“Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so.”
-Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (said by Ford Prefect)

I find that the more I delve into writing, and more specifically, writing for the purpose of a website, getting a portfolio ready or for it’s original intent: fun, the more I find that the time in which I write is shrinking.

For example: right now I am writing this in the bathroom at my work. Gross, right? I planned this. Not because I like typing out words on my iPhone, but because I had an idea for a post, and I had to commit those thoughts to words.

I also find that my lunch hour has disappeared into the writing abyss, everyday now spent with my earbuds in, music cranked, and hunched over my Chromebook while crunching carrots. As soon as I really get on a roll, I glance at the clock and sure enough, it’s time for me to stop.

On one hand, this is a good thing. It keeps me hungry for writing the next day. The bad part? I was on a roll dammit! I think about all the ideas that might be good (or bad) that evaporate between the hours of 1 and 5. I think about this and I cringe internally. If only I didn’t have to be chained to this goddamned desk, maybe I’d be more productive.

But I know that isn’t true. I was laid off for about a year. I wrote, sure, but not as much as I wanted to. (That being said, I did spend a lot of time thinking about writing, which some would say counts.) I find that external pressures work for me. When I did the Clarion Write-a-thon I found that keeping track on my tumblr site helped a lot, kept me honest.

So, now, although I have to real external pressures to keep writing, giving myself deadlines, and deadlines that I want to keep, is the best way to keep writing.

Even if it is in the toilet.

–Steven