Journaling for Busy Parents

As a writer and a mom of 3, I have found that making time to write has been a process that has sometimes been successful and has often faltered. I have tried it all. Writing in short bursts, writing early in the morning, writing late at night, bullet writing, giving up on writing, or simply fantasizing about writing. Perhaps you are not necessarily a "writer" but would like to devote time to charting your child's progress and next steps or you are pregnant and would like to journal your pregnancy for your child to read later.  I can tell you that it's all possible. It may not be easy, but it's possible. Below are some tips to make time for writing or journaling.

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Quick Tips for Success

1. Bullet Writing - Write down items in a list. This could be in the form of a gratitude journal, daily highlights or celebrations & challenges list. Make it short and give yourself about 3 minutes at the beginning or end of your day. Before you know it, you'll have a journal full of your writing.
2. Add Writing to Your Calendar - If you are anything like me, if it's on your calendar you will make time for it and will do it. Start small with maybe just 10 minutes, then build as you go. Personally, I reserve Thursday afternoon for about 30 minutes of blog writing and Friday morning for 1-2 hours of podcast writing. Without those perimeters, trust me I would not be putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard.)
3. Bring Your Journal with You - Ever been waiting at the doctor's office, in a car pick up lane, in line at the grocery store, and thought, "I could definitely be doing something better with my time!"? Bring a pen and pad with you and jot ideas down or write out a quick blog entry. It doesn't have to be perfect because you can polish it up later. Thing is, you got started! 
4. Make Writing a Priority - Over the next week, notice how you use your time including work time, household tasks, family time, and "downtime". If any of that time includes social media scrolling, television, or movies, you may be able to use some of this time for writing. I'm not saying, ALL. I'm just saying SOME. For example, if you watch television from 8p-10p each night which is relatively common for families, perhaps reserve a couple of nights for writing or reduce your screen time to one hour and write during the other hour. 
5. Make it Convenient - For a while I would keep a notepad near my bed. This way I just had to reach over, jot a few things down, then go to bed. Success! 

If writing or journaling is important to you, even a few minutes a day can help you meet your goals. As a parent, our "to do" lists are miles long so there will never be the "right time" or "right day". Start today, and see where things take you!