How does a busy mom find time to write? For that matter, how does anyone when it is not your 9-5 job? When you love words and the way they sound knocking against each other and their amazing potential for changing the world, writing feels, well, fun. And "fun" needs to wait until the work is done. And the work is never done.
So...how to find time to write? I start by thinking about writing. This is a habit I've gradually formed, one of watching the events in my life and going on around me, wondering what lesson can be pulled from it, or how the humor could be conveyed in an article. I tinker with titles in my mind and play with scenarios. Not all of this will come to fruition, but it trains my mind to think like a writer.
Then, I keep an ongoing plan for my writing. I used to keep this in a spiral notebook, but now I do it in Evernote. One of the notebooks I've created is Writing Ideas. I have one note with a list of ideas and then notes with outlines for the ideas I want to begin working on.
Third, I don't restrict my writing to my laptop computer. I write everywhere. I keep a notebook (the old fashioned kind) and my tablet (the electronic kind) with me. That running commentary going in my head? Well, when I'm out running errands I'll sit in the car for a minute and jot down a note about it. Sometimes I'll scribble out a whole draft for a post and sometimes it's just an outline or a title. But I get it down where I can work with it later.
Finally, I grab moments where I can. During naptime. Waiting at the pediatrician's office. In the quiet moments when the children have gone to bed. I try to be disciplined (and probably need to be moreso!) not to use every quiet moment for writing, to the neglect of spending time in conversations with those around me, but I watch for the moments that would otherwise drift away.
How do you find or make time to write? Share in the comments and let's encourage each other!
So...how to find time to write? I start by thinking about writing. This is a habit I've gradually formed, one of watching the events in my life and going on around me, wondering what lesson can be pulled from it, or how the humor could be conveyed in an article. I tinker with titles in my mind and play with scenarios. Not all of this will come to fruition, but it trains my mind to think like a writer.
Then, I keep an ongoing plan for my writing. I used to keep this in a spiral notebook, but now I do it in Evernote. One of the notebooks I've created is Writing Ideas. I have one note with a list of ideas and then notes with outlines for the ideas I want to begin working on.
Third, I don't restrict my writing to my laptop computer. I write everywhere. I keep a notebook (the old fashioned kind) and my tablet (the electronic kind) with me. That running commentary going in my head? Well, when I'm out running errands I'll sit in the car for a minute and jot down a note about it. Sometimes I'll scribble out a whole draft for a post and sometimes it's just an outline or a title. But I get it down where I can work with it later.
Finally, I grab moments where I can. During naptime. Waiting at the pediatrician's office. In the quiet moments when the children have gone to bed. I try to be disciplined (and probably need to be moreso!) not to use every quiet moment for writing, to the neglect of spending time in conversations with those around me, but I watch for the moments that would otherwise drift away.
How do you find or make time to write? Share in the comments and let's encourage each other!