I’m just on the back end of Tuesday, a wind down to Wednesday morning and the great world of work. I went part time last August and do 18.75 hours per week. Before that I worked as Admin Manager in a busy hospital Pharmacy Department – a job that was full on from the time I arrived at my desk to closing the door to go home. Now I work in a job share in a non-front line area and it makes such a difference. Suddenly my world has become sane again.
I always thought I would miss full time work but I’m finding I absolutely love my free time. Most of it is taken up with writing and it means I can get some sensible structure in my life. When I worked full time I had protected time for writing at weekends. I had perhaps an hour most evenings, but there’s not a lot you can do in an hour other than checking through what you’ve previously written and editing – the creative stuff had to wait for Friday night to arrive! This then became in direct competition with all the domestic weekend things like cleaning, cooking and ironing and of course somewhere in all of this was a social life too. It became very much a balancing act.
Now I have time to plan, to spend time in the garden, meet friends for lunch while still having that financial safety net which helps so much when you’re an indie author. I also have time to enjoy the countryside surrounding Bath, a sample of which I have posted above. Lovely to get out in the fresh air and walk – now I have the best of both worlds and have never been happier!
JO LAMBERT 