Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Making Time in a Busy Life


We all have busy lives and hectic schedules.  Maybe you work 40+ hours a week as a nurse, an accountant, a lawyer, or a teacher.  Or you may be a student with a full course load and a part-time job.  You could be a mom or a dad busy with bath-times, temper tantrums, school schedules, extra-curriculars, lunches, dinners, breakfasts and snacks.  You may even (most likely) be some combination of all of the above. 
WritingImage by jjpacres via FlickrSo what does that mean for the time you’ve got to write?
Usually, if you’re human and not some mutant-type being that requires no food, rest or free-time, it means that if you truly want to write, you have to make the time to do so. 
It could mean that you’re writing during your lunch time. 
You may have to write in 15-minute stretches between classes or during study breaks.
Or maybe you have to take advantage of nap-times to sit down at the computer and write.  You could be that parent who is sitting with a notebook on your lap and scribbling ideas down as they come to you, while you’re watching the kids in gymnastics/skating/swimming lessons/etc.
The bottom line, no matter what you do or who you are, is that you’ve got to use the time that you can, take advantage of every moment that you can grasp and write.
I have three kids – 7-, 5-, and 3-years old.  The oldest is at school all day and the middle one is in doing half-days, while I (mostly) stay at home with the youngest.  They each do gymnastics, putting us at the club 3 days a week for their lessons.  The two younger ones also do skating lessons twice a week and the oldest started piano lessons this fall too.  On top of this I’m working part-time as well.  And that is just what we’ve got to do outside of the home – there are still of course all the regular chores, errands and tasks involved in caring for and taking care of a home and three kids.
So when do I write?
Honestly, whenever I can.  I keep a notebook in my purse with a pencil so that I can jot down ideas when I’m waiting for the kids at school or watching lessons.  I spend an hour or two in the morning on the computer checking e-mails, working on my blogs, ‘playing’ on Facebook and Twitter, and doing revisions and edits on my work.  And I spend an hour or so after I put the kids to bed most nights writing and working on my stories. 
Does this happen every single day? No.  Does this ‘schedule’ work every single time I use it? No.  Does it work more often than not? Absolutely.
We’re all busy people and we have to take that into account.  Very few of us, especially when we’re starting out, have the time or freedom to spend 8 hours each day writing and working on the computer.  But we all wish we could.  We all work toward the dream of being able to do just that.  Until then, all we can do is write when we can, and carve out as much time as we can manage.
So find the time that works for you, be happy writing and keep up the good work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And don't forget that it's Wednesday so we've got the Writer Wednesday Blog Hop going on!  To link up and hop click on the button to the right, and we'll see you around!
Enhanced by Zemanta

6 comments:

  1. Great message today. I'm always so crazy busy, I'm surprised I have a few ms's under my belt with all the other stuff I do. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Totally! Just this morning, after two days of feeling the groove by getting up at 5:00 to write before work, my youngest got up at 5:05 and wanted to be with me. I love him, I do. But part of me was crying inside because I just wanted some quiet time to write. Your point of squeezing it in when you can is sometimes all we've got to work with. And those 10 and fifteen minutes do add up, eventually!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like my life...I pretty much do everything when I can! I'm a teacher, so I have to add on grading essays, too! Following from the hop.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Had one of those busy days today - Too many pick ups - Too many drop offs - Too much driving -

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's so inspiring and motivating! Awesome post!

    ReplyDelete