Finding time to write is a common complaint of writers everywhere. Many have day jobs. We have families, significant others, relatives and pets all making demands on our time. We end up ignoring the needs of our creative self.
There is only one person who can change this situation – you.
Be proactive. Pick a week and carry out an audit of how your days get filled up with things not related to writing. Then review the information gathered at the end of that week to identify what you can give up, delegate or spend less time on. The time freed up can be 15 minutes or half an hour or longer. But it is there. You just have to find it.
Find the potential for writing time in your weekly schedule and then put it to good use. Your inner muse will thank you and your writing will flow. Here’s a checklist to help you out.
Tips for finding time to write
- Make a weekly schedule including all seven days and leave a space for each hour of the day and night.
- Be diligent and record your activities in the space provided for each hour.
- At the end of the week, review the “snapshot” schedule you have drawn up.
- Highlight with yellow marker all “must do” activities, such as your job and family responsibilities.
- With a green (or other colour) marker, highlight the areas where you can recover time for yourself.
- Make a new schedule for the coming week and, this time, include those potential writing sessions.
- Arm yourself with a notebook or tablet, whatever are your preferred writing materials and make sure you have ready access when a spot for writing opens in your schedule. Then use it wisely. (The laundry can wait or you can write while the machine works!)
The first week will be hard, but soon those around you will adjust and some may not even notice what you are doing. Meanwhile you will find you are happier, more grounded and, above all, more satisfied creatively. Good luck and keep on writing.
