Here is where mega-strategies to find or make time to write come in. From each mega-strategy listed below, you can come up with multiple techniques and tips to apply to make the time to write.
Remember, you don't write just to write for the pure joy of it. You are writing to finish a planned fiction or nonfiction book project. Have a goal in mind for applying this blog post. What would you like to have publish-ready first? Have the working title in mind as you read the list of mega-strategies listed below. I sum up nine mega-strategies:
A. Simplification
B. Reducing time spent on time-wasting activities by sacrificing and giving up
C. Spending a greater percentage of writing blank time writing by getting rid of distractions and interruptions that pull you off time spent composing and doing Google research towards the ends of each writing day, when your writing quota goal is complete
D. Write better quality copy on your first and second drafts so you need fewer drafts before the book is publish-ready by outlining, brainstorming ideas
E. Keeping a daily all the time time log and using it to measure your writing output in each timed mini-session and using a week of measured daily progress to estimate timed deadlines for completing a longer book draft
F. Trial and error with adapting regularly to life-changes
G. Prioritize your writing number one in free time, work on people, health and chores in breaks from writing and only working on great book ideas following the 80/20 rule of what to work on now
H. Optimize and make better your daily routines and do things at better times of the day to allow for daily time to write
I. Write now and early, not later and don't do other things instead of writing and put off writing
A. Simplification
Whatever you do, do fewer projects currently in that area. Delegate time-consuming tasks to service companies and your spouse and family. Divide up necessary things and do them 3 minutes at a time in writing breaks so that a 15 minute chore does not take up all of a 15 minute bigger time chunk.
Whatever you do, if there is an easier way to do it, do it the easier way. Do your writing the most straight-line, most direct method of writing as well. Streamline how you do time-consuming activities and do them later in the day, reserving early in the day for writing.
Batch errands and similar tasks to spend less time gathering materials and putting things away. As I cover in the next strategy, drop many elements of life that most people do and do writing in the freed up time a week by not at all doing many time-wasting activities that others generally do.
For example, I no longer watch television shows or movies. I don't miss it at all! In breaks from repeated mini writing sessions I now do Google research of one online article or blog post only and record 1 - 2 pages of notes in my 200 page research journal or writer's notebook under A - Z labelled pages, one sub-topic per page.
B. Don't Do Time-Wasting Activities
After keeping a time log for a complete week, you'll probably find if you work full-time, that you spend free time doing a great deal of relaxing, R and R time-wasting activities. That works fine for you for your entertainment and relaxation before working again, but does not at all work for you if you want to complete a book draft in Scrivener.
Categorize your time spent on activities in your time log, and aim to spend less time on time-wasting activities you did simply for fun and spend more time during the week days writing.
Write at half or three-quarters throughput on days when you plan on doing R and R. That is how you fit in life and writing as well. Only do time-wasting activities on these days of the week only.
Spend less time watching television and movies like I said in the previous section and you'll have plenty more done on your book draft.
If you want to know what I do instead of time-wasting activities in bigger blocks of free time, I do 76 minute cycles of alternating 25 minutes of composing on my book draft in Scrivener, 25 minutes of note-taking on one online article or blog post on a Google research query and 2 minutes of chores and going to the washroom. Every 4 cycles I do a to do or a chore for 15 minutes or eat for 15 minutes. I do this until I have met my daily word count quota for the day. Most days I do 10.333 cycles a day of 76 minutes to do a cycle each and do 258 minutes composing in Scrivener a day.
C. Write During Writing Time, Don't Get Distracted
When you compose in Scrivener or other writing software, only write for the duration of your timed writing session and don't interrupt yourself to do other computer activities. Tell your spouse and family you'll handle their interruptions and to do's after you are done with your writing session. Turn off your phone and the Internet browser. Don't check for new email. Get rid of annoying popups and don't look at them. If the doorbell rings, don't answer it.
Try doing more writing in each writing cycle like writing for more minutes of a writing cycle, as detailed in the previous strategy. Spend less time doing Google research in a typical writing day and more time composing a draft in Scrivener.
Write directly without doing a freewriting prompt to warm up. Spend less time doing your pre-writing ritual. Just fetch a drink, sit down and set your computer timer then write.
D. Write Better Quality Copy
Research how to write better by typing that into Google and reading online articles on that topic.
Try structuring your piece before writing it. Divide up the piece into chunks and parts. List the piece's sub-headings first like I did at the top of this blog post.
