To borrow a phrase from Grandma Marble, writing is a hobby unless you’re already established and well known. There has to be a certain truth to this because I know that most of you have day jobs or other responsibilites that come before writing. So, when is a good time to write? I’ve read that some people find time to write everyday regardless of their state of being. I can’t help but wonder if that really works. Suppose you’ve had a bad day at work, your children are sick, or your favorite pet gold fish has died. Is your mind still going to be as creative under emotional stress? I doubt it. I postpone writing when I’m under heavy stress, of any kind, because I don’t want to subconsciously write nonsense. Also, I truly believe that humans are more productive and creative during periods of emotional peace.

Taking the human condition into consideration, there are certain times during day when each person works at optimal performance. This time varies for each person so you have to know yourself. After eating lunch is when most people work at their lowest performance because we tend to get sleepy afterwards. When do you work at your very best? I have my most creative thoughts early in the morning before I get out of bet, so that’s when I write. When I don’t have time, I jot my ideas down in my notebook.

OK, now that we know when we should write how do we actually find the time to do it? To answer this question you will need to ask yourself another question. How important is writing to you? If it’s very important you will have to schedule your other responsibilites around it or sacrifice something to make time. I’m going to end with a quote by Max Beerbohm because it fits so well with this topic. “No fine work can be done without concentration and self-sacrifice and toil and doubt.”