8 months ago, I gave birth to my baby boy, Nicholas. Since then, it sometimes feels like I’ve done nothing other than care for and feed this little miracle.
Motherhood has come with a million challenges. One of my favorite things to say is that I never realized I was always a super-irritable person just trapped in a well-rested body.
The sleep-deprivation and constant demands on a person’s attention are enough to give any new parent a melt-down. I’m not exactly sure what my impressions of babies was before Nicholas came along… I think I envisioned him sitting there like a loaf of bread while I worked from home… but, needless to say, I was way off.
I’m beginning to claw my way back toward being productive, though, with the help of some baby-sitters and also my baby (finally) taking a nap here and there. As I tackle some pretty big projects in the near future, there are three key lessons I’ve learned from my new motherhood that I take with me:
- Efficiency is everything.
On days when I have a baby-sitter, I get two hours. If he takes a nap, I get one hour. You better believe that in those precious hours, I am hustling. Not one minute is wasted - it is all 100% devoted toward my writing and my career (such as it is nowadays). I will never take time for granted again.
- Plan ahead and stay focused.
This goes hand in hand with the efficiency thing. What am I doing when we’re in the car and I don’t have to be occupying the baby in my arms? I’m planning out all the steps I need to take to accomplish the things I want to accomplish under my new, more challenging circumstances. And when I get the time to work? It’s all about focus. Same as when I’m with my now-crawling and standing little man, and I have to maintain constant focus to make sure he doesn’t get hurt.
- Don’t sweat it.
It suddenly occurred to me one day as I held a sweet, sleeping Nicholas in my arms: at the end of my life, no matter how the films turned out or whether or not the scripts got sold, it won’t really have mattered, because I will, God-willing, still have this boy thriving and a part of my life. So it’s not only ok to be fearless - it’s the only option that makes any sense! What’s there to fear in your career so long as what’s really important is safe and happy?
So go out and take risks, because at the end of the day - life is good, regardless!
