Do you ever feel compelled to do something but just don’t have the time to do it? Like a good compelled, not OCD compulsion compelled. Although with so much focus on OCD, sometimes it can be hard to make a distinction. Can there be good compulsions? Discuss amongst yourselves, I don’t have time for that one today.

Write.

For me right now, my writing is the thing I wish I had all the time in the world to do. Alas, life has other plans. For one, I have kids. It’s hard to write more than short blog posts when you have kids. They demand attention. They need it. And it’s important.

Cleaning, that also takes precious time. Taking care of pets. Church responsibilities. Eating. Exercising. Relaxing. Showering. See what I mean? All of these pesky necessities and niceties of life that take time away from what we want to do.

So how do I make time? Do I feel guilty about the time I carve out to write? Sort of. But not really.

This.

The blog itself happens most frequently during my children’s afternoon “room time.” We usually have about an hour after school where they play quietly (ideally) in their rooms. And meanwhile, I hole up in my room and work on this blog, often being interrupted by one or both of my kids wanting me to see something they have made or asking how much longer they have to stay in their rooms. Do I feel badly for this compulsory time out for the kids? Absolutely not. I read about room time in a parenting book, so there you go. Totally approved.

Other.

And other writing? Books and such? That’s harder. That requires getting into a mindset and a flow. It requires more time and focus. I’m usually too burned out by the end of the day to do that kind of writing after the kids’ bedtime, so it often happens when my husband takes the kids out on a Saturday for a few hours. Do I feel badly abandoning my family so they can have this papa-child time? Absolutely not. I need my alone time and I think it’s good for them to be with dad, two on one. I also utilize the “children at school” time when I can, although that time gets eaten up far too frequently with chores, errands, meetings, etc.

Why?

I think it’s important to have a passion. It’s important to make time for something you want to do—something that isn’t compulsory and that brings you contentment or that challenges you in a positive way. Just like we need to feed our bodies good food and take care of them, we need to feed our minds and heal them as well—not just by fighting off “infections” or mental health problems (like OCD) but by working them out or nourishing them with productive activities and thoughts.

Do you have a mental health routine? What do you enjoy doing that you try to make time to do?