10 Useful Tips for Writing when in Quarantine with Your Family

Working from home isn’t new to everyone. Some of us freelance in our houses and apartments most days, and we like it that way — the kids go off to school, the life partner goes to the office, and we get down to work cranking out words and crafting worlds.

But what happens when the kids’ school is closed and the partner is working from home too? Everyone is under your feet and your zen space is… no longer quite so zen.

I’m not going to lie — it's not be ideal. But maybe some of these ideas can help.

Subscribe to a meal kit delivery service

There is enough extra stuff to worry about right now. Supermarkets are bare, and probably best to avoid if possible. And time is at a premium — if you only have the kids’ nap time to cook and eat and get some words down, you want the cooking and eating part to take up as little time as possible. This social distancing thing is going to last too long for us all to survive on junk food.

Pro tip: put a message on Facebook and ask if any of your friends has a code for a free trial or discount code for HelloFresh, Blue Apron, or any of the others. Many of these services have a heavily discounted trial you can use, too. (Though some have temporarily put a stop to these.)

Get noise-cancelling headphones

Not only will these kinds of earphones do what they say on the tin — cancel out noise — they’ll also signal to those around you that you are Not To Be Disturbed. Whether they’ll pay any attention is another matter, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

Use a white noise app

While you’re waiting for the noise-cancelling headphones to arrive, try regular headphones with a white noise app to mute surrounding noise. I use the “brown noise” on this one to sleep at night, but when I write I sometimes use Beach Waves Crashing or any number of their nature- or running-water-inspired sounds.

Go for walks to clear your head

If you can, leave everyone at home once a day and go for a walk. Put your phone on airplane mode so you can use it just for music, or better still, leave it at home. It’s spring outside: look at the flowers. Smell them. Breathe. Let your mind wander if it’s still able to do that, or just allow your body to decompress.

Dictate as you walk

If you’re finding it impossible to get any writing done at home, walking can serve another purpose if you do take your phone with you. Maybe you’ve always wondered if dictating your work is for you — there’s no better time to give it a try. Indie publishing superstar Joanna Penn has some tips for you here.

Write (and read) outside

If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, or somewhere you can sit outside away from other people, make the most of it. (Maybe your local coffee shop is closed, but their outside tables are still available? Maybe you can get a folding chair and head to the park with a notebook for scribbling ideas?) Being outside while still practicing social distancing can be healthy for both the body and the mind.

Write before everyone gets up or after they go to bed

If your children are very young and they need you in order to stay alive, it’s just not going to be possible to get anything done, except perhaps at their naptime. It might be best to just accept that the best time to write anything that requires concentration is between, say, 8 pm and 10 pm, and guard those two hours with your life.

Or maybe you don’t have kids yet, but you know that once your extrovert, cabin-fevered partner is up, he’s not going to be able to stop speaking all day, no matter how nicely you ask him to. Don’t fight it — or him. Get up earlier, make some coffee, and get some words down. It’ll set a more positive tone for your day if you’ve checked some things off your to-do list first thing.

Try the on-the-go journal

Throughout the day, jot down quick observations of how everything is going. How are you feeling? What interesting questions are your children asking? What details do you notice about how your partner works that perhaps you didn’t know before? All of these might inspire future novels or give you ideas for articles to pitch.

Switch genres

I was determined to get some words in for my novel today. But I’m just not feeling it. I know we’re supposed to write however we feel, but I also believe in giving ourselves grace. These aren’t normal times. I still want to exercise my writing muscles, though, and so here I am, on Medium.

Drop your word goal

Depending on the size of your house, the age of your kids, the neediness of a partner who might not be used to working from home, and your own levels of stress, it might not be possible to get as much done as usual. Under-promise to both yourself and your clients, and then impress everyone if and when you do manage to over-deliver.

This is a rough time. Be kind to yourself.