How Do You Maintain a Work/Life/Writing Balance?

Last night I was writing a blog post for a client with one hand and shoveling cereal into my mouth with the other. Ah, the joys of freelance writing.

Sound familiar?

Have you caught the writing bug but find time management to be an issue? You’re not alone.

Most of us have jobs.

We have family obligations.

Friends may be pulling you to go out on weekends during optimal writing times.

How do you juggle the craft of writing when life tends to get in the way?

Striking a work/life/writing balance is definitely not easy, but it can be done.

Make Writing Your Side Hustle

Few of us are able to make writing our living.

That’s why many of us have jobs that keep us quite busy.

Whether you work twenty or forty-hours a week, you’re busy.

Even when you’re not working, I’m betting your to-do list is a mile long.

That doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for artistic scribbling.

But how much time do you need?

Why not to commit to writing on the side?

Did you know that most well-known writers present and past worked day-jobs as they struggled to gain recognition for their work?

It’s true.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a surgeon.

Kurt Vonnegut sold cars.

John Grisham wrote in the mornings and during lunch breaks while working – no surprise – as a lawyer.

If these experts can find time during their grueling job schedules, you can do the same.

Set a timer on your phone and commit to writing for that length of time.

Keep the project you’re working on as a bookmark on your browser, such as a Google Doc link.

With the project easy-at-hand, you can easily crank out fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, or an hour of work a day.

Small pieces make up the whole.

And it’s amazing what you can done by writing piecemeal while forming a writing habit.

Surround Yourself with Writers

People like going to the gym because they are surrounded by like-minded fitness fanatics.

Maybe it’s the same with you and writing.

If you can’t seem to get the words down because life gets in the way, join a writing group.

Or form one yourself if there isn’t one in your area.

When I first moved to the town where I now reside, I started a Meetup group focused on fiction writing.

Each week we would meet and write stories based on prompts, objects in the room, or by keeping to a certain theme.

We would then share those stories with the group. It was a lot of fun and the social comradery motivated everyone to produce.

Writing groups are excellent ways to force yourself to write and receive feedback.

Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk is one of my favorite writers who still attends a local writing group to this day.

By joining a club, you’re most likely to get your writing done.

It’s also an event you can mark on your calendar, ensuring it doesn’t interfere with other life obligations.

Don’t Forget to Read

Stephen King famously wrote that “The more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your pen or word processor.”

He also wrote, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.”

Those two quotes have always stuck out to me.

And for that reason, I always find time to read along with writing each day.

Reading is much easier than writing. I keep a Kindle app on my phone and always have a book loaded and ready to go. I read in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, in the sauna at the gym after working out, and right before bed. 

And just like writing, reading doesn’t take a whole lot of time.

Read a page, or three pages.

Read for five or ten minutes.

Or read a chapter a night if you feel you have the time.

The more you read, the better you’ll be as a writer. 

Read and Write Every Day

Now that you know that you don’t need to write all day to become a writer, you should be able to strike a nice balance.

Live your life the way you’re used to, and care for your obligations, then read and write at least a few minutes every day.

Think of writing like building a house.

Few houses are constructed in a day, week, or even a month.

Even one-story family homes take months and the construction process happens piecemeal.

First, the blueprints are drawn up.

The foundation is poured. The first 2x4 is erected, and the first of many nails is hammered into place.

I’m a firm believer that reading and writing in increments of five, ten, and fifteen minutes are key to getting a lot done. Use your phone as a timer, or just go and see how long your stamina can hold.

Or use the Pomodoro technique. A Pomodoro timer on your phone or as a browser extension lets you work for 25 minutes before you take five, then rinse and repeat.

These tiny writing breaks will quickly add up.

Your skill will improve and your impressive body of work will continue to grow.

Like this advice? Leave me some feedback and check back often for more tips and advice on how to get your writing done when life gets in the way.