When I posted last week about the thrill of my kids being off to school and thereby freeing my Mondays to write, I spoke too soon. Unfortunately, my situation has suddenly—though hopefully temporarily—changed, and I find myself again in a Monday-to-Friday full-time job.

So when do I write? Aside from the job, I chauffeur my kids to activities, cook dinners, do dishes (no dishwasher here, folks), clean house, pay bills, grudgingly garden (aka weed), exercise, find a wee bit of time to relax, read, etc., etc., etc.

The answer, and my inspiration, came from author Diana Gabaldon of the Outlander series, who I saw last spring at the Word on the Lake festival in Salmon Arm. Even though she doesn’t have to, even though her day job is long gone, she writes in the middle of the night.

Okay, so the middle of the night is a bit extreme for me. I love my sleep. Let me repeat: I LOVE my sleep. But I am a morning person; my brain is at its best shortly after I wake up. Get me a couple of hours into my day and I’m ready for a nap. If I waited until getting home from work to write, I’d produce nothing but gibberish.

So if Diana can do it, I can do it.

The morning after Diana mentioned her hours at the festival, I set my alarm for 5:30 a.m.—an hour before required. And I’ve been doing it ever since. Okay, so I might set the alarm for 6:30 on weekends, or maybe, very rarely, let myself sleep in. It feels great to get a little writing done every day, even if it’s only an hour.

Now with Mondays kaput, I’ve changed the alarm to 5:15. Daunting, but I know it’s worth it.

When do you find time to write?