My coworkers and I often joke about how I come to work to relax, but there's a lot of truth in that statement. My weekends can be incredibly busy. Yesterday was one of those days. We had a 5K in the morning, then went house hunting, then went to the football game. Even though we left at halftime, we still didn't get home until 10:00 p.m. We hardly spent any time at home. Today, we have a company picnic to go to.
Most of the things we do on the weekends are fun, but some days I just want to sit on my butt and edit. Or write. It all depends on where I'm at in a project. It seems lately that hasn't been a possibility. Eventually the edits will get done, but there definitely isn't enough time in a day.
But that's always the case. The world always stands in your way and does everything in it's power to stop you from writing. The kids need something, the house needs cleaned, you have appointments to go to. In any day, there are probably 100 things that will take me away from writing. And it will continue to happen indefinitely if I let it.
The world doesn't care if you get your writing/editing done, so YOU have to. You have to carve out time during the day to do what you want to do. You have to shut everyone else out and just focus on what you want to do. This can be hard, especially when the kids or the spouse needs attention and you're ignoring them AGAIN to work on your book.
Balancing all of these things is difficult. Like I said, there isn't enough time during the day. Plus, there's the added complication of guilt--and that can include feeling guilty for not writing. But when it comes to family, there are always ways to make up to them later. And the house will always wait for you. It will continue to be dirty until you get to it.
My goal is to spend 15-30 minutes each day working on my writing--minimum. I often do it at night after the kids have gone to bed while sitting on the couch watching TV with the spouse. Is it ideal? No, but at least I get everything accomplished that I need to accomplish. I also try to squeeze time in wherever I can--lunch, in the waiting room, while I'm cooking, at sporting events when the boys aren't doing their thing. One of my favorite times of the year is when the kids are in sports and have practice. I have a dedicated hour twice a week while they're doing their thing to work on my stuff. It's fantastic!
Do you have any tricks that you use to get your writing/editing done? How do you push back when the world stands in your way?
