Photo by: John Loo
I'm a busy mom. I have three small children ages 6, 4 and 2. Plus, I homeschool the oldest. A lot of people ask me how I make time to write.
The answer is simple: I make it a priority.
The answer is simple: I make it a priority.
We all have the same twenty-four hours in a day, which means no one can do everything. My top priorities right now are writing and homeschooling. Therefore, my house is not immaculate. I don't cook gourmet meals and I don't sew my own curtains. Just ask my husband, he's in the kitchen doing dishes right now :)
In the mornings, after breakfast, I sit down at the computer and write until 11 am. Then the computer goes off and I focus completely on my son's school lessons and family until 4 pm. At that point anything's game and many times I will pick up my writing again, but other days my family needs me.
Having that set time to focus on family between 11-4 helps me remember not to get carried away at my laptop and to keep things in balance. Because I tend to write and write and forget about the rest of my life sometimes.
Now, when I'm writing during the day, that is not uninterrupted time. In fact, I'm interrupted probably 3743487 times per minute :) but I make do, because that's the phase of life I'm in. The uninterrupted time comes after they go to sleep at night and I stay up way too late.
Finding time to do what you love is an issue for many people, so I've asked my lovely writing friends how they do it and here's their answers:
ED Martin
I'm in grad school, usually work full time, and have a kid, so finding time to write isn't easy. Fortunately I'm also a night owl. I try to use those couple hours after everyone's asleep to catch up on writing stuff.
I also write a lot of stuff by hand. Sometimes, despite best intentions, the internet is just too distracting. Removing the temptation can help me focus, especially when my time is limited.
Susan Stuckey
I ran my on business from my home which took eight hours a day, have a husband and child (so all the attached housework there), plus have multiple dogs and cats (who all need love, attention, food etc). I who was never a morning person started getting up two hours earlier to have time to write.
Mary Harner
As a science graduate student my life is so busy it's almost cliche. I have to teach and grade three classes and proctor/grade for a tenure professor who's too good for that nonsense. On top of that I have to keep up with my upper level classes and produce relevant research in a timely manner. The key to finding time for writing in my life is prioritizing. Growing up I was always told "you always have time for what you want to do". This was usually said when I blew off my responsibilities to play or pursue a hobby, but now I use it to motivate my hobbies. When I sit down at the computer to relax and my fingers go on autopilot and type facebook or I've stared at a homework problem with no inspiration for half an hour I stop and turn to writing. Facebook can always wait and taking a break often gives me clarity on homework. Long story short, I never consider writing a waste of time, and that makes it easier to find time to spend on it.
Krista Quintana
My life has calmed down a bit recently, but there was a point where I was a full time nursing student, doing clinicals at the hospital, with a full time Sunday School teacher responsibility for 12 5-year-olds with 7 piano students in my free time. I found that carrying a notebook helped me because no matter where I was, I could write. I had two hour classes with a 10 minute break in the middle and I would use those 10 minutes to scribble as much as I could. Especially with studying, I would reward myself with writing. If I studied for 2 hours, I would take 15-20 minutes to write before going back to study 2 more hours. Even now, at work, I bring a notebook that fits in my pocket, just in case there's a lull (which isn't very often). Some days, it's only during my lunch break that I have time.
Nancy Zrymiak
The best advice I can give is turn off the TV. Next to that, I limit reading to right before bed and try to limit social media to an hour or so a day. Be honest with what is taking up your "writing time" and get rid or limit your time doing it.
How do you make time to do what you love?
In the mornings, after breakfast, I sit down at the computer and write until 11 am. Then the computer goes off and I focus completely on my son's school lessons and family until 4 pm. At that point anything's game and many times I will pick up my writing again, but other days my family needs me.
Having that set time to focus on family between 11-4 helps me remember not to get carried away at my laptop and to keep things in balance. Because I tend to write and write and forget about the rest of my life sometimes.
Now, when I'm writing during the day, that is not uninterrupted time. In fact, I'm interrupted probably 3743487 times per minute :) but I make do, because that's the phase of life I'm in. The uninterrupted time comes after they go to sleep at night and I stay up way too late.
Finding time to do what you love is an issue for many people, so I've asked my lovely writing friends how they do it and here's their answers:
ED Martin
I'm in grad school, usually work full time, and have a kid, so finding time to write isn't easy. Fortunately I'm also a night owl. I try to use those couple hours after everyone's asleep to catch up on writing stuff.
I also write a lot of stuff by hand. Sometimes, despite best intentions, the internet is just too distracting. Removing the temptation can help me focus, especially when my time is limited.
Susan Stuckey
I ran my on business from my home which took eight hours a day, have a husband and child (so all the attached housework there), plus have multiple dogs and cats (who all need love, attention, food etc). I who was never a morning person started getting up two hours earlier to have time to write.
Mary Harner
As a science graduate student my life is so busy it's almost cliche. I have to teach and grade three classes and proctor/grade for a tenure professor who's too good for that nonsense. On top of that I have to keep up with my upper level classes and produce relevant research in a timely manner. The key to finding time for writing in my life is prioritizing. Growing up I was always told "you always have time for what you want to do". This was usually said when I blew off my responsibilities to play or pursue a hobby, but now I use it to motivate my hobbies. When I sit down at the computer to relax and my fingers go on autopilot and type facebook or I've stared at a homework problem with no inspiration for half an hour I stop and turn to writing. Facebook can always wait and taking a break often gives me clarity on homework. Long story short, I never consider writing a waste of time, and that makes it easier to find time to spend on it.
Krista Quintana
My life has calmed down a bit recently, but there was a point where I was a full time nursing student, doing clinicals at the hospital, with a full time Sunday School teacher responsibility for 12 5-year-olds with 7 piano students in my free time. I found that carrying a notebook helped me because no matter where I was, I could write. I had two hour classes with a 10 minute break in the middle and I would use those 10 minutes to scribble as much as I could. Especially with studying, I would reward myself with writing. If I studied for 2 hours, I would take 15-20 minutes to write before going back to study 2 more hours. Even now, at work, I bring a notebook that fits in my pocket, just in case there's a lull (which isn't very often). Some days, it's only during my lunch break that I have time.
Nancy Zrymiak
The best advice I can give is turn off the TV. Next to that, I limit reading to right before bed and try to limit social media to an hour or so a day. Be honest with what is taking up your "writing time" and get rid or limit your time doing it.
How do you make time to do what you love?
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