This post is for all of the hard-working parents who are focusing their energy on raising their kids and dealing with day-to-day life. And if you’ve decided to pursue writing as a career, there are some challenges. Unless you have a supportive family to back you up, the emotional ride filled with rejection, along with the personal debates between yourself and the nagging voice that tugs on your confidence, at some point it’s going to hinder your creative process.

For those reading this post and are shaking their head about writing not being a job, I’ve got news for you.

It’s hard to find time to write when you have to face reality instead of staying caught up in the world you’ve created for your characters. Over the years, I’ve managed to find a balance between interruption and total loss. For me, the total loss is when I forget what I was going to write.  If there’s constant interruption for thirty minutes, I shut off my computer and jot down notes.

As a parent myself, I know that it can be exhausting. One of the things that I have found that helps is taking a nap. It wasn’t until two years ago when I decided to embrace an hour of rest to recharge my batteries. Yes, I have heard that we should only take cat naps so that it doesn’t disturb our sleep pattern. However, that doesn’t work for me. I must have at least an hour to rest. Not only do I feel better after taking a nap, but I’m also two steps ahead of the kids!

I’m not sure why I decided to start taking naps. I hated them when I was younger. Now I wished I’d listened to my mother.

I used to feel like that precious hour could’ve been spent writing. But that was when I was obsessing about having to write all the time. Which left me no room for rest. To be honest, I write every chance I get. But a nap is included in my schedule. I can sit down at my computer and look at my manuscript with fresh eyes. I’m a believer in guarding your writing time. That is a must for any writer to keep their sanity. Even if it’s for four hours at night when everyone has gone to bed or after family members have left the house for the morning. Take advantage of the quiet time.

What do you do to relax?