Let the people you live with know when you are sitting down to write. Tell them that for an hour or two or a page or a word count or whatever your goal is to please not disturb you.
It is your fault that at first they won’t listen to you. You’ve been at their beck and call for so long that they will need you without even thinking.
And you like that they need you.
Even if they do listen to you and they leave you to write just like you asked, you will start to feel guilty about twenty minutes in and begin to wonder how they are getting on without you. You may even make an excuse for needing to talk to them.
You forgot to ask how the oral book report went.
What are some synonyms for relaxed?
Did you remember to pay the car insurance?
What do you think of a trip to the beach this weekend?
You will need to be willing to let the domestic paradise that is your household fall to pieces without you. And you know it will fall to pieces without you.
Barring blood or broken bones, you will need to ignore every crash, every whine, every hard-shut cupboard or door.
When they don’t listen to you, you have to channel another you. The you that is a writer. The you that knows that in the long term you are helping the people you love more by showing them that if you really want something, you have to be ready to put in the time and work at it.
So, tell them when you are going to write and for how long and prove to them that you mean it by staying in the room and writing your heart out until you reach that day’s goal.
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Some past posts to keep you making time:
Adjust your pace accordingly.
It’s about the routine and how you shake up the routine
There are things you will have to give up
See it to achieve it
Washing the dishes
Write slowly
A celebration of the pause
Monday, a run through the driving rain
Zen accident
Get out of your comfort zone