6 Tips on Finding Time to Write

It’s nearing the end of the week and I haven’t taken any time for my own writing. Left to whatever spare time I never have, the days rush by filled with work, errands, appointments, and household chores. My heart craves to sit down and write out all those great ideas flowing through my mind but the to-do list never seems to get there. Sound familiar to you?

Image courtesy of Doug Belshaw on Flickr under Creative Commons

With a new book coming out along with needing to redesign my websites though, I need fresh content to promote my work. My schedule hasn’t changed, it’s as busy as ever, but yet I have to find the time to work on all those great ideas.

After talking with an author friend who has the same problem, these are six of the solutions we came up with to make more time for our writing:

• Give yourself an achievable goal: Instead of trying to blog daily, perhaps post one new piece of writing a week.
• Find another writer friend with whom you can share accountability: At the end of the week, you have to send each other an e-mail honestly confessing what you did that week. Sometimes all we need is the knowledge we have to regularly tell someone else what we did or didn’t do.
• Write down ideas in a notebook: If you have an idea but no time to write, jot it down in a notebook so when you do have time, inspiration is at hand.
• Write in a place you enjoy: Find a place you love to write whether it’s a desk at home or on a couch at your favorite coffee shop. It’s easier to write when you’re comfortable in your surroundings.
• Learn to say “no”: By saying “no” to some things, you can say “yes” to your writing. Consider that next time someone invites you to go somewhere. Is it worth your writing time? Perhaps you could try blocking out time in your schedule to write and only make appointments on other days.
• Move writing higher up on your priority list: I know your dishes are dirty and the bed needs to be made. They can wait an hour until after you’ve had some writing time. Everything does not need to be in order before you sit down to write. If that were the case, none of us would ever scratch out a single word. Sometimes we just have to reprioritize and do what we say we want to do.

I know how hard it can be to write when so much else is competing for our time but it’s what we love to do; writing is what nurtures us. We have to make time to pour out our words. If it’s really that important to us, we’ll find the time to do it.

Meanwhile, I’m going to write out one of those ideas I’ve had swimming around my head as I know I have to report to my friend next week whether I did it or not.