Tip 3: Create a List of all Extraneous Activities After Work
One of the best ways to be an organized and productive writer is to examine where your time is going after work. Take stock of your appointments and other obligatory activities. Then assess which of your activities are not essential so that you can carve out some writing times.
For instance, ask yourself how much tv you watch every evening. Then assess how long you spend on the internet or other technological gadgets that waste precious writing time such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Once you have a weekly total, write it down in a prominent place.
Further, take stock of what you do after work. Do you pick up groceries every day? Do you go to the gym every day? Do you go to the mall a lot of the time? Do you vacuum the house every day? Do you dust every day? Do you wash the laundry every day? If you answered any of these questions in the affirmative, then you probably are wasting a lot of time every daytime that you use to write.
For instance, why not shop once or twice a week for groceries. Or why not go to the gym three times a week instead of every day? On the days you reduce one unnecessary activity, take the time to write for an hour. You could even go to the library instead of the gym and write. That way, you don’t have to negotiate with your family for writing time. Also, you will be more likely to write in a public place where others are working or reading silently. Make sure that you take stock of your life so that you can see gaps where you can be writing instead of wasting your time doing things that won’t pay any dividends in your overall productivity, except possibly stress you out more.
Conversely, do you go to the hairdressers every week. Why not go once a month or every six weeks for a haircut. Take these two hours a week and write. Or do you go out for dinner a few times a week. Why not cut that back to once a week? Get some food from the takeout counter of your grocery store or order pizza and write during these times.
Alternatively, you could plan your meals ahead of time. You may want to invest in a crock pot or instant pot and make some easy meals that you can put together in the morning. Chop your meat and veggies the night before. Before you leave for work, put all the ingredients into your crock pot and turn it on. Then when you get home, you can eat a healthy meal, take some time to unwind, and get some writing done.
Your doctor and dental appointments can also take a lot of time out of your week. Therefore, it is important to write them down in your planner and highlight them for the week. That way, you will be able to write around those times.
Also, you may want to take some time out and assess whether all your appointments are necessary. For instance, should you be going to work out five times a week.
Or do you go to the physiotherapist three times a week when you can be going once and writing for the other two times? You could commit to doing your exercises at home and taking other therapeutic measures to take care of yourself between physio sessions. That way, you can save time and money, and create a bit of time to write. I will say more about how not to waste time even if you have appointments. Its all about being organized.
Tip 4: Don’t Waste Time
Working writers can’t afford to waste time. Therefore, your must organize your appointments so that you have time to write and get rid of extraneous appointments. If you have some important appointments you must attend, such as your dentist, yearly physical, or eye exam, make sure you take steps not to waste time. Don’t just sit in the waiting room fuming if your doctor’s appointment ends up being fifteen or twenty minutes later than scheduled. Instead, get organized and find ways to write, read or plan for your writing that night or the next day.
Here are a few more tips to get organized so that you can even get some writing done, especially if you have multiple appointments in a week:
• Take your pen and paper along with you when you are waiting for the doctor to call you into your appointment. That way, you can work on your writing while you are waiting. Sometimes there are delays when you get to your appointments. Take advantage of this time instead of feeling frustrated that you must wait.
• Leave at least a half an hour earlier for your appointment and write in the car for fifteen of those minutes. It’s not the most comfortable. But you can buy a lap desk and put it in the car as well as a blanket and pillow for additional comfort.
• Take some time after your appointment to go to the library and write for another thirty minutes or so. This will give you some additional time to write and just be before you get home and must get into your family routines.
• Schedule your appointments approximately an hour after work. That way, you can stay at work or go to a library close to your appointment and write.
By taking these steps, you will manage both your appointments and still find time to write, regardless by finding small windows of time to write. This will give you even more of a chance to write additional hours every week, month, and year.
By culling some of the nonessential things out of your life, you can make room to do some of the more important things, such as your writing. This is one important way to make more time to write. You will feel more organized and in control of your writing career as a result.
Enjoy!
Irene Roth
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