beginnings.

I’ve decided that one (important) thing I’m going to focus on incorporating in to my life, is Zen. I actually started before 2010, but I feel like I cheated myself – and others – because I never really applied Zen living like I originally planned.

5 Ways 2010 (Can) = Freelance Writing Zen

1. De-cluttering my e-mail. I started doing this before 2009 ended, but I’m going to continue in 2010. (I had subscribed to a lot of stuff!) This includes unsubscribing from newsletters (or blogs) I never read, updates I subscribed to because of contests, etc. There’s no reason to waste time deleting e-mails every single day.
2. Practicing yoga often. This might not mean daily (although I’m going to shoot for that goal), but I’m definitely going to put forth more of an effort to make yoga a big part of my life. (Others even told me that my writing became much more prolific when I was practicing yoga daily!)
3. Reflecting on where my freelance writing journey began, so I can stay focused on where I’m going. What a blessing to look back on where I came from so I can encourage myself that I can make my writing dreams come true!
4. Staying organized. Organization is crucial for not only keeping stress down, but for maintaining a feeling of control – and a fresh (visual) sense of cleanliness.
5. Nipping procrastination in the bud. One of the worst things we writers can fall into is procrastination. Acting on thoughts like “Oh, I’ll just dive in to Twitter for a while until my muse visits again” or “I’ll get caught up on my blog reading” can prove fatal to your deadlines. It’s fine to reward yourself with social media or other Internet “play time” once you’ve polished off a chunk of your work, or met deadlines for the day/week, but don’t procrastinate until you hurt your business.

I’m also going to work on just being. Do you have a problem making that happen, too? It seems that even when I’m away from the computer, all of the unfinished “tasks” haunt me. It’s like a little devil sits on my shoulder, whispering: “You should be writing this” or “You could finish that.” Freelance work is always, always sitting there. We’re never finished are we? Work – even if it’s our own, personal projects -  is always calling our writerly soul.

So, yes, in 2010 I’m going to do my best to make time to just be, like the gal in the photo up there. It’s high time I actually stop to smell the roses!

Here’s to a successful, blessed – and very Zen – 2010!

Did you enjoy this article? Feel free to visit the other articles Michele has written for Writer’s Round-About–or contact her to write for you.

How are you going to bring Zen living in to your life in 2010? Have you already started? Do share; I might want to add it to my life!

Photo Credit: kudumomo