Have laptop, will travel

Have laptop, will travel.

I recently left a job where I feel I spent more time on the road than at home. I had hustled my way to senior leadership — and all the realities that came with it — travel, long hours and work that is quite draining. By the end of the day, I would be faced with a night in a hotel room, study looming over my head as well as my own writing goals. In 2024, I travelled to Europe twice and while I was on annual leave, I had extremely busy days, and still managed to get two assignments done, one which was marked as a distinction.

So, how do you manage full time work, study, family commitments, and meeting your writing goals?

Always be ready — You never know where your inspiration will come from and when! I always travel with my personal laptop, have writing tools like Scrivener on my phone, and at the least, always have a notebook. Some of the best poems I've written have been sitting at the airport gate.
Plan — Look at your week ahead and plan as much as you can. For instance, I knew the new school week would start on a Wednesday afternoon so would try and make Wednesday my work from home day, or my strict 5:00pm finish if I was travelling. I set the expectations with my colleagues and family and protected that time intensely.
Take yourself out — Literally. Find a bar, a restaurant, somewhere cool that will inspire you and write from there for a while. Write what you see, what inspires you. I have sat down and done some of my character interviews at funky bars in Melbourne, imagining I am taking them for a drink to get to know them. It can be fun.
Writing prompt cards — On my lunch breaks (the days I could take one) or when I was on the road and stuck for ideas, I pulled out one of my writing prompt cards and wrote a poem or used the card to inspire a scene in my novel. I used these cards from Catherine Deveny, but you could Google ideas etc. I wrote one of my favourite poems, Bad Politician, using these cards which you can find on my poetry page.
Be kind to yourself — Remember this is a journey, and some days you will be behind where you want to be, or you will be exhausted from a busy work day, or you might meet someone interesting in the hotel bar and spend the night chatting. Just take your time and be kind to you.