Finding Time to Write

Writing is one of my favourite things to do (which is probably what you’d expect an aspiring writer to say). It’s certainly up there with reading and possibly just behind watching football (nothing gets near the exhilaration of watching your favourite team win a big game), although writing is nowhere near as infuriating as football can be on occasion (yes, I’m one of them fans); well, most of the time. Look at me, five lines in and I’m already digressing.

So, back to the topic at hand. I love to write, but finding time to do so can be a struggle for a variety of reasons (I kick myself for whiling the days at home during my days off from the part time job I held in my early 20s). Work (the day job) is a big culprit. I’ve gone beyond my fingers and toes to figure out that it takes up over a quarter of my waking week (and that’s mainly because I generally get nowhere near the recommended amount of sleep) and writing during the time I'm being paid to do something else is usually frowned upon. My writing career having not quite kicked off yet though, I do have to earn money to fund my parenting habits – speaking of…

Kids can be so demanding (well, mine certainly can!). They take up plenty of my time and attention (as well they should, I’m sure many would say). They demand to be fed and they demand that I play with them; they’re just downright distracting and looking after them takes up at least half of my working week. My weekdays comprise of getting the children ready for school, then work, then picking them up, then cooking tea (not dinner) before we finally get them ready for bed and my own tea (not dinner) is cooked. After all that, when it’s finally the time to sit down and write, my head suddenly feels like a piece of lead has grown within it.

Then there is family time (have I not already gone through that?). No, because this time the wife gets in on the action; and sometimes the extended lot, too. Often this will mean leaving the house and being nowhere near my laptop, but it always means that it’s impossible to focus on my computer for more than five minutes at a time. Then, when the children are in bed, I have to (I mean want to) spend some quality time with the wife. More than likely this will include watching some form of TV until one of the kids inevitably wakes up. If the show isn’t all that gripping, I’ll jot down some notes, but that’s about all I’ll get done during these evenings.

Like most humans, I do like to have some form of social life (although as somewhat of an introvert, this does not have to be every week). Nevertheless, some of the time that I could allocate to writing is taken away (although, more than anything, it allows us time to let our hair down away from our offspring). I do take the time back when the wife is enjoying her social life however, at least until one of the children inevitably wake up (see a theme her?). Alongside reading and writing (and football, sometimes), going out to eat and drink is one of my favourite pastimes, so I am by no means complaining.

Then there is general distraction. Facebook is my worst vice (I’ve looked at Facebook at least 10 times while writing this), particularly looking for notifications on my author page or reading through (and often getting annoyed by) the various football related posts I see. There are also the many football matches I like to watch, or cricket, or the Football Manager game I like to play (this is on next to me as I write), or Cricket Captain, until the kids inevitably wake up (sorry, autopilot). Beyond Facebook and games, there are plenty of other things that have me acting like a cat with a cotton-ball in front of me. Doing random sports gestures that my brain tells me to do, going to the fridge for my 5th snack of the hour, looking up random facts that have no impact on my life, and pawing at the cotton ball in front of my eyes (oh no, that’s the cat) are just some of them.

So, where do I actually find time to write properly? Well, It’s on the train that I get most of my writing done. I make a weekly journey into the office, which takes three hours from start to finish (across two journeys), and it’s great. Distractions are scarce, there isn’t much else to do, I have no children with me and I’m not yet in work. I’m not one to talk to random strangers in my carriage, so I just sit, head down and type. I’m actually on the train as I write this, and it’s one of the favourite parts of my week. My big aim for 2025, however, is to cut out more time for writing while I’m at home – there is plenty left to be accomplished!

I need to stress now, that I am by no means complaining. I love my family, I love my kids, I love my life (although I could do without work), but I do wish I could find a few more hours.

By Calum Dewsbury