by Julie Lavender @JLavenderWrites
Do you have a hard time being idle or is this just me?
I recently returned from a writers conference that required an almost-seven hour drive through back country roads—and the speed limit on most of those county roads topped out at a whopping forty-five miles per hour! Because I’d attended this conference before, I knew the arduous journey ahead of me. Therefore, I left my house prepared to multitask—safely—on my trek.
The night before I left, I downloaded a couple of writing classes from a previous writers conference, downloaded a children’s chapter book, wrote (in large print on a sticky note) the names of conference speakers, and made sure the Bible app on my phone worked properly.
The next morning, with my car completely packed, I plugged in my phone and typed in the conference center’s address. I stuck the list of speakers on the corner of my car’s GPS screen. Then I set out on my journey with ten ideas for passing the time on the drive.
If you’re headed to a writers conference soon, (safely) employ some of these tips on the long drive. These same tips can also work for a day of air travel to a conference.
1. PRAY
I typically prayer-walk daily in the morning before I jump into writing, errands, or household projects. When I know I’m going to be in the car for a long time alone, I save my prayer time until I depart. I love to pray on a long car ride, talking aloud to God, pouring out my praise, and lifting up my requests.
2. PRAY for conference speakers and staff
I pray for writers almost every day. I pray in general, but I also lift up many of my writer friends by name and need. On the way to a conference, I spend a long time praying for attendees, speakers, faculty and staff, schedules, and the hopes and dreams of all those involved. I can quickly glance at the list of names on my sticky note to help me remember to pray for conference faculty and staff specifically. If I’m on faculty, I ask the Lord to guide my words to bless those whom I come in contact with.
3. PRAISE
After my prayer time, I focus on my surroundings with the intention of offering God praise for His creations and thanksgiving for the manmade objects around me. (On this particular trip, I had to come to a complete stop—twice—to allow half a dozen goats and then a turkey to cross the road.)
4. LISTEN to Scripture on an audio Bible
After my prayer and praise time, I pulled over long enough to pull up my Bible app. I listened to my Scripture reading for the day as the miles sped by.
5. LISTEN to an audio book
On my next pullover, I hit the button to listen to several chapters of a favorite middle grade novel.
6. CALL writer friends you haven’t seen in a while
Using Siri and working hands-free, I called several writer friends I’ve met at other conferences, ones that couldn’t make it to the one I was heading to, and caught up on life.
7. CALL your mom
Again, safely and hands-free, I called Momma to check in and make plans for errands together when I returned.
8. BRAINSTORM
Using the touch screen on my car’s dashboard and with Siri’s help again, I sent texts to myself about possible articles I hoped to write soon.
9. PLAN the week’s menu for after you return from the conference
Safely and hands-free, I sent texts to myself with meal ideas and grocery notes.
10. LISTEN to praise and worship songs
With the few minutes of time I had left after completing all of the activities above, I used the scan and seek buttons on my steering wheel to find a Christian station to enjoy praise and worship music.
Obviously, all my tips come with a warning to employ with the utmost safety precautions while traveling by car or in the air. If you have other suggestions, ones I might try on my next writers’ conference road trip, please share them below. I’d love to know how you pass the time away on the way to a conference.
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