Good enough is important in the content of your writing – if you refuse to let it out there to be seen until it’s perfect, it will never leave your computer, or possibly your head – but it also refers to time and place. The time and place will never be perfect; there will always be pesky life things like dirty laundry and bills to pay and there will always be people who need (and deserve) your time and attention, sometimes even when you’d rather be writing. But the time and place needs to be – must be – good enough.

First, there must be a time and place that allows focused attention, and there needs to be materials that are good enough that you can work without thinking about them. It doesn’t even need to be the proverbial room of one’s own, it just needs to be good enough.

I didn’t start being a productive writer until I figured this out. It wasn’t so much that I was waiting for the perfect time and place, as that I didn’t realize how little was actually needed to write productively. When I finally made the decision, and made the time to start writing, I was working almost full time, and wrote during my lunch hours and weekends. This was a relatively stressful time, but I found that a regular writing practice went a long way to grounding me, and keeping me sane through the stresses and pressures in my life.

But then things really fell apart. I ended up working two jobs, with a highly variable schedule and next to no time off. Many things that I enjoyed doing fell by the wayside, because I simply didn’t have the time or the physical, mental or emotional energy to keep doing them. But I kept writing.

For about a year or so, it felt like every minute of my time was spent working my tail off for everyone else’s benefit. When I wasn’t working for one of my employers, I had household chores and family demands. I only got a few nooks and crannies of my life to myself, which I spent writing. It felt like writing was the only thing in my life I did only for me, and no one else.

It wasn’t a pleasant time in my life, and I’m quite happy that my situation has since improved, but it was a valuable learning experience. If nothing else, that year taught me how little is necessary for the time and place to be good enough. I found if I had a decent notebook and a pen (preferably my favorite Zebra brand pen), I could write. And if nothing else, that year taught me not to take the time and space I have for writing for granted.

So every day I try to not take it for granted. I have a little time, I have a little space. It’s enough.

[sgmb id=”1″]