I’m also in academia and was about to recommend the book How to Write a Lot! I’m glad I went through the comments first 🙂 That book helped me so much throughout grad school, I’ve read it many times. The best advice truly is to carve out that time to write and to protect that time (within reason).

Laura, I find this series to be completely fascinating and I’m really enjoying it!

@Melanie – that’s great that you’ve been able to pull your son into your working world. I know my husband spent a lot of time running around campus while his father did experiments on the weekend when he was growing up.

And I agree on the writing everyday — How to Write A Lot! Great book. And if Elizabeth’s college/university pays for access to National Center for Faculty Development, check out that resource. Great support! Good ideas.

@Caitlin – so glad you’re enjoying it! I loved time makeovers. And there are definitely some common mantras/rules that I think can help most of us do more with our time (and feel better about it).

@Tana – change is a process. And one reason I like real time makeovers with multiple weeks of follow up is that I can see what works and what doesn’t…

@Alyce – yep, and there can be big payoffs to going through those hoops, including even more control of your time afterwards. I’m not saying these hoops are always wise, and there are some definite arguments for reforming them. But if they’re there, best to understand that balance can happen over a lifetime, not just over any given day, week, month, etc.

@Elisa- so glad you liked the post! Yep, just because you’re freelancing doesn’t mean you’re not working!

@Jane – breathing room is good! Also, with the shorter windows (like the M and F ams plus Wed before class) Elizabeth is getting some writing time most days. I think that having some long windows helps too, since you can really get in the zone (understanding that short breaks in the middle might be necessary).

@Karen- thanks for your comment, and for sharing your experience as an academic. I agree that the message is out there that people with flexible jobs “should” spend more during-the-workday time with their kids, but that message does appear to be pretty gender-specific.