Today, as I was walking around my classroom handing back a huge pile of graded assignments and thinking about all of the things that I would like to be sitting down to write right now, an important thought came to me:

It’s ok to admit that you need stability in your life in order to still be a productive writer.

At one point, I thought it would be great to work from home and be a freelancer. I’ve seen people do this for years and flourish. But when I lost my job three years ago and I suddenly was faced with the “opportunity” to do so, I discovered that I did my best writing when I 1) wasn’t stressed about money and the future and 2) had a consistent schedule that I had to work around.

Would I love to have more time to write? Yes. Is it sometimes a burden to have to write “in the margins” (the title of a new series I’m starting next month)? Yes.

But I thrive with routine, and that’s ok too.