My biggest problem is that I live above a doctor’s office and her kids go there after school (and during the day in the summer). The daughter comes up here without asking and, if I ignore the door, she doesn’t stop knocking. Instead, it’s “knock, knock, knock, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, POUND, POUND, POUND” until I give up and see what she wants. I feel bad for the kids because it must be boring to have to sit there all day, but if I let them in, they are all over the place and I can’t get any work done.

I have learned to redefine what success means to me, and to go after what I want and not what others think of as important.

Thanks to all of you for the tips.

It seems, the most important thing I’ve learned so far is to say no!

Sylvia C.

I have always had a silent # but it bugs me that I get so many wrong numbers, and business people ignoring the fact that my number IS silent and just using it anyways. (I don’t object to friends in need, but official calls really annoy me)

I get up early too. I live in Australia, but keep Californian hours, so am up around 1-3am LOCAL! That means my work gets done and I am ‘free’ to pay attention to my teenage son when he gets up! (I home school him)

I guess with me it is mainly a game of fitting everything in and crossing fingers enough gets fitted in to pay the rent! But lately…. dry spell, sp maybe i am back on welfare.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Deb
freelancewritingjobs@gmail.com

Pattie

I think the hardest thing is learning how to carve out a balance once I decided to put more and more time into writing.

Sometimes I feel that I am missing out on my child’s special moments and I suddenly become frenzied that I am not spending enough time with my toddler son. And then there’s the ton of school work for my ESL teaching job, so I always have these constant reminders of my day job and its impending realities. There are dys when I feel stretched a bit too much.

I really try to work either early still when he is sleeping and compromise on an hour’s of sleep (ah!) or write after a bit when he is with his father. In short, I have time to write but it just isn’t as much as I want and need at the moment in order to bring my freelance writing career to the next serious level.

I, too, have been full-time freelancing for three years while simultaneously being an at home parent of the only kid on the planet (that I know of, anyway) who doesn’t sleep many hours at night, has never needed naps (even as an infant), and is always going, going, going!

I started writing regionally and statewide, but suddenly found tons of national and international opportunities in 2005/2006. It was then that I knew I had to get creative or I’d never be able to meet deadlines (or turn in copy that was a step above “See Spot Run.”)

My attempts at keeping up a profitable writing career while being 100% devoted to my very gregarious, extremely imaginative, often annoying, always lovable child are as follows:

- I write whenever I get the chance. If it’s 5:00 a.m. and I groggily wake up, I forgo an extra hour or two of sleep to finish articles in silence. At night, I stay up an extra hour or two.

- I get occasional writing breaks, thanks to my husband. He’ll take care of the bath, and I’ll write for an hour. It’s a nice trade-off, although it does eat into “family” and “together” time.

- Once, I paid a babysitter for three hours’ work. I was home, but available only if there was an emergency. Honestly, it was the best money I ever spent. During the time she was at our residence, I made about six times what I paid her. Unfortunately, she took another regular babysitting gig and wasn’t available during the day after that, or I would have had her come to the house more often.

Those are my techniques; they don’t always work, but they’re all I have right now! Next year, preschool should afford me more time to query and conduct research.

I can’t wait to hear what everyone else says…

Angelique, aka “The Quoibler”