Five Ways to Get More Writing Time

Time can fly when you are on a deadline.



The Psalmist said, “LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth
will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is.” (Psalm
39:4, New Living Translation) These days seem to be racing and I'm aware of how
time flies and feel the need to make the most of each day.



Each of us have the same 24 hours. Yet some people seem to get
more done in those hours than others. How are you using those hours for your
writing? In this article, I want to detail five ways to get more time for your
writing.



1. Get Aware of How You Spend Your Time. It's
easy to waste time if you aren't aware of how you spend it. Take a day or two
and keep a brief running list of your activities. This list will help you
eliminate and improve your use of time. 



2. Consider your writing expectations. Do you
plan to write in the mornings or in the evenings or when? Do you expect to get a
large block of time to concentrate and write a lot of words? As you think about
your expectations, think about if you have put any artificial expectations such
as I will write for two hours without pause. That expectation is not realistic.
Maybe you have said to yourself that you need ___ minutes to write. Can you
write off and on throughout the day on a project? Be willing to experiment and
change to see what improvements you can make in this process. Each of us are
different but at times we create artificial (and wrong) expectations for our
writing. 



3. Use good writing tools.  Some friends do
their writing in a coffee shop while others need silence. Would a new tool help
you increase your writing? I've mentioned my AlphaSmart 3000 which I bought on ebay for
about $25. It is old technology but allows me to write on the go and easily
change my location. I've written on airplanes and in libraries and many other
places. Maybe a new tool will help you get more writing time. 



4. Apply the lessons from your time monitoring.
Awareness is the first step but then you need to make changes to your use of
time from what you learned. For example, if you spend several hours a day on
Facebook or any other social media site, you can make some different choices.
Maybe you love watching sports and that is consuming a lot of time or some
favorite show on television. 



5. Be committed to moving forward no matter what
happens. When you slip and waste time, it's easy to beat yourself up
and even give up. Each of us have schedule interruptions and get sick and have a
car break down or countless other interruptions. Be dtermined to move forward
and meet your deadlines whether personal or from an editor. 



Each of us have the same time and space limitations. Yet each of
us can continue to grow and improve in this area. I know I have a lot to learn
and continue to learn about how to manage my time.

What steps are you taking these days with your time? Let me know
in the comments below.



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Discover five ways to get more writing time in this article from a prolific writer. (ClickToTweet)