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Its not that I don’t enjoy writing, of course I do, but writing, to a schedule, drives me demented.  In ways I can’t really fathom.
I mean, yes, deadlines - I can live with them, but lately, all of the writing advice I’ve been seeing, for new writers, is ‘write to a schedule’.  ‘Carve out ten minutes here - its YOUR time’

“OF COURSE!  Its my time!  To hell with the laundry, with the cleaning - with the bills and the decorating - with the sick children, the sicker mommy, and the grumpy partner.  I’ll be ever so selfish and plop myself down in front of a computer and write unmotivated, uninspiring drivel for ten minutes.  I’ll feel so much better then.”

See, that’s the thing.   If everything around you is in dissarray, sitting down and ‘being selfish’, whether that’s the reality of the situation or not,  isn’t going to help your state of mind - and dare I say it, your writing.

Writing is something you need discipline for, its true - but that discipline comes from making time, not taking time.  Make time to write - clean up that little bit faster.  Make the beds and hoover and deal with the overflowing laundry, and then, instead of sitting down and watching TV - THEN write.  Have your partner pull his share, if he can, and write.  But don’t just ignore everything.  You’ll feel far worse for it in the long run - especially if it becomes habit.

So the next time someone advises you to drop everything and just write for five minutes - at least finish up the most important chores - and then, perhaps, you’ll enjoy it more.