Writer's Dilemma---When is the Right Time to Write?

I know that many writers are so driven that they squeeze out time for writing whenever they can: while the baby naps, tapping out a line or two on their phones while waiting for the kids, getting up early to write for an extra hour or so before work or staying up late. I don't have any of those restraints, though I do have a job and other responsibilities, I have much more time for writing than most people probably do.

Yet, I still am not very productive. There's the adage "work expands to fill the time available" and I think that's at least part of my problem.

But, here's another thing that I've realized. I get energized and ready to write about 4:00 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave a lot of time if I want to make dinner or go to an evening exercise class or if I have to work then. Or I might end up working really late into the night, which isn't good if I have to work the next morning. I guess the other thing I have to acknowledge is that I just can't operate on a few hours of sleep like I used to do. Getting old sucks, but that's a whole other blog post.

One good thing that has come from this realization is that I don't beat myself up all morning if I don't get anything done. I'm trying to work with that natural creativity that seems to arrive in the late afternoon so I do other things earlier in the day and when I don't feel like doing anything at all, I tell myself it's ok because I'll pep up in a few hours.

Or, is that just an excuse to sleep in and lounge around? I suppose the fact that my productivity is not what I'd like it to be is an indication that something needs to change.

Maybe just my attitude.

What about you? When is your most productive time? How do you get geared up to write and how do you keep yourself in the chair when you'd rather be doing other things?

Erotica Writer's Secret Life: How Do You Account For Your Time?

Are you a writer of erotic fiction? Would you like to be? Here's one of my dilemmas---how do I account for my time when I'm engaged in my secret life?

More specifically, here's my problem. In addition to writing erotic spanking stories, I also write funny chick lit type stories. None of them have been published yet (stay tuned) but I do want to work on getting them to a publishable state. I have a friend who also writes mainstream fiction and we often read each others work etc.

Her head would pop off if she knew about my secret life. I'm not kidding. So, for her sanity and my own, I will never tell her about my work as the mysterious Celeste Jones. (ha!)

That's all background to get to the time issue. My friend knows that I have quite a bit of time for writing these days, but as far as she knows, I have nothing to show for it. In actuality, I'm close to 12K words in a great three chapter story, but she doesn't know that. It's not like she's competitive or I need to account to her for what I do, but it's sort of weird when she tells me that she's edited five chapters of her book this week and she knows that I've had plenty of time to write, but I don't have anything to tell her about.

I have been feigning a cold in order to excuse my lack of productivity, but that can only last so long.

One idea might be to work on both stories at the same time, but I'm just not very good at dividing my attention that way, especially when one story is really getting good. Plus, I've made a New Year's Resolution to finish every story I start, no matter how bad it is, so I want to finish the spanking story that I'm working on before I move on to the next thing.

What about the rest of you? Do you keep your erotic writing secret? What are some of the challenges? Do you have any advice for me?