According to Kris Allen, we’ve only got “86,400 seconds in a day to turn it all around or to throw it all away.”  Who is Kris Allen?  What, you weren’t listening to popular music seven years ago?  Come on, they still play that song on the radio.  Anyway, the point should be clear.  We all have a limited amount of time, not just on this planet, but every day.  And finding time to write can be a huge challenge.  I know it is for me.

I have a full time job…okay, resisting the temptation to rant about my job.  Resisting.  Resisting.

I think it passed.  As I was saying, since I have a job, five days a week, with almost an hour commute each way, most of my time is spent…working. Yes, there was a blissful/pauper-like time when I was unemployed and was able to write for all seven days in week. But that was three years ago, and I was far from being able to publish what I wrote.  Some may say I’m still being hasty publishing now.  Or they’ll just say I suck.  We’ll see.

Additionally, I am not expecting to become a full time writer.  It’s not just unlikely, it’s implausible.  I’m mainly writing for me, and publishing just to get my work out there. Living is just too expensive these days, especially in New Jersey.  A steady income is necessary.  So work takes up a majority of my time five days a week.  And when I get home, doing more work, even if it’s just a hobby, isn’t happening.  There are multiple reasons for this, one I’ll get to in another post.

For now, I’ll focus on what I do when I get home, and that should be obvious to anyone who’s been reading my Inspiration Breaks. I eat.  I watch TV. I watch movies.  And then I sleep.  Not too exciting, but that’s being an “adult.”  Bleh.

The main problem is that there is so much good TV to watch now, and to catch up on.  The past few years, I’ve not only binge watched the latest on Netflix, from House of Cards to Jessica Jones, but I’ve also caught up on shows I missed.  I’ve watch Buffy, Angel, Veronica Mars, The Wire, and Smallville.  All were excellent, except perhaps for Smallville, and some of Angel.  And there’s still more.  I never got a chance to see The X-Files in the 90s. That’s on my list.  And I’ve heard good things about The Flash.  Plus, when do I have free time to watch Lost?

TV eats away at my time, and I let it, because I enjoy it  Don’t get me wrong, I spend time with friends, family, etc.  Yet, after I get home from work, the main question is what am I going to put on my screen.  And it’s usually not the novel I’m working on.

So writing has become a weekend activity for me.  It’s better that way for a bunch of reasons, but it also means it’s going to take months to finish what I’m working on, not weeks.  And it’s not like I’m free every weekend either.

Wow, this really makes me seem like I’m a lazy shit, huh?  Judge away, I suppose.  Just remember, this is me being honest.  Time is moving in one direction, and I often find it filled up with other activities. I’m not a full-time writer.  I have a day job.  This?  It’s still just a hobby.