As much as I hate to admit it, writing is a hobby for me at the moment. I am working on making it a second job, part of that is balancing writing with my day job. I am contracted to 30 hours a week in my job as a store assistant for major supermarket. Aside from overnight shifts I’ll generally work whatever shifts I’m given. I used to do a lot of early shifts, these would range from 5am till 2pm at the latest. Recently I’ve been working a lot of what I think of as mid to late shifts. These will range from 8am till 9pm. Sometimes I’ll close, which is a 10pm finish but that’s very rare.

When I have early shifts I struggle to sit down and write afterwards. This is in part to the fact I can’t get an early night. Despite my best efforts at times its rare I’m asleep by 11pm, a lot of times it’s even later. These days I might get some time while on my break, rarely more than twenty minutes actual writing time though. If I could get an earlier bed time then I might be more awake to do an hour or so after work.

The shifts that I’ve found are best for me as a writer are those that start at midday or after. I’m quite often able to get up about 8am and am writing by 8:30am. This feels like the time I am most productive. I pop a YouTube playlist on and let the music disappear into the background as I crack on. Today for example I spent two hours and forty minutes at my desk before a 2pm work start. I started about a quarter past eight if I remember right. I wrote 1922 words in that time.

I almost always do some writing on my break, and if I’m into work early (I’m an early arriver, I hate the thought of being late), then I’ll do some writing before I start my shift.

Knowing in advance what my shifts are means I can look forward and plan writing time. I’m trying to get in the habit of using a planner and making a schedule. I’ll sit down and block out my working hours and then figure out what is a reasonable time for writing. So far I’ve found I can do two solid hours no problem, and that is increasing to three hours. Anything beyond that though then I’ll get somewhat restless. I’ll fidget in my chair more, get distracted by the songs playing. Play with the cats. I am getting better though, that used to be little more than an hour before I’d start getting restless. So, progression…yay!

It’s not just work that I have to take into consideration when it comes to writing. When I have my kiddo I almost never write and when I do its after they’ve gone to bed and I’ve got everything else done. I am also a gamer, and probably game too much, but it’s a solid release for me. I don’t need to do it as much though and I’m conscious about easing it back.

When I am at my desk I’m not writing continuously. In say three hours I may stop a couple of times to get a drink, or put a load of washing on. I find these little breaks can help if I’ve hit a bit of a wall. Like at the moment with War Child I’m having to add a lot and will likely split this first book, as it is at the moment, into two. In doing this though I’m coming to unexpected hurdles which do get frustrating.

A lot of these little methods aren’t new. I’ve been trying them on and off for years now. It’s only since I had CBT and came off the medication I was on that I feel more capable to plan out a schedule for myself.

My aim is to keep increasing my time commitment. Last month (April ’26) I spent 36 hours and change writing. I wrote one short story and submitted it. I made significant progress with War Child. Some ground work for Penal Earth 3, and some work on something that is just a bit of fun. I was able to focus the majority of my time on War Child, twenty-two hours and ten minutes. Having that time focused on the one project I think has helped me get a handle on the story and what I need to do with it. I did have a week off at the end of the month, so I need to take that in consideration when planning this month.

I finally feel like I’m capable of having my head in the right space to step up a level. It’s not just having my arse in the chair. It’s finding anthologies to submit to. It’s engaging more with this awesome community, finding ways to get eyes on myself and my work. There’s a long way to go, but I feel I’m on the right track.