I used to believe I had attention deficit disorder. My interests span a number of things – writing, drawing, illustration, filmmaking, writing music, sports, video games, reading, tabletop gaming — and I’m usually engaged with several of those at once, either personally or volunteering time to someone else. I’m fortunate. I have an open mind and I’ve experienced life in a multifaceted fashion, having been introduced to so many things as a result of a military upbringing, military career and other factors.
As mentioned, I have four or five separate projects going on at any one time. Some are hobby. Some help me keep the skill fresh. However, I tend to focus more on writing and illustration because I’ve been able to sell those and have had some success at both. So, we’ll focus specifically on those two here.
Throw in a wealth of other factors — a happy, eager and smart 4-year-old child, a fantastic wife, chores that need to be done, just being tired, just wanting to goof off – and that can be a creative killer. I also play softball, like to golf, and occasionally turn on my Xbox 360.
Here’s a little of how my day goes Monday through Friday:
6:30-7:45 a.m. – Prep myself, help prep 4-year-old for work/school
8 a.m.-5 p.m. – Work
5-6:30 p.m. – Dinner/family time
6:30-9 p.m. – 4-year-old time/softball (Thursdays) or, occasionally, me time
9 p.m.-midnight – Varies. Sometimes my times. Sometimes tired time. Sometimes wife time.
Midnight-6:30 a.m. — Sleep
This is the clean version. Really, there are a hundred little things that pop up in between (tub time for the child; meals out; road trips and so on) In short, I have to plan for creative time. It’s up to me to find the minutes to write and draw. As I am NOT a morning person (Uncle Jim from the Absolute Write forums talks of getting up at 3 a.m. to write before he started doing it full time) So, The two best times are the 6:30-9 p.m. slot as well as the 9-midnight slot.
If I had my way and were 10 years younger, I’d write from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. It’s when the creative pistons are firing and the ideas are flowing without restraint. However, staying up until 1 a.m. means just five hours sleep. My engine used to get enough fuel on five hours. Old age stinks. Work and family happen. It’s rare when that happens.
So, I’m taking time to find out what block of time suits me best and how often I can use it. I’m also ensuring that I’m using the block of time on something creative. Also, I’m focusing on finishing what I start rather than having a dozen or so projects left lingering. Not ADD. Probably just poor time management.
Your turn? What’s your time? What do you do that steals time away from your core creative activities like writing and how can you curb it? Chime in with a comment.
Popularity: 8% [?]
I swear you wrote this for me and the more I learn about you, the more I realize what similar creatures we are. We can blame Dad. :-) that said, I have a draft post in progress that relates directly to this blog post, I’ll let you know when it’s finished. Currently, D.C. Is pulling me away (Mike needed the computer at home).
I am clinically ADD aspiring novelist — I add the “clinically” because many people like to say they’re ADD without ever having been formally diagnosed — and that has a tremendous impact on my ability to focus my creative juices around the rest of my life. A busy work day, particularly one filled with writing or looking at a computer screen, can leave me no mental energy left for writing/editing my novel. And I suffer from all the same distractions as Jason, both real and self-imposed (except the 4yrold). I try to get one solid night of writing a week, typically my wife’s Thursday TV shows night. If I’m lucky, work isn’t slamming me and I’m feeling motivated, it might be 2 nights. That one night has to be a self-imposed worknight, or I’ll find myself doing something else. I wish I had the ability, like Jason, to juggle multiple creative projects and a thinking job, but I work with what I’ve got. I read Jason’s FB posts and applaud/envy his multi-tasking and creative talents, and wonder how you do it.
Everyone has their own hurdles to overcome to finish a novel. That’s why it’s so rewarding to do so. Set your own pace, evalute what works for you. I’m a morning person who tries to write for 1 hour in the am and 1 hour in the pm. I also get easily distracted and can only write in 10 min. sprints. Believe it or not, I get tons of writing done in that short period of time. That’s what works for me.