6 Ways to Make Time to Write: A Guide for Busy Parents

6 Ways to Make Time to Write: A Guide for Busy Parents

You don’t realize how overwhelming parenthood can be until you are knee-deep in diapers. Our children are the best thing that happens to us. But is it okay to give up a career or passion for them?

If you are passionate about writing, you should never give up. There are no golden rules that will work for everyone. Some planning tips can help you discover how you can still write while taking care of your children.

1. Write Everyday

If you want to nurture your writing skills, you have to find a way to write every day. Don’t wait for the weekend when your partner or a family member promised to watch over the kids.

Write a little every day, so that you add something regularly to your project. You don’t have to spend hours writing. Even if you manage to only write a paragraph or a few lines, make it a habit to write every day.

Following a schedule can be tough for a parent. Each day can be as unpredictable as the next. You don’t know when your child/baby has a sleepless night or an illness.

The key to finding time for writing is persistence. Don’t worry if you miss one day; just make sure you continue it from the next day.

2. Have a Writing Goal

Being a parent means you will always have more pressing matters to attend to. This can lead to you pushing writing out of the way to make time for more worthy things. This is why having an attainable writing goal can help.

What are your writing goals? Having a goal gives you something solid to work on. Not having a goal means you are writing aimlessly, which can weaken your desire to write.

Whether it is writing six blog posts a month or one novel in six months, you need to have a clear idea of what you are striving for. Find a complete guide for book writing if you are writing one. Knowing where you are headed with your writing can help you stick to writing every day.

3. Be More Disciplined

We know what you are thinking. How do we maintain discipline in a house of chaos? After a tired and endless parenting day, no one would want to sit down and write.

Most of us just want to crash down on the couch and watch an episode of our favorite show or catch up on that much-needed sleep. But, you don’t want your writing skills to fade away, you just need to be more disciplined.

If you have a writing goal, you have to be strict with yourself. Think of writing as part of your self-care. Just as you might feel the need for me-time, treat honing your writing skill as an activity. Remember that your writing deserves to be nurtured.

4. Write While Your Kids Are Distracted

Your children will take up most of your time, but they also have their distractions. If they are busy, they won’t bother you.

Try to cram in some writing whenever your kids are distracted. But that doesn’t mean you should pop them in for a bath and go write! Even with you staying close by, it can lead to a serious accident!

Since babies do sleep anywhere from 8 to 18 hours, the only distraction they may have is sleeping! Older kids would like to spend time having fun doing their own thing. Come up with activities and games to keep your child preoccupied while writing.

No, it doesn’t make you a bad parent to let your kids watch their favorite vlogger for an hour longer. Their playtime is an excellent choice for you to sit down and get some writing done. Don’t scroll through social media and waste those precious minutes.

5. Follow Their Sleep Schedule

Creating a suitable sleep schedule is a must if you want your child to grow healthy. It might be challenging to stick to a proper sleeping schedule while they are still young, but they will get conditioned to it with time.

If you can help them maintain that schedule, you can set some time aside for writing accordingly. However, we understand that it may not always be possible. In that case, you must be prepared to follow their schedule.

Be flexible with your writing time. Let’s say their bedtime is at 9 but they were awake till 11. Try to squeeze in a little bit of writing before you hit the sack. If they go to bed late, chances are that they will wake up late. So, you can try waking up earlier and using that time to write.

6. Ask For Help

Parents who are the primary caregivers tend to become obsessive with their kids. From worrying about what they are thinking to try to control what they are doing, they obsess over it 24/7.

Break out of that constant cycle. Get some time away from the kids. Ask your parents or trusted friends to babysit for a few hours. Sit at the park and write. There is no shame in asking for help. As the primary caregiving mom/dad, you don’t have to try and do everything yourself.

Talk to your partner and ask them to help out more. If you are a single parent, a loved one, or a close friend who you can truly trust. Remember that writing is important to you too, so you must try and make time for it.

Final Thoughts

Don’t let parenthood occupy all your time, try to squeeze in a few minutes of writing every day. If you don’t get hours to write, that’s fine. Create a writing goal and stay persistent with your writing.

Live a more disciplined life. Remember that you may not be able to control your circumstance (or kids!) but you can control yourself. Adapt to your child/baby’s schedule. We hope these top tips help you find time to write as a busy parent!

Guest Article.