It’s that time again: time to choose a theme for the previous month. With every calendar page turn this year, I asked no one in particular how we can already be another month deeper into 2026. It seems like just yesterday that my Denver Pioneers earned their 11th national championship, days before that I was in Loveland for the NCAA regional, before that I was attending my first conference as a writer, and a blink or two before that, I was balancing various projects and getting this website online.
My theme for January focused on recognizing every little achievement, no matter how small or how long I took to get it done. For February, my theme was a reminder to just start, no matter how long ago I think I should’ve started. In March, I took inspiration from Ransom Notes and the college hockey I was watching and embraced persistence in the face of struggle.
Much like March, my April theme was elusive at first. When I tried to consider April as a whole, I came up empty—or maybe too full. I didn’t write about it as much on my blog, but outside of my (currently thrilling) life as a hockey fan, I was tired. In April, my overall energy dipped, I awkwardly juggled projects, there never seemed to be enough hours in a day, and somehow there were more tasks on my to-do list at the end of the day than when I started.
In my writing life, I made varying amounts of progress in many directions. I wrote and submitted a short story, made a list of submission opportunities, researched agents to query, considered comp titles, wrote blog posts, reread a writing craft book, reread a favorite productivity book, prolonged the prewriting phase of a novel. It sounds like a long list, but if each task was an apple, some I finished, of others I only managed to take a bite or two.
In April, when I didn’t write “enough” words or write for long “enough,” I would push myself to continue working, even when I knew I needed a break. When I didn’t put in “enough” effort, I labeled it laziness. When I didn’t get “enough” done, I made tomorrow’s to-do list longer—not always out of necessity. I rarely accepted that I accomplished as much as I had the time and energy for that day or week.
I found myself celebrating the wins of my Denver Pioneers and Colorado Avalanche more than my own accomplishments. Another national title for the Denver Pioneers and a first-round playoff sweep (and a 2-0 lead in the second round!) for the Colorado Avalanche are certainly worth celebrating, but so were—are—all the small things I achieve in a day, a week, a month.
My theme for April is what I needed to give myself more of: grace. Giving myself grace isn’t about making a pattern of accepting reduced quality, effort, or time spent working. Giving myself grace is about deliberate self-compassion when I can’t meet my own (sometimes unreasonable) expectations.
Instead of bashing myself for sharing April’s Theme of the Month later than I wanted, I am reminding myself of my previous themes. January: I wrote this post and shared it. February: I started writing this post later than planned, but I finished it. March: I may struggle and think I’m not making enough progress, but I continue to write and share my work.
Would practicing deliberate self-compassion and grace help you this month? I think it would help me.
I’ll keep you posted on my writing life and pursuit of publication, and as always, LET’S GO PIOS! GO AVS GO!
