What It (Really) Feels Like to Write as a Parent

I get up early. My kids get up earlier.

Photo by Daniel K Cheung on Unsplash

There’s writing advice from gurus.

And there’s writing advice from parents who try to write. Seriously, they try to write every waking moment of the day. That’s what I do. I try over and over and over again.

As a parent of four boys — a special thank you to my wife for everything she does — writing and parenting is like canoeing upstream. It’s not humanly possible. You learn to go with the flow.

Every so often, someone asks me, “You have four kids?!” they pause in shock, “How do you have time to write?!”

This is what I tell them

I only have two priorities

I have two priorities in life: write a lot and hang out with my wife and kids. Everything else falls by the wayside.

I love Warren Buffet’s 5/25 Rule. He says to create a list of 25 things you want to accomplish. Then trim it down to 5 items.

I actually trim it to two things. I love writing and hanging out with family. I love these things more than anything. If I’m not writing, I’m on bike rides with my kids. If I’m not on bike rides, I’m writing.

I’m flexible about when I work