Tag Archives: time management

Writing time

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Writing time. You want more of it, and you want to make good use of what you have. How?

Set a goal

I’ve been using 750words to encourage me to write daily.

Whether it’s work on my novel, a blog post, or simply journaling, I enjoy keeping the writing habit, and I find that it makes me a lot more productive overall. However you do it, set yourself a goal to write every day. If this is something you struggle with, then I’d suggest not allowing any days off for a while, until the habit is fully formed. (30 days to form a new habit).

I’d also suggest making the goal easily achievable. Mine is to do 750 words, and that’s something that’s very easy to accomplish. I’ve tried setting higher word count goals, and it can be a bit discouraging to try and fail to reach those.

Make it a priority

Make your writing time important. If your spouse or family is supportive, then enlist their help in making sure you meet your goal.

A simple way to do this is to get your writing time in as early as possible, before other things take your time. Many people like writing first thing in the morning, but that doesn’t work for me. Our dog is diabetic, so mornings are devoted to taking care of her before heading out to work. I get my writing time in right after dinner, before I tackle laundry, housework, or settle in to rest, read or watch television.

It’s also helpful to me to set a specific time each day to write. That just reinforces the habit that you’re trying to develop. Think of all the other things you do every day just because “it’s time to do it,” and work on making writing one of those things.

Make it productive

Nothing discourages me more than sitting down for my writing time and struggling the whole way through it. I feel that I’ve let myself down, and wasted my precious time, when I don’t get anything accomplished.

To combat this, I allow myself to have more than one project ongoing. That way, if I feel bogged down in one (or just not in the mood to work on it), then I can work on another and still feel that I’ve done something worthwhile. I also fall back on journaling as well, knowing that it’s a good outlet for me and a good place to toss writing ideas around.

Currently, I have a novel underway, three blogs, as well as the journal. I can always find something that I’m in the mood to write about. :-)

I also do some simple, common-sense things to ensure that my writing time is as productive as it can be. I turn off the television and other distractions. I let my family know that I’m busy writing and to try not to interrupt me.

Another trick I use is one that I’ve seen others mention as well. When I’m working on a longer project, I stop at a spot where I know what will happen next. That saves me from spending my writing time on planning or struggling to come up with something to write about.

I also keep some notes on blog ideas so that I can grab one of those and begin working. If you pay attention to keywords in your blog posts, then do the keyword research ahead of time too and note what keywords you’ll want to use in that post.

It can be hard to find time to write, especially when holding down a day job, taking care of family, etc. No matter how busy I get, I feel better when I’ve taken the time to write. I hope these tips help you make better use of your own writing time.

Have any tips of your own? Please list them in the comments.

Happy 2010

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Well, another year is underway. I’m not big on resolutions, but I do like to take the chance with each new year to evaluate what I’ve been doing and think about the direction I want to take this year.

Too many things to focus on

I tended to divide my focus too much last year. Fiction. Multiple blogs. Articles. Freelance projects. Marketing. Social networking. It all meant that I just didn’t have quite enough time for anything, and never enough time to do it all well.

This year I’m going to limit myself. Fiction and the blogs are going to be my focus this year. I don’t plan on doing any freelance projects or articles. I also plan on limiting my use of social networking.

Focus for the blog

I think the blog has reflected my general lack of focus. I’d like to try to do some repeat themes like Grammar Monday, Fiction Tuesday, etc.

I’ll be spending some time over the next week going through logs and determining what posts get the most traffic, the most comments and the most shares on social networks. I’ll use that to develop a list of types of posts and subject to focus on this year.

What do you want?

What types of posts would you like to see here? What do you enjoy most, find the most useful? Is there a type of post you’d like me to not do any more of?

I’d love to get your feedback as I’m planning for the new year.

Vampires: Banish them once and for all!

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Here’s an interesting article on the vampire legend, and how some of it may have gotten started. I was anemic a few years back and did actually crave pink steaks. So… step a little closer. I think I see something on your neck.

What does this have to do with writing or publishing?

Well… I want to talk about real vampires. They may not be pale blood suckers, but they do suck the life out of you and your work. What’s taking you away from what you love, what you enjoy? Do you ever finish out the day wondering when you’ll have time to really live, do the things you want to do and not just what you have to do?

I know I struggle with this a lot, and even more over the last couple of months. It’s too easy to let small things fill up your day and never get around to what’s important.

Time is your most important asset, and how you spend it, minute by minute, determines the quality of your life. Think about that for a second. It’s not about setting aside a week for vacation or a special evening to do something with the family. Those things are fun and important, but your life is really determined by what you do every day, minute by minute, hour by hour. Choose wisely!

Bloodsuckers

So, what’s taking up your time?

People. I’m not telling you to turn into a misanthrope, far from it. You should make time to spend time with those you love, people who are important to you. However, that might mean making less time for people who drain you, your time and your emotional resources. Do you have someone like that in your life? Someone who takes up a lot of your time and energy when you’d rather do something else of be with someone else?

One thing you can do is limit the time you spend with, and on, these people. Use your caller ID and don’t take all their calls. You don’t have to answer every e-mail, IM, facebook message, etc. Try setting aside a little time for these people and strictly limit it to that and no more.

And if you start to feel guilty, take a look at someone you DO want to spend time with, and ask if it’s fair to you, or them, that you allow someone to interfere with that.

Less important tasks

Notice I don’t say unimportant tasks, just less important. Cooking, laundry, errands, bill paying, etc. are all important. They’re just not as important as doing what you love.

One technique that works for me is setting aside a specific amount of time to do these types of tasks, and I group all of them together. For example, I might allow two hours for housework, laundry, fixing dinner, cleaning up, etc.  Let’s say you spend more time on dinner than usual. With this method, you’ll be forced to spend less time on some of the other stuff.

Again, if you start to feel bad that the floor isn’t mopped or you didn’t run every errand today, then consider if it’s worth not getting to spend time with your kids, or work on the novel, or have a date night with your husband.

Most important things first

This is the most important technique for ensuring that you have time to do the things you want to do. Set time aside for the most important things first, and then work in everything else as you can.

Want to have time to write every day? Set aside time before work, after dinner, whenever. Protect that time and fit everything else you have to do in the rest of the day. Want more family time? Then set aside time for it first and worry about housework and phone calls and so on during the rest of the day.

If you let it happen, there are a lot of tasks, and people, who will drain you of time, energy, spirit, motivation, etc. So don’t let it happen. Focus on how you want to spend your time, and practice ignoring other things, and people, in order to do that. It’s a lesson I’m still learning, but it’s completely worth it.