How To Write When You’re Home With Kids

If you can do it, anything is possible.

Can a single parent find time to write with kids at home?

I started working as a content writer on this platform in late April 2019. Since then, we’ve had summer break, stayed with my parents in California, then moved to New Mexico. Now that my kids are in school, I can dedicate substantial time to writing and publishing stories.

Until December, I’ve been writing on the fly, jumping in whenever I get the chance. Last week I worked over 25 hours and published every day at least once. I finally made online writing my job. Incidentally, my income has already almost doubled. I intend to keep up the pace.

But then we got to the weekend. I’m not sure what I was thinking. How in the world can I get any work done with my young children at home? I could only do it before because I lived with my parents. I had plenty of free time. I didn’t plan to work on weekends with my kids around.

Saturday, I had a publication publish one of my stories. I didn’t do much work after that. Today’s one of those do-nothing days. It’s a pajama-wearing, hot cocoa drinking, watercolor painting kind of rainy Sunday. We went shopping for painting supplies and a belated birthday present for my oldest daughter’s bestie. We’ve been home for the rest of the day. It’s after 4:30 pm, and I finally found some uninterrupted writing time.

I typed my intro with a Peppa Pig movie in the background. I never used to allow such frequent movie watching. But writing consumes most of my time now. I stopped to watch a few episodes so I could spend time with them. Kudos to the producers of Peppa Pig. They’re quite entertaining and inclusive to boot. I feel better knowing they’re watching a wholesome show. Then I feel free to write like the wind without checking on them too much.

I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with the five-minute phone grab or hiding in the bathroom while I try to pick up my momentum. It’s hard to keep it going all the time.

What can we do when we want to write and have young kids at home? How do we meet everyone’s needs? I didn’t do much today, but I usually have a good rhythm.

Here’s a typical productive day with my kids. Perhaps fellow parents will benefit from some good habits and routines I’ve developed.

Early to bed, early to rise.

Waking up before them, or close to their early wake-up time, proves to be beneficial for everyone. Whatever morning routine you have, claim your time. I know when my kids were infants, I was always on the clock. I had to find tiny pockets of solitude to maintain my sanity.

My 4-year-old is an early riser, so I need to get a solid 8–9 hours to be available to jumpstart our day. I go to bed around 9:30–10 pm, so I’ll wake around 5:30–6 am. I was staying up until 11 pm until recently. I was exhausted and miserable all day.

I didn’t go to bed early as planned this weekend. It’s problematic because I’m tired and grumpy. I’m not as productive as I’d like.

Lately, I’ve been able to enjoy a quiet moment or two in bed, prepare myself for the day, and emerge from my room feeling refreshed. I say affirmations and do the rest of my morning routine before I see them. It makes a big difference in my attitude when I can pull this off. If I’m lucky to rise early enough, I’ll mediate before they wake. It’s a perfect way to start my day.

This weekend my youngest child made demands for attention as early as 5:30 am. I wanted to sleep longer. I’m uncomfortable with this current trend.

But generally speaking, our mornings are efficient and uneventful. I appreciate the freedom of getting ready without interruption.

Run an errand after breakfast, then play.

This is the best part of our day. I take them to the store. We play at a park or do an activity afterward. If I take them to a park, I get to write while they run around. It’s a brilliant strategy.

In times of inclement weather, I hope their independent activity will occupy them for an hour. This weekend I tried to meditate before we ran our errands. They interrupted me no less than five times. They were understimulated and wanted to be with me. Sometimes I need to let go of my agenda to fulfill their needs. But I did finish meditating.

Mealtime together.

I appreciate and value family mealtime. We sit down and eat lunch together, then my little one rests. She hasn’t been napping, but today she got some sleep. I worked a tiny bit on a different article, but my big kid needs alone time with me, too. So we did some watercolor painting together.

Sharing meals and short activities make a world of difference for my kids. Quality time is essential for building our relationship. They only need my undivided attention for short periods. I enjoy our bonding time.

Shared or independent afternoon activities.

Here’s how I can power out a story on weekends. If my kids are satisfied with hanging out alone together, I retreat and get work done while they watch a movie or read books. Maybe they’ll play make-believe or do art. Today I watched the Peppa episodes with them for 15 minutes. Other days I work for up two hours. I’ll make dinner, do bath and bedtime, then finish the story.

Embrace flexibility.

I have to squeeze in my work throughout the day. If I don’t have time, that’s ok, too. I can make up for it during the week when they’re in school.

Parents who work from home need to be flexible. If not, stress or burnout can stop our creative flow. I’m in charge of my schedule. I get to choose how I manage my workflow. It’s a perfect fit at this point in my life.

Final thoughts.

I’m impressed by all of you seasoned work-at-home parents. The first time I heard Shannon Ashley mention writing full-time with a child at home, I was inspired. I honestly couldn’t wrap my mind around how she pulled it off, but I wanted to follow her lead.

I’m new to this game, so I watch and learn from you. Now I know it’s possible with practice and a little finesse. Even when our routine isn’t ideal, I appreciate being able to be home with my kids and earn some money. Although I don’t always show it, I wouldn’t trade this time for anything.

Thanks for reading. Here are a few more of my stories on parenting:

Let’s stay in touch. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or my personal blog at gratefulx365.wordpress.com. Submit your amazing stories and follow my Medium publication, Gratefully Yours. Email me at [email protected].