Making Time to Write

 

Time! We are given 24 hours in a day, and it's ours to do what we will with it. Even if we sleep 8 hours, that leaves us a full 16 hours for activities. Work, play, frittering it away at times. 

Professional writers often set a number of hours per day to devote to their craft. Hobbyist writers and those aiming to be on the bestseller list someday approach time to write in different ways.

Some are rigid in setting a certain number of hours per week that they devote to writing, while others fit in time to write wherever and whenever they can. Some do it when the mood strikes. Those moods don't always strike at convenient times, however. 

Some set aside a prescribed amount of time per day to write. Maybe it's two hours, or one hour, or even half an hour. Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?

Consider the activities that fill your day. Some writers work at other full-time jobs, are raising young children, are active in community activities, responsible for cleaning, cooking, and grocery shopping, social activities and more. That doesn't leave a great deal of time to write, and when a writer does devote an hour or so to writing, they might be so tired that it's not a productive effort.

I've heard writers say that they want to devote more time to writing, but they cannot seem to do it. One way is to take a good look at your life and see what things you can cut back on to give yourself some writing time. You might have to say no to a social event. In that case, you'll need to weigh which is more important to you. 

There are also some who use 'no time' as an excuse because they have a fear of not being able to produce as they would like to. It happens. It's human. 

If you're truly passionate about finding time to write, go to bed an hour later or get up an hour earlier. I'd vote for the latter, as you'll be more refreshed than at the end of a long day. 

You can even find snippets of time to write if you keep a small notebook and pen with you. Waiting in a doctor's office feels like wasted time, so why not use it to jot down story ideas, or the first lines of a poem? Those who take a commuter train or bus to work could make use of that time, as well. 

It all comes down to the determination you have, how passionate you are about wanting to write. If you truly do want to write, you can make time to pursue that drive you have. If you have hours to spend writing, that's wonderful, but even if you find bits and pieces of time, you'll benefit in the end.