The time is now

No one time management formula will work for everyone – our situations differ, our “creative periods” are individual, expectations and goals are personal, and the actual time we have available will vary. The one thing that is specific to ALL writers is that we have to make the time to write or the writing will never be.

Setting your goals and priorities is the first step towards honing your time management skills and productivity. Be realistic, there are only 24-hours in a day and 7-days in a week, that is not going to change.

Each of us have different circumstances – you may be holding down a full-time non-writing job as well as writing part-time, you may work from a home office and have young children or other demanding family members popping in and out, you may work from home and be able to enjoy the solitude of an empty house during your “work day”, or you may be sitting in a busy office with deadlines and editors looming over your desk.

Starting a time management plan is as simple as acknowledging how many hours your writing work week actually is and understanding your ultimate goal (write a novel, turn-out regular articles, pen greeting card sayings, etc). Try to keep your work schedule as regular as possible, the same time every day or the same days every week – regularity will help establish writing triggers.

Know yourself, some people are not as creative and productive early in the morning so planning to get up a few hours earlier may not be for you; maybe you’ll do better working later in the evening. Pick out a writing spot preferably one that isn’t smack-dab in the middle of family or office action; if you need to, form some sort of barrier between your “writing desk” and anything else going on – anything that makes that space YOURS.

Tell the people around you that you are WORKING and stick with it short of an emergency (and running to the store to pick up the fixings for dinner tonight is NOT an emergency). One of the most irritating hindrances I’ve had to deal with since working from a home office for almost 30-years is having people respect that I am AT WORK even though I am in my home – I’ve discovered the bliss of voice mail and being able to turn off a phone ringer, I’ve learned to say no thank you to getting together for lunch or such, and I have even been able to let a ringing doorbell go unanswered. Stick to your priorities in the outside office as well, ignore unnecessary interruptions and learn to expect respect for your time and space.

Make a “to-do” list periodically – be realistic about your goals and make sure that most if not all of that list is directly related to your work and your writing. I don’t make daily lists but I do update it every few days or as needed – I learned to say it’s okay if I don’t finish my list so long as I do check off a majority of it. Cut down on distractions. Admit it, Facebook for the home-worker is like the office cooler, but just like in the office, limit your time and get back to work. If you start your work day checking emails like I do (mostly for last minute instructions from editors or urgent notices) time yourself and keep it within that time; save the personal emails and jokes for rewards or “break time”.

Be flexible. If you are working on more than one project at a time, you may have to switch gears because of an editor’s desperate phone call or email. Yeah, imagine writing a passionate love scene and getting a call that you have to interview your local government chief about school funding and it’s got to be done for the morning paper! At the same time working on multiple projects, assuming there is no pressing deadline, affords you the chance to change topics when you feel ingenuity slowing down and helps to spark creativeness.

A friend repeated her Yoga teacher’s closing words today, “After the stress of doing is the peace of having done.” It’s true, you experience a calm and satisfaction when you don’t have things pressing in on you. Be fair to yourself though – the things you MUST do for work do not include doing laundry, picking up groceries or running the vacuum. Household chores and errands belong in your NON-work hours.


Writing exercise: Okay, you blew it – you had a deadline and you just couldn’t meet it. But you are working with a new editor and you are hoping she’ll give you another chance. Write a letter with an excuse (sound authentic!) or honesty, but do your best to convince her that you can finish the job.

Writing prompt: It’s all about time and the hours 1 through 12 (most clocks). Using those numbers, write what each number means to you, keep it brief. (ie: 12 days of Christmas)