How do you make time to write?

Thankfully my kids go to bed at 7 (I have 3) so I have until 11 or 12 to write (I don't sleep very much, but oh well.).

Retired.

Despite that, I still have a child dependent on me (retarded/autistic young adult) and an aged parent with dementia in a nursing home setting. Oh, and a needy husband, live-at-home adult child, and yet another child with young boys who I help with daycare, so...

I try to write each day in the morning, minimum two hours. I do this before I do most other things. When I can, I squeeze in two hours plus in the afternoon. When I was younger and working full time, I got up at 4:30 AM each morning and wrote for an hour before driving to work.

Those who need and want to write will find the way to make it enough of a priority to work it in.

jaksen said:

Those who need and want to write will find the way to make it enough of a priority to work it in.

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True words. ^^

I write after everyone is asleep, usually from midnight to 2am. I also carry a voice recorder and notebook with me through the day for those moments when something hits me and I don't have time to write.

I get two, maybe, three-hours a day to write, but I'm always writing in my head.

It's very hard. I work a full-time job and have another job on top - I work, on average, 55 hours a week including weekends and evenings. I have a chronic illness which means after this I'm pretty much completely wiped out, but I still have to find the time to exercise or I'll feel even worse. And then there's sleep. And a husband who I try not to neglect.

I've found writing on my lunch break during my day job helps keep things moving. If I have the evening off, I'll take an hour out to write. During my Sunday shifts, where not much happens, I'll try to get more done.

It's slow going, but I'm getting there.

Well, I'm busy with a full day high school (sports by morning, classes at afternoon and sometimes ballroom dance class until eight p.m) but I carry my little laptop with myself everywhere so I write 100 words any twenty minutes I get of rest.

Not to mention I try to sit down and write for an hour when I get home. Even if I don't write, I research, edit or do brainstorms to keep things moving forward. For health reasons in the past three weeks I haven't been able to do so, but I'm trying to get back on track.

Unemployed.

I have to set a timer to write or I get nothing done all day 'cept a whole lotta net surfin'.

I make time in my lab, which is in the shed at the bottom of the garden. It glows all the colours you can't see. I am indebted to CERN and my uncle Alf's forbidden tobacco set for showing me the secret (surprisingly simple) to warping space-time.

Other than that I try to do it in the morning when business is quieter. Recently, too much business, not enough time... or... will.

Robert Gonko said:

I was wondering about this. With a full time job and two kids finding time to work on my novels isn't easy. I'm amazed that I was able to crank out 'The Inheritance' is a mere 7 months (95,000+ words, no less). I was curious about what others who have full-time lives do about this problem.

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Actually, it sounds like you have the problem knocked. That productivity is good, considering your situation.

I was much more productive while I was working. My time was structured, and every evening the family knew that 9 to 11 pm was my writing time. They left me alone for those hours. When I retired, I had entire days and even weeks of free time. But other persons and things knew that, and rushed to lay obligations on me that eat up my time in a random way. Now I have to sneak in time for my writing whenever I can.

Robert Gonko said:

I'm amazed that I was able to crank out 'The Inheritance' is a mere 7 months (95,000+ words, no less). I was curious about what others who have full-time lives do about this problem.

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I'd say you're doing better than most. Like, 98% of most (that statistic is totally made up, so don't quote or believe it).

We've had this discussion before; it comes up a few times a year it seems. And there will probably be some people who come on and say, "Just do it. Push other things aside. Sit down and write."

But it's not possible for some people, due to varying responsibilities and circumstances. The will may be there, but the capability isn't.

Sounds as if you don't really have a problem - you just have a busy life with things going on and you're handling it well.

Honestly, I'm jealous of your productivity. Maybe you should be the one giving out the lessons.

I'm what you might called semi-retired. My wife loves her job, and we can do OK on her salary. Because she has MS, she has much difficulty in doing normal housework stuff, so I'm pretty much a stay-at-home husband. I do the laundry, run errands, keep up with the other housework, etc. And write.

Bill

Robert Gonko said:

I guess I was just curious about what others do. Thanks for all the replies.

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The topic comes up because a lot of people are curious about others' processes. No problem bringing it up again.

