from capsicina's flickr stream under cc usage
As a busy mom (aren’t we all) I’ve been thinking about my daily routine and how I can find just a few more minutes of quiet to think.
I’d love to squeeze some writing into those quiet times but often the only instances where I find myself alone in the quiet are times when I can’t also write.
Such as:
In the car on the way to and from work.
In the shower.
Aaaaand, that’s pretty much it!
I already take advantage of nap time, in fact, it’s nap time right now as I write this. But I’m only alone during nap time every other week. The other times, my hubby is here as well. Plus my adorable daughter is a fickle sleeper. There are many afternoons when all I get out of her is a 1/2 hour.
What can I do about this? Any suggestions for squeezing those quiet times into productive times?
I’ve thought about a voice recorder, although I’m not so keen on listening to the sound of my own voice as I transcribe my thoughts afterwards and I’m concerned that all I’d end up with is hours of stuff sitting on the recorder.
Which leads me to why I started this post. Have any of you found success in working from the car, safely? I spend at least six hours a week commuting and it’s such wasted time. I mean, I do think and reflect then but it’s hard to make notes and concentrate on the road so many of those thoughts go off into the air and I never remember them again.
I might do some research and see if there is any software that could listen to my recordings and transcribe them for me – that would be the ideal solution!
There are voice recorders that you then dump your thoughts directly on to a pc. Supposedly the same exists for mac, but the reviews I read last xmas said the mac ones were lousy. I was searching at Amazon
Doesn’t help with writing… but I like to listen to lectures from http://www.teach12.com/teach12.aspx?ai=30300&WT.srch=1 or the library.
Before we went to Italy last summer, we played kid’s language CD (free from chick-fila of all places) in the car & I was shocked how much my then 4 yr old picked up
I like the idea of recording your thoughts and ideas and what not while driving.. it would be great if you could then get them downloaded onto the computer.. but I also think that even if you cant and it takes awhile to get around to listing to them or transcribing them that they will still be there… and in years to come when you have a little more time… yes it happens.. sort of..maybe not more but time is different as the kids get older… you will not have lost anything.
This is why I let him do all the driving whenever possible. I’m a passenger with a notebook and a camera. I don’t care how digital I may be, to me there is nothing like the written word. I do all of my writing first on paper and then do it all over again on my Mac.
I have a voice recorder that I also take along but for me, it’s just as you say. I record all kinds of stuff and then delete it thinking to myself, what in the world was I thinking?
My thoughts are just not coherent unless on paper. Uh oh. I might be weird.
I have a 5 minute commute or I’d consider this. I still might, I get random flashes of inspiration if there’s a red light sometimes.
I’ve actually considered getting some of those shower crayons they make for kids to write stuff down when I’m in the shower! But I don’t want to freak my husband out anymore about this blogging thing than he already is…
Hmm… I have the same problem when I’m driving. I’ll get a thought and it just floats away. I try to remember it at least until I get to a traffic light, but that doesn’t always work. And I totally understand what you mean about the fear of having hours of recordings to listen to… hopefully you can find one that hooks to your computer, but unfortunately I don’t know one off hand.
How to maximize quiet time? I find that the only time I get a lot accomplished during quiet time is if I am well rested. Otherwise I am just spinning my wheels or moving slowly.
Red lights. That’s all I can suggest. I repeat words over and over and over and then scribble whatever I can when that blessed red light beams down on me. I’ve been known to hold my paper and pen on that part of the steering wheel that houses the horn? You know? And then write frantically when paused, but that had to be stopped when I pushed too hard with my pen and honked at the poor drivers around me.
I used to work out at Curves and I’d be sweating away to the oldies on one of the machines when inspiration often struck. The entire club got used to me racing from the machine to the front desk, begging for paper and pen. I think my first novel will have to be partially dedicated to those women, for not laughing at me all the time.
I, too, detest the sound of my voice, which is why I’ve never bought a recorder. I do have journals everywhere, though, with single words, longer sentences and run-on paragraphs. Someday they’ll merge and become something worth sitting still for. I hope.
I walk to work (only about 10mins) but I use this time as my ‘thinking time’. Often I have to find some paper the moment I get to work to jot down the idea I’ve struck upon. When I walk home I walk the ‘longer’ route (15mins) that cuts though some forest for most of the walk and it’s so peaceful and even better for thinking time! I don’t think I could drive and work, I’m too vague and would probably end up driving into someone!!!