The Thief Of Time

Hello; I'm really struggling at the moment to find time to write. My manager mixed up the rota, so instead of my usual 36 hours a week, I've been doing 42 and 48 and as I've said before, 12 hour shifts kill my creativity, leaving me too mentally and physically drained to write.
     I've got a rare day off this week, so I'm trying to pack in as much writing as possible, although I have to pay for my day off tomorrow by doing another 12 hour.
     I've completed a short story for Saga magazine, themed around the paranormal, they're willing to pay £250 for the winning story with various smaller prizes for the runners up; all I have to do now is type it up and press send. I'm also a quarter of the way through my road trip from hell story for Massacre Magazine, but as both stories have to be in by 30 April, I'm not sure I'm going to meet the deadline for both; the road trip isn't going to plan.
     I'm still waiting to hear from Norah about my Fiction Feast story, although I'm being a little impatient as it takes about 12 weeks for a response and it was only sent 4 weeks ago, but one can hope. Also my flash fiction is still awaiting its fate from Massacre, which also closes on 30 April, (think there must be something special about that date, maybe it's because it's walpurgish night )
    As for my poor novel, well, I haven't looked at it for at least two weeks; I just don't have the time. If they were real people, they would have upped and left me by now or died of neglect. Once I get this road trip story done, I should be able to devote more time to it, but time is the one commodity I'm always short of. 24 hours in a day just isn't enough. You take 12 hours out for work, that's halved it, 6 hours sleep if I'm lucky, that's three quarters gone, that leaves 6 hours to do everything else, shopping, appointments etc.
     I have thought about a writing retreat, somewhere quiet and inspirational, where I'm just left alone to write, but they're so expensive; it would be cheaper to rent a caravan at the beach and shut myself away for the week . . . now there's an idea. Disappear for a few days, no phone, tv or other distractions, completely impractical but a lovely idea all the same. Anyway, I'd better get back to it, time is slipping by again rather too quickly.