How to Find Time to Write
I’m lucky to get to speak at events and meet lots of people want to write, and a common theme is the lack of time to write. Writing is a full-time job, but how can you dedicate the time required to be a writer when you have another full-time job that pays the bills?
There are many things that get in the way of writing that range from things we have control over to things we don’t have any control over. They include among may more:
Bills to pay
Debts
Having to care for a family member
Having kids
Having several jobs
Being sick
Having a hangover
Working insane hours
I will always sympathise with people who have responsibilities and struggle to write because of ill health. However, if your excuse is social life and hangovers (I’ve come across this one a lot), then you really need to decide whether writing is something you really want to do. I used to drink at least three or four times a week, and it’s no surprise I have had work produced since I cut those wasted hours out of my life.
Below are tips for you to carve out time. It can be tiring, because after a long day of doing the things you have to do, it’s a struggle to get into the headspace for writing. Some tips will hopefully help, while others just won’t suit your lifestyle, but find something that works for you, or that you can craft to work for you. Only you can take those first steps.
Fifteen minutes a day
If you have kids, are working silly hours, and have an endless list of chores, then this is the tip for you. Find fifteen minutes a day and force yourself to write. Even if it’s scribbling notes in a book and staring at the wall and thinking. That fifteen minutes a day will build a habit. Make it at any point in the day. Fifteen minutes a day will make it easier for you to get your head into a longer shift when that rare time comes, as it’s often starting that is tough for someone who hasn’t written for a while. Even if you don’t write a word, you’ll be developing ideas in your mind.
Use Google Docs
Google Docs have doubled my efficiency. You can work on them offline and then they autoupdate when you’re next online, so if you’re commuting it’s easy to edit on your phone while on the train, tube or bus. If you’re at work and bored you can always sneak on and do a bit of your work. There’s no saving and sending documents all over the place. It’s all in one easy, always accessible place. I find nothing more anxiety fuelling than having notes all over the place.
Morning pages
This is a technique taken from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. As part of a course you handwrite 3 pages every morning, splurging whatever you want onto the page. It acts as a creative exercise and is therapeutic at the same time. I’d recommend that anyone who is stuck for inspiration and struggling with incorporating writing into their life buy the book. It asks some tough questions of you but I found it made me take writing more seriously. The morning pages aren’t the easiest thing to do for those with hectic schedules, but try them once and see how you get on.
Say no to things
If you want to write it needs to jump up in your priority rankings. If you crave writing but are going out three times a week to socialise, then you’re knocking out three nights and the following three mornings. Ask yourself what you really want, because when you’re saying yes to things that aren’t crucial, you’re saying no to writing. There is always a reason to go out whether it’s a birthday, a work event, or just a Tuesday, but nobody will ever publish or produce the story you haven’t written yet.
Start early or late
I’m definitely an early morning writer. I get up before most people and start writing. it’s when I feel most productive before the torment of other people kicks in and emails and calls might derail me. Others swear that writing by night is the way forward, but what both habits have in common is that they operate when most people are asleep. So find that time where the world leaves you alone and start writing. It’s tougher for those with children, but if they have a sleep routine then you can work your writing routine into that. I find this easier in the summer when it gets light early.
Schedule time
Put time in your calendar that is sacred and can only be broken by a family, work or personal emergency. Everything else can get lost. When my wife had a course on Tuesday nights I blocked my Tuesday nights out for writing and nothing could move them unless it was serious. It worked wonders for me, because it’s easy to say yes to things if you have a blank calendar, but start respecting your writing time and structuring other activities around it.
I hope one or more of these tips help. If you have any writing tips add them in the comments and I hope you find the time to get to where you want to be.
Happy writing.