With my kids home for the summer, and my deadlines still looming, I’ve been trying to juggle between being an attentive mother and a serious writer. It’s  not easy. I don’t want to miss time with my children while they’re home, and I don’t want to blow my reputation of keeping ahead of my deadlines by falling behind, especially since these are paid opportunities. So what do I do?

First, I try to work when the kids are busy. When they’re watching a favorite TV show, or playing one of their video games, or even playing outside, I can work on a rewrite or jot notes for a story. Then I look for opportunities when we have appointments. All my kids had dental appointments this summer, so that added up to 30 minutes of work per child. That could be a whole story, or at least a good outline. Finally, my kids love sleeping in. I love getting up early. That gives me precious minutes where I can research or write.

Of course, there are times when I need to work while they’re not busy. I’m blessed with pretty understanding kids, so as long as I devote some time throughout my day to them, they are a bit forgiving with an hour or two (or sometimes three) where they know I must get something down on paper (a.k.a. word-processor).

When summer comes to a close, I will note all those deadlines I was able to make (ahead of time!) while still spending valuable and quality time with my kids. It just takes creativity in making those spare minutes work.

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