I agree with Springs, tho - to me you seem to really have things together, should be giving out the advice ...

How do you make time to write?

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Find the things in your life that are less important to you than writing.

Cut those things.

I live and breathe by a disciplined routine. I work full time,am a mom of four and I write every day.

No excuses unless one of the kids become sick or I am sick. Other than that, I don't miss a day. I write at night when my kids are asleep so there's no chance of interruption. I turn my TV&Internet off and put my phone on vibrate. I take no interruptions unless it is an extreme emergency. I have no issue telling friends&family that I am writing and frankly,leave me alone.



If you can make time to watch a TV show,hair appointment or anything else you absolutely cannot miss,you can do the same for your writing. Look at your schedule and decide what can be missed. Something has to go to make time for your writing.

Treat your writing as a necessity and good time for yourself. View it as a time to indulge,write whatever crazy you are contemplating and a chance to escape the daily grind. Treat it as fun and not as a chore or some dreaded thing to do.

I believe the attitude that you approach your writing with can impact your productivity. I look at my writing as a way to escape all that comes with work and mommy hood. It's fun,relaxing,interesting and all that good stuff so I have no issue doing it daily.

I work part-time from home, but like bearilou, I have to set a timer (I actually use music as a Pomodoro timer, four 25-minute playlists for two hours of writing).

Currently, I am unemployed, so it's not hard to make time. When I get a busier life again, I'll probably have to sacrifice some sleep if I want to write.

No kids yet, so slightly more time. Full-time job takes approx 45-50 hrs per week.

I try to write 6hrs each Sat and Sunday as well as squeeze an hour or two in on weekdays (I live in the compound where I work, so no commute - sounds cultish, I know). Of course, life, work and MrLaylaCakes often interferes with that goal and I would say that I end up writing between 6-12 hrs a week.

The moment I submit my 'finished work', I now give myself an automatic 1 wk break to recharge.(I didn't do that last time and MrLaylaCakes found me to be a very unpleasant roommate).

I agree with those who say you seem to have it down pat. Your productivity is pretty durned impressive, considering the full-time job and family!

The only tip I have is I've learned to write anywhere at anytime. My Blackberry is purty much surgically attached to me, so any time I'm on the public transport, I call up Word To Go and type away with my thumbs. Obviously not as ideal as sitting down at my desk and writing on my laptop, but it all adds up.

When I'm making dinner at home, I tend to sneak in some writing in between the stirring.

Lastly, teh internetz is evil. One of these days I may have to ban myself from AW so I can actually get sh*t done.

Now, I get time to write thanks to my husband. We share homeschooling the kids and take turns working. I get the time that I need.

Before we were married and I worked out of the house full-time, I made time to write by going down to part-time. I know that's not an option for everyone, but it really worked for me. I discovered that I do better with weekly/monthly BIG blocks of time than with just daily small blocks. Even if it added up to the same amount of hours, having a couple of big time chunks was infinitely more productive for me than many small ones.

So, I 1) parked my car at my parents' house in another state, registered it as not in use, and made the commitment to walk everywhere instead of paying for gas, maintenance and insurance, 2) budgeted ruthlessly, 3) managed my weekly laundry by grubbing for quarters under couch cushions and in the bottom of my purse.

I went down to a 2/3 schedule that looked like this: Every Monday off, so that every weekend became a three day weekend. Also, the last week of each month off.

It worked great.

I find time throughout my day, whenever the opportunity arises. I work full-time, freelance about 15 hours a week, study part-time and have two kids, but if anything the combination of all of these things forces me to use my time more efficiently. If I have an evening to myself (and what a JOY that is), I can appreciate the incredible value of it and get heaps done (or just watch trashy movies and wind down, but that's good for the brain too, right?).

You sound like you're doing a bang up job

I have a very portable writing device that I carry around with me at all times. I then sneak in as much writing as I can - at lunchtimes, at the end of the working day, when I get home, after my wife has gone to bed.

On days off I am astonished at my productivity. I can knock out thousands at a time if I sit down in the morning and start writing like it was my day job. Unfortunately, those days are rare, so I have to make do with smaller amounts. Monthly targets (I usually aim for 10k a month) help a great deal.