Yep . . . Can Be Done

This article I found by Alison Heller called Why a Lawyer Mom Decided to Write her First Novel is not a bad three minutes investment of time for an apsiring writer with a family and full time job. It proves that despite those obstacles (and I don't generally like calling my family obstacles) a successful writing life is out there.

The Love Wars, although not on my To Be Read list, is her go at having it all. In the article she writes:

When I signed up for a writing workshop, in the midst of all I was doing, I kept it quiet. I was embarrassed for even having the goal of writing the book that had been buzzing around in my head, let alone selfishly demanding the time to try to write it.

This is exactly why I'm waking at 5 AM to write for an hour or so. Three days into it and still struggling to make it a habit, but it's better than not being able to throw the ball with the seven year old and his friends in the street as I did last night.

I do like the way she saw hours as "billable time" to be traded and bought as needed.

More difficult was owning up to what I let slip: exercise; home-cooking beyond the microwave; staying on top of thank-you notes and dentist appointments and school deadlines. I still managed to waste time on the Internet (and then, of course, more time beating myself up about it). I also incurred the literal cost of buying more time. For example: food—I relied on online groceries, prepared dinners and take-out. My husband’s salary enabled the hike in expense; mine on its own couldn’t have.

As a lawyer, I’d found it unnatural and unromantic to view an hour as a commodity. But at some point in that year, I forced myself to budget my time like it was money, spending first on the necessities: family time and client needs. After that, I consciously “paid” myself in writing hours. (And after that, there was almost no time left.)

Nevertheless, she's prove that you can "have it all" providing you have the proper motivation and support.