Copy what works for other writers. Copy the formats of winning writing. Make your sub-headings and chapters a common length by looking at how long chapters and sub-headings are typically in other books in your genre.
Write about the same sub-topics others write on in the main topic. But try to write about an angle to your writing you haven't seen covered before. For example, today's blog post idea is an angle to making time to write I haven't read a lot of blog posts about.
When you write your first draft, don't worry about editing it and the quality of the copy. All writing is rewriting and fix problems with the copy in the rewriting phase. Just put the copy aside for a while and when you have a fresh mind, list problems with it and time estimates of how long to take to fix each problem. Refocus first, re-research second, re-write it third, edit it with rearranging, cutting and blending fourth and tweak and proof if ready for the last phase fifth.
Remember your planned outcome while writing your copy and write towards what the reader needs. All your writing should build to an overall effect. For example, the overall effect I am building this blog post to attain is some enlightenment by the reader about some more things they could do to make the time to write they didn't do as much of already.
Change your writing methods so that you can create publish-ready copy in fewer drafts. I find outlining and brainstorming well helps me eliminate two drafts completely. Review the known methodology for completing novels and nonfiction books and do your books the advised ways to lessen how much rewriting of new drafts you have to do until your copy is publish-ready.
E. Use a Time Log, Estimate and Write to Timed Deadlines
Keep track of the minutes you spend on each task daily in a time log notebook and at the end of each timed writing mini session, add up the words you have written or composed in Scrivener and the number of words you have added to the book project by doing a project-wide word count total and note the statistics and number of minutes of your composing writing session in your time log. At the end of the day, add up all words and minutes writing and determine if you have met your daily word and time count daily quota which is your daily output or production goal.
Using a summary of performance over 4 days writing output on average, determine how many minutes you spend composing per long hour of free time in a writing day and how many words of draft you finish per minute of the long free-time period in a day on average. If you know how long your periods of free time are, you can then estimate how many words of draft you'll get done in a typical day of so many hours of free time in a typical day. Remember some days are at half or three quarters speed so only count them as half or three quarters days.
Laying out your book draft with estimated word counts of each chapter in it, estimate when you will be done each part or sub-book of 3 - 4 chapters only and at which time of which day later in the month as a timed, estimated deadline to meet. Then try to meet each timed deadline for completing a long multi-chapter book draft of so many total words in Scrivener or other writing software.
Meeting your timed in the day deadlines is paramount. You can do what you want after the timed deadline is met. Always meet your deadlines. Allow for some percentage of optimal performance in setting your time goals to ensure that you meet them like estimating at 85 percent of average performance and having a 15 percent of time slack period allowance.
F. Use Trial and Error and Adapt
Using the trial and error mega-strategy means that you generally try new techniques soon after you found out about them, and you keep on doing what works. For example, I keep on writing in 25 minute mini writing sessions as I tend to be able to finish them completely and I don't get tired as easily doing shorter writing sessions. These writing timed sessions are called Pomodoros and are timed to a tomato timer available on Amazon.
If the new technique works for you, keep on using it for now. If something else you tried later works better, switch to the new technique. If it doesn't work for you, drop or delete it from your life and don't do your life that way. It's as simple as that.
Sometimes your life pulls up in unexpected ways. For example, on doing a health-care required test, you can get diagnosed. If so, adapt your life and your writing to your new situation. Try doing a shorter book if you might have less time. Or do only the first short book on a long list or the most important one from an 80/20 rule instead of a less important short book. Write for more minutes a day if you have less time or write less and live more with other people to say goodbye. Do whatever works for you, depending on your personality type and what life situation you are in. My advice should be adapted to your type of situation not to be applied literally.
G. Make Writing Number One and Only Work on Great Writing Ideas
In big blocks of free time, for example on your days off, make writing in Scrivener on your big book draft number one and do cycles of writing so that you do many mini sessions a day in cycles. Make writing your chosen lifestyle. You'll be more productive and you'll generate eventually a publish-ready short book or book series of related short books or ebooks on a bigger, main topic like making the time to write which I aim to turn into a completed book series on the big topic.
When you must work or work on your health, do that but when you don't have to work or work on your health, write.
