When a writer voices frustration about not being able to write, often the advice given is some form of “you just have to suck it up and do it.” The assumption behind this well-intentioned reply is that the hurdle to overcome is fear of judgment or procrastination or an inability to do something that isn’t perfect.
While those are all real barriers to writing that some authors need to overcome through a combination of force of will and giving oneself grace, sometimes the barrier to writing is something more concrete, like a real lack of time. We might have all the will-power in the world, but if we don’t have time we will feel stuck and our writing will stagnate.
I’ve faced the problem of a lack of time over the past month. With aging parents who need care and attention, five growing kids who need transportation to their activities, and a day job that is currently demanding every free moment, there is nothing left of my week for writing.
Please don’t hear this as complaining. I’m thankful for my parents, kids, and job. I’m happy to invest in them. I’m simply facing the hard truth that time is the only commodity we have that can’t be earned back or replaced once it is spent. When it is gone, it is gone. And right now, I have to spend the limited amount I have in other places.
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