I want to share a day in the life of a writer.
I’m also a mom with two kids under two.
If you stepped into my home at this very moment you would notice the following:
- Random articles of clothing covering the living room floor
- An old cheerio or two by my children’s toy box
- Clean laundry in a bucket waiting to be put away
- Notebooks with random notes strategically placed throughout the house
I’m a work-at-home mom who lives in Northern Canada, with 2 kids under two. They’re twins.
I’m also a freelance writer.
Life can be a little overwhelming but I have a wonderful support system that helps ease the pressure when it comes to balancing my work and home.
It isn’t easy, but I love what I do and being able to stay home and raise my children is something I’m very passionate about. Want to know how I manage a typical day with 2 kids under two? Every work-at-home mom has their particular schedule and plan that works for them. This is my typical day in the life of a freelance writer with my twins.
Day in the Life of a Writer
Let’s get to it!
Is It Morning Already?
Around 7:15 a.m. my daughter usually wakes up whining, although these past few days she’s been giving me the run-down of all her latest words (hi, bye, ding-dong, mommy, daddy, baby).
My son, the rock-star sleeper that he is, usually wakes up around 7:30. They both sleep in the same room, but in different cribs.
My husband and I take turns getting them and changing them, so when he is changing them, I get to work a little more on my writing. See, I try to wake up an hour or so before my children wake up. This gives me some time to update my Twitter and Facebook accounts, look for some unique photos for my upcoming posts, and read any new articles that interest me.
I’m fortunate enough to have both my children sleep through the night so no more waking up 4-5 times in the middle of the night and looking like a haggard version of myself the next day (please don’t let me relive that time!).
It usually takes around 20 minutes to change both of them because they either don’t want to be change and fight us, or, one or both has a leaky diaper and their sleepers have to be changed.
8:00-9:00 a.m.
This is usually coffee time for the grown-ups and milk for my son and daughter. It’s one of the few times I get to relax in a day.
The children usually watch a show or YouTube videos of nursery songs. Sometimes, they let us watch the morning news or yesterday’s hockey game (Go Canucks Go!)
9:00-10 a.m.
Breakfast time for the children. I don’t typically eat breakfast until noon, and by that time it’s lunch. I usually survive on coffee and mom energy.
Breakfast does seem to take almost 45 minutes to an hour. I’m not sure if this is typical for other moms with children? Since we adopt a healthy and natural lifestyle, we cook all our food and limit processed food. We also limit our wheat and eat a more Paelo diet.
10-12:45 p.m.
I use this time before lunch to either get chores down or to play outside if the weather is nice and not too cold. There are also organizational tasks that need to be done like storing clothes that don’t fit my children anymore in the garage.
Typical chores I can do when my children are around:
- Clean the bathroom with all natural and homemade products.
- Dust
- Vacuum
- Put a load of laundry in the washer
- Fold laundry and put away
- Put dishes in the dishwasher and run the dishwasher
When we go outside my children play with their outdoor toys and run around in the backyard. I recently bought some scarecrows, one boy and one girl, from the Dollar Store and every time we are outside they want to see them and say hi to them.
I eat my breakfast and feed them lunch between 12-12:30, change diapers and get them ready for their glorious, much needed (for mommy) nap.
The Perfect Time to Write
For my day in the life of a content writer, this is the perfect time to write.
As soon as I lay my last child in the crib and close the door, I go into my office. My office is also our master bedroom but I like working here instead of downstairs where my husband works. My husband runs his own e-commerce business and is able to stay home and help me out at times.
This is the time when I can write my blog posts, write guest posts, pitch for freelance writing jobs and update all my social media accounts.
My children typically sleep an hour and 15 minutes. If I’m lucky they will sleep for 2 hours and if all the stars align, they will sleep for 2.5 hours.
When my children wake up, I can still squeeze in another 20-30 minutes because my husband, at this time, takes his break.
Family Helps Out
I’m fortunate enough to have family nearby to watch my children for an hour or two in the afternoon. This is a great opportunity for me to finalize any writing I did earlier and continue on any other writing tasks.
Dinner miraculously comes together by 5 or 5:30 and everyone sits down to eat. After dinner everyone spends family time until the children go to bed at 7:15 p.m.
Write Away!
Yes! A day in the life of a writer means I get to write at different parts of the day.
I’m able to squeeze in another 1-2 hours after my children go to bed. I also use this time to clean up the toys, empty the dishwasher, put a new load in and finish any little things that didn’t get done in the day.
Stats In a Day
You might hear or watch me do the following:
- Say “Dangerous!” about 54 times in a day.
- Change around 12 diapers a day.
- Defer to Pinterest for toddler activities to keep them busy. Check out Pinterest groups too.
- Listen to “Baa Baa Black Sheep” around 30 times a day (down from 60 times a day 4 months ago).
In all, I can conservatively say I manage around 6 hours of writing. Of course, this isn’t every day. I still have to cook and do groceries as well as plan play dates during the week.
A Day in the Life of a Writer – Done for the Day!
If you are a work-at-home mom, how many hours can you squeeze in your already full day? Do you find it’s easier to work more if your children are younger (more naps) or older? Were you able to work when your children were awake? What is your typical schedule? I’d like to hear from other moms who freelance write!
13 Comments