(Un)Productivity in the Time of Health Problems

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For some reason, I’ve always been fascinated by the title of the novel Love in the Time of Cholera. Unfortunately, I still haven’t read it or saw the movie adaptation since I’m afraid it will be too sad. (Is it too sad? Does it have a happy ending? Please spoil that without giving too much away.)

I write about the relationship between health and productivity because, like many writers, I suffer from a bunch of health problems that threaten to be debilitating at times.

In addition to OCD, I have chronic gastritis. (And a weak immune system that gives me colds often.)

Unfortunately, these two compete to make each other worse. If my gastritis acts up, so does my OCD. And if my OCD acts up, my gastritis flares up. Anxiety and irrational fears affect the stomach badly. Who knew? (Yes, I’m being sarcastic.)

I am not fond of my health issues or talking about them, really, but I believe it is helpful to others when I share. So that we aren’t hard on ourselves when we fail to be productive.

I also wanted to tell you why I haven’t posted on the blog since June. I’m hoping I’ll do better from September on.

Here’s an incomprehensive list of what I have been up to these last couple of months:

– I sold this piece to Thrillist: The Best Spanish-Language Netflix Original TV Shows.

– I applied for writing gigs, but the rates turned out to be disappointing so I didn’t accept.

– I’ve prepared paperback versions for my novels on Amazon and ordered them to check. (Then I noticed a typo regarding my website and have to correct that now.) If you like my novel covers, I work with Michelle Fairbanks. (And no, she doesn’t pay me anything for recommending her.:))

– I went on a beach vacation and got to sort of enjoy it. (Gastritis isn’t my only issue. I also have gluten and lactose insensitivity, and I can’t resist all the chocolate cake served at resorts). Which reminds me, I still have to put my review up on my travel blog.

– A great writer friend gifted me a week of MasterClass, and I dove into James Patterson’s class. Thriller is my favorite genre to read along with romance, and I’m dying to create a thriller at some point. (I do have some ideas. Now if I could only develop the protagonist and the plot…As a side effect, I decided to buy MasterClass for myself, because I also want to take the classes of Neil Gaiman, Malcolm Gladwell, Shonda Rhimes, and Dan Brown to start.)

– I read quite a few books, most of them on writing. With novels, I loved Katie Fforde’s A Rose Petal Summer, and I’m currently enjoying Matt Haig’s How to Stop Time.

– I binged Clickbait (it was really engaging), Downtown Abbey (I’m still brainstorming related article topics; I’m impatiently counting down till Netflix premieres the film!), and the second season of Control Z. (I can’t recommend this one enough.)

– I started writing A Change Would Do You Better, the sequel to my romcom drama A Change Would Do You Good.

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Let me know in the comments how you have been doing, whether you’ve had to deal with unproductive periods and why.

 

Want to read more by me about health and writing? Check out these posts below.

–  How to Manage the Evil Three: Rejection, Depression & Procrastination

– A Love Letter to All Freelancers With a Health Condition

– Benefits of Having a Cold for Freelance Writers

– 9 Productive Things Writers Can Do When They Have a Cold