Finding time to write (when you have no time)

Are you having trouble finding time to write? We can’t really ‘find’ time. Any more than we can ‘make’ time. But we can mould time.

I had hoped to have the proof copy of my book in the hands of my beta readers by now. Yet I’m still only halfway through my final read-through.

I’m helping others to move their books on, yet mine keeps stalling. I’m hoping that by writing this blog post, I’ll not only motivate you to get your projects done, but myself too.

No time?

There are 24 hours in a day. That’s a non-negotiable total of 86,400 seconds. None of us can make or find more.

Around a third of each day is taken up sleeping. Please sleep, it’s good for you.

That leaves 16 hours or so.

Remove essential ablutions, eating, commuting (remember commuting?) and you’re down to maybe 13 hours. If you have a full-time day job, that’s another 7–8 gone. Then depending on whether you have kids or other dependants, a partner, pets to attend to, you’re left with an hour or two a day to write if you’re lucky, not necessarily even in a single block of time.

How on earth can you be expected to make any progress on your writing (let alone work on your online author platform)? It’s one more thing to crowbar into a week already bulging at the seams.

Yet, we always find time for the things that matter. Sorry, not “find” time. More about that in a minute.

Your writing matters

If you’re struggling to find time to write (or, in my case, finish editing my manuscript), chances are you aren’t prioritising it. I know that’s the case with me. I AM super-busy, but I do always find time for things that I prioritise. So, maybe we need to deprioritise some other things, at least temporarily.

If, like me, you aren’t yet published, or are published but the pennies aren’t pouring in quickly enough for you to give up your day job, or you have kids/dependants/other key tasks taking up all your time … hi, good to know I’m not alone.

If this is you, I bet you find yourself deprioritising your writing. It isn’t bringing in money (yet, think positive!), you don’t even know if your writing is any good (I bet it is!) and there is always something else on your to-do list that involves less thinking, less creativity, less effort. So, another day goes by and you’re no closer to reaching your goal.

BUT, your writing matters. The first step to spending time on it is to prioritise it. Realise that it’s worth spending time on. And for how to “find” time to do that, read on.

Moulding time

Rather than trying to make or find time, I’ve been looking differently at the time available. It’s about shifting the internal walls of those 24 hours, rejigging what you’re doing and when you’re doing it, to maximise the time available.

Tim Grahl has some excellent advice on how to be productive in his blog post, The Ultimate Writer Productivity Guide. He talks about firstly altering your mindset, then working out when you’re doing what, and finally planning what you’re going to get done.

Be realistic about how much time you have when finding time to write. As you can’t add extra time into your week, consider tweaking the time you already have.

• Get up half an hour earlier each day. That’s 2.5 extra hours a week (allowing a break at weekends to recuperate). Get up an hour earlier each day and you’ve gained 5 hours.
  I’m not a morning person by any stretch, but I’ve found that, for short periods of time, this strategy can help to get a project finished.
  Toni Morrison’s words are often quoted, and rightly so, on writing “at the edges of the day”.
• Your day’s edges may be at the other end of the day. If so, and if you’re not too exhausted before bedtime, consider scheduling in half an hour before your head hits the pillow.
• Look at your daily, or weekly, schedule. Where do you have downtime that you could use to write? Waiting in the car while your child is in an extra-curricular class? Lunchtime? Your daily commute if you use public transport? There is likely to be at least one area of your life, at least once or twice a week, that you can hack into being a bit of writing time.
• Be prepared to sacrifice something (Netflix/gaming etc), at least temporarily.
• Look at what you may be able to deprioritise in order to gain a bit of writing time. If you truly can’t deprioritise anything, alternate what you are working on. A week on writing, a week on something else of equal priority.

Making the most of the time you have

Once you’ve found, or moulded, some time, you need to make the most of it. Don’t squander those hard-won, precious minutes. Make them count!

• Avoid distractions – close the door, turn off your phone and turn on your ‘do not disturb’ function on your desktop.
• If you live with other people (and if they are likely to understand such instructions), tell them to save any questions/comments/gossip until a certain time. Hard to do with kids around, I know. As I write, two screaming kids are invading my mind space…
• Linked to the point above, noise-cancelling headphones are amazing. If they are suitable for your environment, give them a try. Even better, listen to music (I find I can only work with music without lyrics, as the words clash with my own), natural sounds or white noise, whatever works for you. Try out my getting-in-the-zone track – three hours of lyric-free, calm music by Meditation Relax Music on YouTube.
• Plan what you are going to do with your time in advance. Know which chapter or character arc you are going to work on before you get in front of your computer or notepad. Even better, set yourself a goal for your session (e.g. word count, chapter, scene etc), but don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t achieve it. You are human. You are enough.

Final words on finding time to write

As with getting anything else done, planning and prioritising is the key to finding time to write. Above all, be kind to yourself.

Let me know in the comments if you try out any of these tips. Did they help?