Help! Morning? Night? When do you write?

I used to be strictly a morning/daytime writer, but as my kidlet’s schedule has changed, mine has had to adapt. I had two choices: stop writing or learn to be a nighttime writer. I chose option 2, obviously, but I’m not going to lie and say it was an easy transition. It wasn’t. I’ve never been a night owl, not even in college. I get tired, and I really, really value my sleep. The first couple of weeks I started writing at night, I turned out nothing but crap. I’d read it over the next morning, throw myself a pity party (and maybe, just once or twice, chuck a pen across the room in despair).

But as time went on, my brain got used to having to be creative during those nighttime hours. My writing started to get better, and then it even became good. I got into a rhythm where the words just started flowing. And then I started to lose track of time. I set a midnight expiration date for myself, but there were some nights I would look at the clock and it would be 2 or 3 in the morning.

Which leads me to THE PROBLEM. You guys, I cannot shut my brain off and go to sleep. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks. I try sticking to the midnight cut-off, but then I go to bed and toss and turn, thinking of ways one scene needs to be changed, or how I need to add depth to a certain character. I got two hours of sleep Sunday night, a whopping five on Monday, and three last night. I feel like a zombie, and I have to chase after a toddler all day. Something’s gotta change because this is not working.

So consider this a call for help!