Carving Out Writing Time

Writing is an occupation, a job, a business, a career. Whatever you want to call it, writing is hard work and time consuming. For some people it is a part-time job, for others a full-time one. For others still, it is a hobby which they are trying to turn into a real occupation. No matter what level you’re working at as a writer, you need some kind of sense of time management.

Each of us is drawn in so many ways. Whether you’re working in or outside the home at something beyond writing, so many hours each day or each week must be allocated for that. If you have a family (children at home), you certainly must have time apportioned for them and taking care of their needs. If you have pets instead of children, you need to set aside so much time for their needs. If you have a husband or life mate, certainly you need to allocate time for nurturing that relationship (keeping in mind that sometimes more time and care is involved with this person than with children). This isn’t even taking into consideration YOUR needs, desires, hobbies, interests, or anything else. Oh, and, actually doing some writing hasn’t been mentioned either.

So how do you manage your life and your work as a writer? First, you need to determine exactly what your daily or monthly life entails, the “duties” you must handle. Actually make a written list of them and include some "unanticipated duties." Then sit back and look at your list. Sure it might seem overwhelming, but we deal with this stuff all the time, probably have been doing so for a long time. Obviously you can do these things. What you’re doing now by looking at this list is figuring out the priorities for your life chores.

A lot of us already keep a calendar of some kind to generally keep track of commitments. If you really want to find time for writing, you need to do a better job at using a calendar. I suggest going a step beyond the 30-day calendar with big blank squares for each day. Invest in an appointment book with hourly divisions, or a weekly calendar that has time divisions or just plain more space for writing in more details. You can also use one of the various calendar programs for your computer, such as Outlook. If you feel the need to have a written copy of the calendar with you, print it out of the program.

Now take that new appointment book and write in as many of the “life” commitments you know about: doctor appointments, dentist appointments, your children’s soccer games (or whatever), community meetings you must attend, church time, etc. If you’re working (not the work of writing), “X” out your normal hours for that, too. And do not forget to allow special time for just being with your loved one or going out with a friend. There is, of course, all the other miscellaneous tasks we all do such as shopping for groceries, going to the drycleaners, getting a prescription from somewhere, cooking, cleaning, and lots more little tedious but necessary chores. But don’t put those on your schedule unless they have exact time commitments.

Next sit back and look at the “holes” in the schedule. These are opportunities for potential writing time. Maybe you are an early riser or can manage it if you really try. If you have an hour before your family needs you in the morning (even if you can only make yourself do this once or twice a week), plunk yourself down and work on your writing. At work, use your break time for quick notes on ideas for a project you’re writing, or use your lunch time for possibly writing a scene or whatever. After you get your nightly chores done or your kids to bed and your husband planted in front of the TV, slip off to your writing place and do some writing.

The more determined you are to be successful at writing, the more focused you need to be on creating a schedule that supports your goal. Some of the “life” priorities will need to shift a bit. More real time rather than just when-I-get-a-chance time should be carved out for writing, researching, or whatever other part of being a writer is necessary. Along with this, you should determine what your best time of the day is and try to schedule your writing work for then. I’m talking about the fact that some people are “morning” functional and get their best work or thinking done then. Other people are late at night oriented.

I haven’t gone into the breakdown of scheduling the actual various elements of what the writing career entails, like story creation time, writing the project, rereading and making revisions, writing a query letter and synopsis, submitting to an agent or editor, revising again, and all the myriad of promotional needs involved. Those items, too, can be woven into your schedule.

The point is if you don’t get a fairly good handle on time management, you’re going to drive yourself nuts. One of the things you need to consider is if you really want to be a writer, whether it is part time or full time. If you’re content with playing at writing because you enjoy it now and then, that’s fine. But if you honestly want to hone your skills and eventually get published in whatever manner, you must learn to carve out time for your writing career.