I couldn’t believe it when my best friend asked me: "How would you manage kids and content writing together?" My fussed look took her by surprise as she thought she had asked a legitimate question. To me, however, it was not something that needed much focus.
What the hell did I know?!! The moment I started writing articles as part of my new job, I knew what my best friend was talking about. It is a tedious task. Not only does writing demand time, but it also warrants uninterrupted concentration to let one’s creative juices flow.
Any female writer with kids and their endless tirades would know that both require a mystical equilibrium that is far from being readily achievable.
But don’t let this come in the way of choosing the career of your dreams. If you’re thinking: Is writing and maintaining family life a balance that is impossible to achieve? Well, the answer is a clear NO.
As I discovered, there IS something that you can do to create a favorable atmosphere where you can successfully extract valuable time from your daily chores while giving 100% attention to your family commitments.
Curious to know what these are? Dive right in:
- Place importance on your work
The first important step is to sit down with your kids and tell them just how vital your career is for your personal growth. You can put in factors like you having a lively overall persona, better financial aspects, along with any other features that may pertain to your personal life.
Kids today are more clever than we might give credit to! They understand what we say to them when we treat them like adults.
- Assign a place of work
Remember that your living room might be occupied all the time by busy kids or pets. It always helps to have a secluded place of work so your kids would know that you shouldn’t be disturbed while sitting there.
Even if you don’t have room to spare, don’t worry. Picking your bedroom’s corner or placing a desk and chair in the backyard may work too.
- Pick a specific work time
As choosing a separate work spot is important, so is assigning a fixed time of the day for writing. It will help you to juggle other family chores around this time. Your kids would also know that mom is unavailable at certain times of the day and they are more likely to work their schedules accordingly.
See! Balancing home life/parenting while maintaining an active writing career isn’t that hard after all. All you need is to be a little organized, a tad bit prioritized, and a dash of luck and Voila! All good to go!
Good luck!
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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4 comments:
Good and informative blog. It definitely helps to know that how mothers balance their private life with work.
Fatima--Thank you for writing a Friday Shout Out. I remember someone saying--many years ago--that we make priorities for things we value. We have to consider it an important endeavor... and then we're sure to carve out time for it.
Good luck with your writing. And if you figure out a way to keep your cat from scratching everything up, you could probably become an international consultant. ;)
Fatima,
Thank you so much for writing the post many women need to see. If you don't value your writing, you can't expect other people to value it. Again, thank you!
I am proud of u, great work keep it up. Love u
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