CornerScribe

10 ways to find more writing time

I think most writers, at some time, struggle to find the time to write. Whether you’re a freelancer, novelist, or blogger, that’s probably true of your situation as well. Here are some tips that I use to salvage some writing time from my schedule.

1. Ask for help. I wrote a post about this last week. It’s probably the single most important thing you can do to for yourself. Get in the habit of it.
2. No perfectionism allowed. Whether it’s housework, yard work or your writing itself, you don’t have the time or luxury to be a perfectionist. Run the vacuum in five minutes, not thirty. You don’t need to pull out every piece of furniture. Likewise, don’t spend hours editing the same passage. Are you really trying to make it better or avoid working on something else?
3. Hire it done. If asking for help isn’t enough, then consider paying someone to do some of your work. Can you get someone to mow, clean house or run errands?
4. Do it online. From banking to shopping, doing business online can save you lots of time. Set up payments online with your bank and you’ll never have to write and mail checks again. Get your statements online so you don’t have to deal with a lot of paper mail.
5. Establish an errand day. Set aside a day to run all your errands. Instead of spending time each day going to the store, post office, etc., do it once or twice a week.
6. Be flexible. Take some of your novel along for editing while waiting for your kids at practice. Do the same when you head to the doctor’s office or anywhere you’ll have some waiting time. Take a laptop or paper notebook along for some writing or brainstorming time.
7. Take along the camera. For bloggers, this is especially important. Take photos for the blog or inspiration.
8. Don’t fall behind. Do a load of laundry every day, not ten loads on the weekend. Make sure the sink isn’t overflowing with dishes. Even if you spend only 15-30 minutes a night straightening up, it will keep things from getting out of hand. When things get really bad, you’ll be more focused on the mess than your writing, and it will take twice as long to clean up! The same goes for paying bills, running errands, etc. If you fall too fall behind, you’ll be too stressed to have productive writing time.
9. Keep meals easy. Use your crockpot, make sandwiches, soup and salads. When you cook, make double and use the extras to keep from cooking another meal. Along these lines, use paper plates and cups (paper, not styrofoam). Use aluminum foil for cooking for easier cleanup. If washing dishes consists of throwing them away, that’s a little more time you have at the keyboard.
10. Make writing as important as other things you make time to do. Often writing ends up being one of the last things we get to in the day. Raise the priority of your writing and let some other things slide for a change.