Five Household Chores You Can Do While Writing
1. Fold that overflowing basket of clothes - I'm stretching this one out because it so happens that my clothes are at the bottom of the basket. The kids' clothes are piled on top. Plan: Sit on the couch with my netbook typing away while "supervising" the kids as they fold their clothes. This will take them at least 45 minutes to an hour. It will take them half the day if my wife and I leave them unsupervised. See the beauty of my plan. It gives me time to type before I can even get to my clothes.
2. Volunteer to shampoo the carpet - It really needs it. Disgusting! My wife is excited about me volunteering for this one. She's so excited that she's going to the store to rent the shampoo machine herself. My wife also has more Christmas shopping to do, so she's going to do it all in one trip. That's at least a 2-3 hour trip. As soon as she gets back with the supplies, I'll be psyched to get the shampooing done. Until she returns, I might as well write.
3. Prepare the recycling for pick up - My wife hates going through junk mail, newspapers, etc. Absolutely hates it. Super hubby to the rescue. It's another task I can perform largely while sitting on the couch with netbook within arm's reach. Throw in the occasional 10-15 minute writing break, and well, you get the picture.
4. Wash the dishes - I understand. You're thinking this one is like gross. But, I can fly through dishes. Just one of those chores I can do in half the time anyone else can in my house. That's about 15 minutes of mindless repetitive handiwork. Mindless is good because I often "write" in my mind before I sit to write on the computer. So, I wash dishes and map out my next scene for my novel...and I get softer hands to boot!
5. Cooking dinner - Don't cook? Well, you're missing out on some wonderful creativity time. I can do wonders with a pound of ground turkey, four boxes of mac n cheese and three cans of green beans. It's a kid favorite! I get a guaranteed 45 minutes (or an hour if I stretch it) in the kitchen. My netbook is small enough to fit on the counter next to the microwave. Stir the noodles. Type. Stir the noodles. Type. Stir the noodles again. Type, type, type. LOL!
That should keep me busy this Saturday. By the way, I wrote this blog entry while supervising my kids folding clothes. See, it works! Good luck with your day!
Hehe, nice one! Though it does seem more like it's writing BETWEEN the chores, not during them. I do pretty much the same thing, squeezing time here and there really adds up! Might I make a small suggestion? If you have a way of recording audio on your phone or other device, you can dictate notes while doing other chores that occupy your hands.
ReplyDeleteGood point! It's a shame some don't take advantage of all those in-between moments. For too many years I wasted them. I wrote my last novel 10 minutes at a time while not ignoring my family. As for recording, that is an excellent suggestion.
ReplyDeleteThx for the comment!