Some days, I find it hard to find time to write. I’m sure you know the feeling. There is other work to do, financial chores that have to be tended to, errands that have to be run, promises to family and friends that have to be kept, unexpected crises that swoop in and consume time, heart, and emotional energy. And these are just the external circumstances we all have to deal with in the course of everyday living.

Then there are the internal obstacles that rise up and call our names: There is fatigue. There is fear. There is inertia. There is burnout. There are the “thousand slings and arrows that flesh is heir to” — any one of which can lay us low and make us question what we’re doing or cause us to give our writing short shrift.

Yes, finding time is difficult. I had a day today that started slowly and got slower. After spending hours on pesky tasks that had to be taken care of, I finally was able to sit down and tackle my own work. I made some progress, so I feel fine about the way the day turned out in the end.

But it made me think about the fact that we don’t need to find time to write. We need to make time to write. Because if we don’t make that time, then we won’t have the time we need to write steadily, to improve, to grow, to make progress. So forget about finding time to write. Make the time: Create it for yourself, because no one else will. Write on!