[I wrote this post as a member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group where we share our worries and also offer support and encouragement to each other on the first Wednesday of every month. If you’re a writer like me and you’re looking for a bit of support, you can click the link and sign up here]

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“If you woke before dawn one morning with the formula for a vaccine, which would cure the most ghastly disease currently known to man, releasing millions from an agonising death, would you roll over and resume sleeping until daylight?”

― Chris Murray, The Extremely Successful Salesman’s Club

I think I’ve posted this quote before, but it’s only because nothing else has summarized passion and drive and doing the right thing better than it does. It’s the same sort of passion I feel when I wake up before I necessarily have to. I could hit snooze. I could set my alarm ahead and get an extra 90 minutes of sleep.

But then I see the clock, those glowing red digits. The blood starts pumping. Possibility starts to spin.

On the weekends,the clock never reads later than 7:30 a.m. During the week? Lately it’s been 5:00 a.m. but I’m changing that. I’m upping the alarm an extra half hour because one hour is not enough for me.

This month’s IWSG post asks, “How do you find the time to write in your busy day?”

I just do it. The morning is my only time so I rise and I write.

Every day.

Or I get antsy.

Or I forget why and who I am, like something is missing and I don’t quite feel right.

I am a mom. I do have a full time profession aside from writing, and I have plenty of hobbies like gardening and exercising which also make me smile. My kids keep my hopping. Just last night I worked until 4:30 p.m., picked up the kids, fixed chicken quesadillas and shuffled them out of the door with a backpack of books for the little one, and the baseball bag for the oldest one’s 90 minute baseball practice. Overwhelmed? Yes. Definitely with the start of school, which is why I need to structure to myself, my day and my family, so we all get done what we need to get done.

Here’s what I do in a nutshell.

4:30 a.m. Wake up. COFFEE. Writing and researching in my bed near the soft light of my bedroom lamp on my I-pad.

5:50 a.m. I make lunches for the kids.

6:15 a.m. I wake the kids. My son is a morning bird and my daughter, well, it isn’t all that easy to rouse her. She’s my night owl.

7:15 ish…We scurry out the garage door, pile in the car and pray we have everything we need for the day. Usually I forget what I need, but the kids are always good.

7:30 ish…work!

12:30 Lunch break sometimes. I try to write, or I have lunch with my kids since I don’t work that far away. Sometimes I even water the garden to catch my breath from the morning.

4:00 p.m. I leave work when I’m lucky.

4:15 p.m. The gym. A good hour of cardio helps me think clearer.

5:30 p.m. I pick up the kids and head home.

6:00 p.m. I fix dinner, while my son practices piano and my daughter plays school or colors something pretty.

After dinner? Something is always going on. Baseball practice, dance, homework, even cleaning up our messes. When I don’t have the kids, a telephone call to my writing friend, or a date night with my honey.

8:30. The kids hit their beds and I finish cleaning and posting blogs when necessary. It’s my time to catch up.

10:00 p.m. HGTV is my program of choice while I wind down.

That’s the end. I try to keep my life straight in a planner or the notes in my phone. I just don’t give myself a choice. I can’t.

My questions to you: Are you an early bird or a night owl? What helps you chase your dreams and spare the minutes you need to act?

Oh! Here’s my lovely garden. I started the backside of it in the spring, and finished the front side just this past weekend with my honey. I love flowers 🙂

Lastly, Thank you to this month’s hosts:

• Lee McKenzie
• Rachel Pattison
• Elizabeth Seckman
• Stephanie Faris
• Lori L MacLaughlin
• Elsie Amata!

And to all, have a great rest of your week. 🙂