Is finding time to write a struggle?
No matter how busy you are, chances are you can find spare minutes, and even hours, especially if you think creatively.
Find time to write: use spare (0r creative) minutes
If you pick up your kids from school, you’ll spend five minutes or more waiting. And what about the hour or two you spend taking the kids to ballet or soccer?
One of my friends expands her time to write by writing in bed. She trots up to her bedroom an hour before bedtime with her “go bag” (more on creating your own bag shortly) and writes. She says: “Previously I’d spend the hour before bed scanning social media. Working on my novel is much more fun.”
A writing group member said that she found more time by prepping meals: “I spend a couple of hours on Sunday preparing meals for the week. That gives me half an hour to an hour each evening to write.”
Some writers waste time in indecision. Perhaps you’ve found some time, but you’re not sure on which project to work. Use the OODA loop to decide.
1. Streamline your life: make decisions with the OODA Loop
The OODA loop is a framework which helps you to make decisions. It’s an acronym, standing for Observation, Orientation, Decision, and Action.
It works like this:
Observe: the first step is to clarify the situation. What’s happening? What are the choices you need to make?
Orient: to orient yourself is to place yourself in space and time. What will happen if you do nothing?
Decide: in some situations, any activity is better than doing nothing.
Act: the final and most important step. Take action on your decision.
Let’s say you’re a writer who’s working on several projects. A freelancer might have three projects with deadlines, one recurring project due on the first day of each month, as well as a marketing/ promotional tasks for each week. A challenge of the freelance life is finding new work: you’re happy to be busy, but you need to fill your pipeline of work so you stay busy… However, the temptation is to work on current tasks and projects because sending out proposals seems like wasted time if none result in commissions.
While the OODA loop is useful for writers who depend on writing for a living, it’s also useful for self-publishing authors.
Once you’ve decided on a primary task, ensure that you give it a deadline.
Next, schedule your writing activities.
2. Schedule your activities: divide them into buckets
Your activities will depend on the kinds of writing you do. A self-publishing author will need time to:
- Research and explore ideas.
- Draft a new book… You’ll need time to explore an idea as well as time to create a first “exploratory” draft.
- Revise the initial draft and rewrite.
- Format the book for your chosen venues.
- Order or create graphics.
- Promote your new book.
Most of these activities can be batched.
Dump them into buckets: silos if you like because if you work on one book at a time, you’ll waste time in decisions and general procrastination. Create whatever buckets you like. Examples:
- Research.
- Exploratory drafts and outlines.
- Revision.
- Promotions.
Stacking your writing chores into buckets ensure you waste less time; if you’re bored with a draft and writing is slow, spend an hour on research. Changing drafts refreshes you and leads to new ideas.
3. Set deadlines to complete projects
Clients will give you deadlines, but if a project is your own (you’re a self-publishing author, or content creator) you must set your deadlines.
Without a deadline, there’s a big risk you’ll give up on an idea. You may tell yourself you’ll go back to the project “later”. Sadly, this rarely happens because you’re fighting resistance.
4. Create a “go bag” so you can write anywhere
A “go bag” is a collection of material you need for writing in unexpected places. Your bag may be your phone, with folders in your Notes app for ideas, research, and a current draft. Scrivener has an app for iOS; I admit I haven’t tried it. However, I do use Ulysses for iOS.
My preferred bag for writing away from my computer is a large folder containing a foolscap writing pad, pencils, and highlighters. If I’m at home, I can write on the sofa, and I can toss it into the car for writing at a coffee shop.
Make finding time to write a priority, and use that time
Start with the OODA loop. Decide and ACT. If this feels uncomfortable at first, imagine yourself a year from now. Will you be happier if you find time for your writing in your life?
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Both new and established authors find the current self-publishing climate a challenge. Want to make it easier?
