When Do I Find Time?

The other day, Framed asked me how I find time to read and write as much as I do. I replied that in order to answer her, I'd have to write a whole blog about it. So here I am, doing just that.

First off, reading is life's blood to me. If I don't have a book in progress, I feel like I don't have anything to look forward to. I'm dragging myself from mundane task to more mundane task. But when I know there's a book waiting for me when I'm done, I can zoom through those silly little chores in record time.

Additionally, I homeschool, and so I don't have a rigid "get-up-and-get-out-the-door" schedule. I can get up, get on the computer and write until the kids get up. Or I can write while they're eating lunch, or making their beds, or whatever. The only time I don't sneak in computer time is while they're working on school. The rest of the time is fair game, though. I have the computer right here in the living room (that's new, though, and it's taking me a while to get used to it) so I'm present while they're watching tv or playing or whatever. The computer is on for several hours a day and I pop on and eeeek out a sentence whenever I can.

Another thing I do a lot is stay up late to read and write. I'd like to point out that this blog is being posted at just before 2 a.m. That's not necessarily a healthy habit I'm nurturing (I'm a walking zombie, most of the time) but it's what works for me as far as getting it all done.

So for me, it's not a matter of finding time; it's a matter of squeezing it out of whatever other time I already have. (Generally balancing a sandwich in one hand while typing with the other -- or forgetting to eat altogether.)