Value of Life

I was trying to get organized for the week this morning, and a quote in my writer's calendar struck me.  We think so much about all the stuff going on around us as a detractor to being successful at writing, or at least at finding the time to try to be.  However, David Brin says this...

"If you have other things in your life--family, friends, good productive day work--then these can interact with your writing and the sum will be all the richer."

Well now, what a novel idea!  It is all the sum parts of our lives that come together and give fodder for our writing and enrich it in ways beyond what would be without it.  So, then, the question becomes...how does one use the sum parts of our lives and not let them be a distraction to our writing time? 

I, for one, would love to hear how it works for you as it is a never ending challenge for me!