By Em Petrova
Like most women in the world, I wear many hats. No, I don’t have a fetish and I’m not changing them for a photo shoot! I’m talking about roles. In the course of a day, I do many different jobs. I’m wife, mother, writer, cleaning personnel (both in and out of the home), family counselor, chauffeur, chef (one who burns food), marketing guru and accountant as well as daughter, sister and friend. I’m sure there are more, but at the moment, I’ve overwhelmed myself”¦
Today I’m going to focus on how I manage to raise four kids, have a part-time cleaning job and rock out so many new books, not to mention how I keep my hubby happy. It’s all about multi-tasking and juggling the pans on the fire.
With my kids home for the summer, I asked myself the question I do every year around May. How will I get any writing done with four chirping voices and four needy stomachs in constant attendance?
Well, thankfully my kids have a rough time getting up most school days, so they naturally sleep in. And while I might catch an extra half hour of sleep, I’m awake earlier than they are. That means I have about forty-five minutes to sort through emails and create a to-do list. After they’re awake, it’s a bit harder. I’m popping up and down, slinging food and playing bartender (virgin Kool-Aid of course). During this time, I know I don’t have a huge block of time to get some words down, so I find a job on my list which fits the time slot. Twenty minutes? I could write a blog post. Ten? Promoting books.
At the beginning of the summer, I sat my kids down and told them I need uninterrupted time to write. My youngest is four, so they can feasibly play quietly for an hour without my eagle eye on them. Twice a day, they give me an hour to do writing sprints. These are my balls-to-the-wall, put-as-many-words on the screen as I can before someone screams/gets a boo-boo/is about to expire of thirst.
When my sprints are finished, I reward my awesome kiddos by doing an art project or spending time at the beach.
My Fridays are devoted to cleaning houses. This is actually a soothing exercise during which my characters speak very loudly to me. So while I’m not exactly writing, I’m plotting and getting a sense of my characters’ souls.
Let’s not forget my dear husband. He’s my financial support and my writing cheerleader, but that doesn’t mean he wants to see me at the keyboard day and night. He demands a little of the love I pour into my stories, and it’s well-deserved! So after the kids are off in dreamland, evenings are solely devoted to time with the hubster.
We all have multiple roles we play in life. For me, the key to getting my work done and keeping a happy home life in balance. Finding the chi. I’d love to hear how you busy readers find a balance in life.
Leave a comment!
Em Petrova
~where words mean so much more~
I am constantly trying to juggle writing and the other aspects of my life and usually dropping the balls. Sounds like you have it under control.
Em,
You’re lucky to have someone to listen to you. My hubby is retired. He’s a spur of the moment kinda guy, so I work in between his wishes. lol Email, chats, and blogging to him is a waste of time when I should be writing. Smile.
Good for you for having a routine.
Its lovely that you have that downpacked dearie. I’m still getting that together but hubby is very supportive so it works!
Your lucky that your hubby is so supportive of you and your work.
And I do remember how my daughter and nephew would howl that they were dying of thirst. Thank God for kool-aid.
Now they are big enough not only to get their own, but make it or buy it too. 🙂
Janice~
I truly believe that lists really help me get everything done. If I have a list and tick things off I’m more focused, not to mention organized. It’s so easy to fritter away time without focus.
I thought all the juggling was going to be the death of me. Now, I’m 43, kids are grown, and I’m still alive an kicking. Of course, there are new obstacles. My daughter and grandbaby are living with us, and grandbaby is so cute, I have to pry myself away from her to write. And of course, there’s the day job. Hubby has discovered “Call of Duty” on the x-box so I have a nice hunk of time when he’s preoccupied with that.
Juggling doesn’t get any easier even when the kids are grown! Then there are grandkids and elderly parents to care for. I have less time to write now than before. But we all manage to sneak in time…mine is usually later at night.