More Time To Write?

Oh boy! So hard to believe that we're already into the third month of the year! From a writing standpoint, I feel like 2008 has passed me by thus far. Between health, work, & puppy issues, I haven't had time to breathe and it's been getting me down.

I think for those whom God calls to write, one of the greatest ways Satan attacks us is by throwing obstacles in our way to prevent us from writing. Those obstacles may be emotional (what was I thinking, I can't take time to write a novel with my job's crazy hours!), physical (health problems, chronic pain, etc.), or via other people (who place excess demands on our time without thought for our goals and plans). I'm sure Satan attacks whether we are unpublished or multi-published.

But I have a special respect for those who must write in the little snatches of time around their day job. Particularly if you are the sole source of income in your household. It's like working for hours by day and putting yourself through college at night. It grinds away at you to keep up that breakneck pace - to meet the demands placed on you and yet find brain cells left over with which to be creative and jot a few lines of your novel down on paper.

It's grueling. So I'm all for finding ways to snatch more time out of a day to write. But that's much easier said then done.

With my work and life responsibilities, I have felt like I was being ground down to a fine powder that would soon blow away with a stiff wind. So I took the initiative and asked my boss if I could switch to a four ten-hour day schedule. She said YES!

The bad news? Ten hour days are LONG days, even when you have a day job you mostly love. And it means during those four days you literally do nothing but hurry, get ready, race off to work and get home in time to feed the dog and go to bed so you can do it over the next day.

But the good outweights the bad. I will be more rested with a third day off. I can run those annoying errands on the day off, take care of doctor appts and the like. And best of all, I can finally recapture some thinking time to reflect and write more productively on my novel.

I could have just been mousy and shy and not asked for the change in work-schedule, figuring pessimistically that they'd never grant it. But I'm so glad I didn't choose that route. Because now I have a chance to improve my life. To make a change for the better.

And that's my prayer for you today. Chances are one of you (probably many of you) struggle daily with your responsibilities and finding time to write. Take the initiative. Find ways to put writing time back into your life. God knows writing is your heart's desire. If you are fully dedicated to Him, He'll help you find a way to get that writing time you crave. His answer may not be to give you that secret cabin in the woods with steaming coffee and no interruptions, but He'll find a way to satisfy your soul and your creative cravings with what fits into your life.

Go boldly! Dream. Create. Write!