Do people like your spouse, family and friends and chores in breaks from writing. For example I fit in people and chores in half-time throughput weekend days when my spouse is off work. I divide up kitchen tidying up to 2 - 3 minutes at the end of a writing cycle and do it in 5 chunks of 3 minutes each so I don't take up a full 15 minutes in one go. Also I can better tolerate doing things I don't want to do if it's simply a few minutes at a time.
Take major time for your people when they are talking to you or when you have gone out with them. Allow for regular time out of the house for restaurant meals and grocery shopping in your weekly writing plans.
Make a list of 20 related book titles to work on in the next 3 years or so and prioritize 4 of them only as having 80 percent of the sales and importance by starring 20 percent of the list as having 80 percent of the importance. Then choose which project is key of the 4 book titles to work on now. Which completed book will help you the most in your avocation if you learned the main topic of it well? Which is easiest to do first?
Then do a Google query on the main topic of your first book idea and write up notes in a research journal of 200 pages with A - Z labelled pages under the correct letter for that sub-topic of the bigger, main topic. For example I found material for this blog post under M in my research journal for "Mega-Strategies."
Drop all book writing ideas that won't turn into published sales. For example, I gave up writing a travelogue in yWriter5 about imaginary characters taking a 3 year cruise in 19 cruises to write a book about making time to write in Scrivener instead. I got a new book idea about writing a book about my SIMPLE writing system, but decided not to switch to writing it up. Don't drop what you are working on now to start a newly inspired replacement project. Always finish what you start first.
H. Optimize Your Daily Routines and When You Do Things
Writers should always write and compose first thing in their days. So you don't exercise and go to the gym first in the day. You exercise later in the afternoon, in your lunch time or right after work.
Don't shower first thing in the day. Shower and take medications last thing in the day when you won't be giving up writing time to fit in daily hygiene.
Optimize beauty, makeup and hair grooming routines. For example, I wear little makeup and wear my hair natural, just combed out. That saves me lots of time I can spend writing.
Make up a decent morning, getting up routine, a decent writing cycle routine and a decent evening, going to bed routine and include in your routine checklist things you might otherwise forget like taking a daily project word count total or backing up your manuscript.
Rearrange how you do things to save time. For example, tidy up your writing work space 3 minutes at a time instead of in one 45 minute session. Pay bills all at once, whcn you have your stamps and envelopes out.
Keep things you need handy. For example, I use a writer's knapsack and keep my writing instruction books, research journal and time log in it when I am finished with them. When I go out, I take my writer's knapsack with me everywhere so I can read and work on writing goals in otherwise wasted waiting time. Keep books near where you write in a little bookcase or in a laundry basket on the floor.
I. Write Now and Early
Work on your writing now. Now is the best time to work on your writing. Don't do it later. You don't even know if later will even ever arrive. Always complete your writing mini sessions early in the day and work on other things later in the day, like research and blogging for example.
Most writers write early in the day by going to bed early. The typical writer goes to bed between 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM and rises in the early morning 8 hours later.
Make liberal use of dead time waiting to get to sleep by thinking about your book ideas and trying to come up with a winning angle for your main book project and thinking of what to put into the next sub-section of your book draft. When cooking, think about your book and make a note in your research journal of the new ideas you came up with under the correct lettered page for that sub-topic.
Keep your journal with you at all times so you can write in your journal in spare moments of the day. Also keep a Big Idea Notebook to record all your great book ideas in it or use Life Journal 3 and record all good book ideas under a Book Idea Journal Type.
An exception to the rule is blogging. Write up your blog posts halfway through the day, towards the afternoon so you make progress first in your book draft in Scrivener. I am writing this in the late afternoon.
Call To Action
Stop what you are doing now reading online blog articles and spend fifteen minutes freewriting about your chosen new book project idea you are longing to finish. This is the payoff. Remember I said earlier in this blog post to choose a book project to have in mind as a goal while reading this blog post? That was the set up.
Brainstorm your idea's angle or slant, the parts of your book or idea and how your idea is fresh and new to discussion online on your book topic. Collect all your freewriting exercises in one to two places to mine them for ideas in your writing later on.
Writing is what I do the most often. You too can spend more time writing by implementing these mega-strategies to make or find time to write.
This is just one sub-topic of the main topic "the time management of writing." Other posts on making time to write and the time management of writing will follow, written about other sub-topics of the big topic. Check back to see what I write about tomorrow!
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Julie Nield of central Ohio, United States
Indexed Under: find make the time to write time management of writing strategies sacrificing simplification optimization prioritizing journal different day
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