Otherways- Fiction Fanatics

Spring forward, Fall back. We all know the drill, but no matter how much we manipulate our daylight hours, there never seems to be enough time. Lives are busy, time is short, and something has to give. Unfortunately for writers, what ends up 'giving' is often time to write. 

There are a million books on how to manage your time, and I seriously don't think I can outdo those resources in a single brief blog post. Honestly, I'm not going to try. What I am going to do is to ask some very simple questions, questions we don't like to answer, because the problem isn't that you don't have enough time, it is that you are trying to shove too much into it.

I once let a four year old child start packing for an overnight trip on her own. I gave her a suitcase, and let her get started while I took care of her two year old brother. When I got back, she quite proudly had the entire bag jammed full, but predictably enough, she had left out all the essentials. Stuffed animals, a half dozen books, and an entire Fisher Price play farm set filled the bag. No clothes, no toothbrush, no essentials of any kind. I would tease her about it if I wasn't often guilty of the same behavior, especially in regards to time.

First, add those things to your schedule that must be done, and cannot wait. For most, this is hours at work or school. As I run a farm, I have to block out work hours for livestock care just as you would for a regular job. Next, add in the people in your life that you care about. Putting aside some time for them alleviates guilt and tension, and keeps you feeling content in a vital part of your life. Those are the two easy steps. Now comes the hard part, the Uncomfortable Questions.

1.What do you most want to accomplish?

2. What are you willing to give up to get it?

If you're serious about it, this will be a hard thing to do, but write down the top five to ten answers to both questions, and rank them in order. Once you've got that list, put the items in order of importance to you. Some things may not need attention all the time right now, because they aren't proximate in time, like retirement. For those things, you simply need a plan and minimal current time investment. The top two, or possibly three, items are the places that you need to be giving the bulk of your time to. Actually schedule them in your planner or on your calendar. Be sure to talk about them with those closest to you, so they know how vital these things are  to you,  and to keep your committment to achieving them in the front of your mind.

I found that a lot of what filled my time was only important to someone else, not to me, which made eliminating it all the easier. I also found that I am disorganized, and despite my best intentions would get off track if allowed. I use a free app, called isoTimer, on my phone to keep track of those goals I am trying to achieve. It has a daily checklist, calendar, and long range goal planner. I love that the goal planner encourages me to break down a large goal (like, say, become a published author) into smaller, more manageable chunks, which I can then add to my daily list as needed. (It also keeps track of completed tasks, which is nice on days you need a pick-me-up).

The point of this is not that you should download that particular app, but that you must do two things to find time to write: you must make it a priority, and you must organize the time you have so you give yourself every chance to achieve. I am easily distracted, disorganized, and I have a million interests, yet I managed to write two novels in the last year, and a third is more than half written. Some days won't be perfect, but if you keep at it, you are bound to succeed.  Believe me, if I can do it, you can too.

Cheers,

Michelle