I have recorded a few albums with bands, and also did a solo album. The solo album was the hardest, at least for me. I did all the composing, arranging and producing, but I did use a more experienced engineer for the recording and mixing. I have a couple of thoughts regarding your post.
As for time, you have to make the time, or it will never happen. I scheduled time for working on songs, arrangements, rehearsals, etc. For my solo album (Lifelines) I played many instruments myself, but I also used friends. Thankfully, without exception, they did not expect or want payment, although I did pay for studio time and did pay the engineer. The point being, I have always kept myself very busy, so I had to schedule the time.
As for writing tips, drum loops with various rhythms can be pretty inspirational for riffs. Playing songs backwards (reversing the chord sequences) can offer fresh ideas as well. When writing, I stop listening to radio, or any form of recorded music, otherwise I just rewrite somebody else's songs. Not on purpose of course, but it is easy to create a song that is really just a modification of another song.
My best songs write themselves pretty quickly, at least as far as the melody goes. After I have a strong melody, then I work out the details. Even before I have lyrics, I hear certain sounds or phrases that just have to be in the song. McCartney's classic "Yesterday" actually started life as "scrambled eggs". It may sound stupid, but it works as a writing tool.
When working on my solo album, I did not make any attempt to make it a "guitar" album. Most of the songs had guitar in them, but I tried hard to let each song stand on its own, some without any guitar at all. So, at the risk of sounding like a Nike commercial, just do it.