For those of you who were following along at home, you may have noticed I did not feature a Question of the Month in November. (Check out my post Home Sweet Home for a glimpse into one of the many reasons for my no-question November.) My pace on writing in general has slowed dramatically since early September. Between budget season at work, remodeling and listing our house, holidays, and shopping, there simply hasn’t been a whole lot of time for much else. Oh, and did I mention I have kids? Surely I’ve mentioned the kids.
The point is this: Life happens. And it ain’t gonna stop just because I would rather be a writer than work in Finance. I still have to pay the mortgage, I still have to put food on the table, I still have to put gas in the car. And don’t forget about the kids. Once we get settled into the new house (add moving to the list, by the way), I’m going to have a shorter daily commute and, theoretically, more time to spend on something other than sitting in the car. So I’m going to take a step back and take a good, hard look at how I want to prioritize my additional free time. Hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze some more writing in there.
So this month I want to hear from you: How the hell do you juggle your time to make room for parenting and writing? Share your best tips, tricks and hints on being both a parent and a writer and I’ll include them in a new post at the end of the month. As always, feel free to leave a comment below or email me directly at thedadgumblog@gmail.com. Not only will you be helping me make better use of my time, but you might just help all the other bloggers out there who are desperately seeking that twenty-fifth hour in the day. And maybe you’ll pick up a few pointers for yourself.
The DADgum Blog 
I wish I had the answer! I used to do it a lot in the evenings but my husband got the hump so now we have ‘takeaway and scrabble Thursdays’ to force me to have a break. I try to fit some in when my toddler is in preschool but have to regimented about allocated a time slot otherwise either no housework gets done, or no writing gets done. It’s definitely a tricky one! Good luck.
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And then when it gets regimented, it starts to feel like a chore. We just can’t win!
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The great paradox of parenthood: so much inspiration and so little time/energy/ability to write! On top of your ever-growing to-do list, you still found time to write this post. Victory!
For myself, I have learned to not be too ambitious with the pace of posts. I committed myself to writing every day in November (for NaNoWriMo), and guess what? I feel far short of my goal. I teach full-time, so that kind of dream is just not attainable. Plus, at least for me, my writing is better when I let inspiration lead the way (vs. prescribed deadlines and posting times).
Even in this crazy season of life, you’ll find what works for you. And your readers will be grateful for all the good writing to come 🙂
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“…let inspiration lead the way…” Yes! When I very first started, I was always trying to meet a submission deadline for this or that contest. It really made writing feel too much like work, which caused me to walk away from it for a couple years.
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For me, it’s hardest not to compare myself to all those awesome bloggers who can post every day and seem to be inspired to do such! I tell myself that that’s not my writing calling…at least at this point in my life. And, to be honest, I’d much rather be with children than troll my blog all day 🙂
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I keep my early morning time for writing just because I do not want it to shorten Kiddo’s time. I am already working full time and my Kiddo must feel my absence. But yes, I keep my eyes and mind open for ideas; anytime. Sometimes, writing happens in Office time but definitely not when I am with my Kid.
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Good advice! Gotta prioritize and can’t sacrifice family time!
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