So you want to be a writer but can’t find time to write? First, look at your motivation. Are you sure you really want to be a writer? Writers find the time to write. Then, once you’ve determined that writing is your passion and you are willing to do what it takes to write, consider these ways to carve out time to do so:
Get up earlier. If you are already a morning person, getting up an hour earlier gives you prime time for writing. If you’re not a morning person, getting up earlier will allow you to wake up sooner and to start writing sooner in your day.
Go to bed later. If you are a night person, the result is obvious. If not, write during the day and use the extra time at night to take care of those chores around the house you normally do during the day.
Schedule it. You schedule everything else to make sure it gets done—doctors’ appointments, lunches with friends, get-togethers with family, shopping, oil changes, tire rotations—so schedule blocks of time during each day/week to write. Scheduling time to write makes it a higher priority than just putting it on a to-do list. And, when someone wants you to do something else during that time, you can legitimately say you already have an appointment that you can’t break.
Just say no! Is your time being eaten by agreeing to participate in too many other activities? Keep writing your focus and decline invitations to be on committees, chair organizations, bake goodies for the soccer team, chaperone the junior high dance, or whatever other worthy cause is being touted. Ask yourself, does this event align with the steps towards my future personal goals?
Keep regular office hours. Treat wherever you normally write as your office and go to work each day at a set time. Don’t leave the office until you have achieved your goal for that day or have worked diligently for the entire length of your “normal work” day.
Forego one hour of television a day. Consider recording it to skip through commercials, which can save up to 20 minutes an hour. Use services like Netflix so you can watch whenever you wish without commercial interruptions, and really try to stick to just a couple of episodes. You may enjoy relaxing in the evening, but often watching one program leads to sitting there watching several hours’ worth without even realizing it.
Write wherever you are. Keep a notebook with you (paper or electronic) to record thoughts, ideas, character sketches, solutions to plot dilemmas that suddenly pop into your head. The jottings you make at these odd moments may lead to a better in-depth writing session later. Snippets of time add up unexpectedly, so these daily insights can help keep you on pace.
