Hi Friends,

Today I have something personal to share with you.

Last month I avoided a near burnout. I didn’t think burnout can happen to me. I am not going to work, don’t have young children to look after, isn’t providing care to sick parents. Most of my time is my own and I am doing things I love to do. How could I burnout?

But I was wrong.

So were many other people whose candid accounts I read when I started researching the subject.

Luckily I paid attention to early signs and rather than getting consumed by it and letting it cause long term damage I put strategies in place.

We have all been working from lockdown situations for months now. There haven’t been many breaks and people are working longer hours from confined spaces. No holidays are in sight. That can cause burnout.

I am a big fan of routines. Routines get the work done. But routines itself can cause burnout.

If you haven’t experienced burnout before, it can destroy you big time. It is pretty scary in itself.

I have written a long and well-researched article Burnout Is A Real Deal, Watch Out For It. I urge you to read it to know what it can do to you, what are the warning signs and what strategies to put in place to cope with it.

Now on the good news side of things.

Last week I told you about an interesting conversation I had with a Medium writer Cody McGraw. He wrote a post about our conversation too. Have a read of it here: Writing Process | Supporting Fellow Writers.

Kal who runs a blog Kulture Kween about food and culture interviewed me. We talked about food, festivals, and writing. Have a read of it here: Neera Mahajan The Inspiring Indian Australian Story Teller.

This week I submitted two chapters of my novel for critique to the novel-writing group I am a member of since 2015. Thankfully, it took me back into the novel. I am planning to spend one hour a day on the book.

One of the biggest reasons we struggle to finish their novels is we write sporadically. We write for a few days and then we leave for a while and then get back into it when we get time. Getting in and out of a book kills it. We lose touch with the characters and their world. I am hoping my strategy to stay in the world of my characters at least an hour a day will work and help get the first draft done by the end of the year.

How are you enjoying my sketches by the way? I decided to use them in the newsletter instead of the stock pictures. I am getting better with them, am I not?

That is it from me this week folks.

I will write to you again next Friday.

Until then take care.