A question I’m frequently asked by readers is: “You’ve published Still the Caretaker: A Latvian Girl’s Journey and you’re writing another book. How do you manage your time?”
A writer friend, who has published nine or ten books over as many years, told me that she tries to budget her workday in quarters:
- administrative work: record keeping, working with editors, correspondence
- marketing: social media, Patreon, website, event scheduling, event attendance
- research: for the second book, which I’m currently writing, and a third book
- writing and editing
Her balance is what I’m trying to achieve.
Monday through Thursday, I do my administrative and/or marketing work in the morning, starting at about nine. After that, I dive into some research or writing until it’s time to leave for carpool—Monday through Thursday I spend after-school hours with two dear young people. I wait in the carpool lane for an hour during which I enjoy a large cup of iced tea and do my emails. When the kids get into the car, I’m theirs alone until 6:00pm.
Fridays are for writing and running errands, in that order. This is the day when I like to take the laptop to a coffeeshop and have coffee and breakfast while spending 60-90 minutes writing. The vibes in a good coffeeshop energize and inspire me; much of Still the Caretaker: A Latvian Girl’s Journey was written in various coffeeshops. I pop in my earbuds, switch on my playlist, and enter “the zone” within seconds. There have been Fridays when I do two coffeeshops in one morning, separated by a walk in the fresh air.
Saturdays and Sundays are for family, Farmer’s Market, gardening, cooking/baking, napping, perhaps a movie or dinner out. I will frequently spend several of the afternoon hours with my writing.
