Welcome to the second session of the Start Writing for the Busy Writer blog series. Last month I covered facing your fears. In this month’s blog, I address an issue writers loathes. Time. Time is the biggest reason writers give for not writing, and an excuse I’ve used too. My personal journey with finding time to write took a pivotal turn with an online class by Kelly L. Stone  called Time to Write. The two main points which stood out for me were: (1) Tracking where I spent my time daily and (2) Kelly’s statement “if something is important, you make time for it.”

If something is important, you make time for it!
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Those two simple, but crucial points, impacted my writing life and pushed me to reach my writing goal of published author. In this blog, I provide tips and a resource to help you identify where you waste time. 

TRACKING YOUR TIME

Be honest, how much time do you spend daily on the couch watching TV, or scrolling through meaningless social media? You work hard and need a break, right? Absolutely! But, will those squandered hours write your idea or story? Nope! Trust me, every writer has tried. If you’re serious about writing,  tracking your time for one week is the way to start. This one step will show:

  • How your days and times are spent
  • Emphasize where and when time is wasted
  • What the time is wasting on
  • Time you could use to write

Tracking my time was a game changer, and I hope it impacts you to change your writing life. Print out the daily schedule resource and follow the steps.  

REVIEW YOUR SCHEDULE

At the end of the week, review your schedule, and highlight the days and times you believe are misused.  Write out why those days were wasted. Is the amount of days and times highlighted what you expected? Next, add up the total time lost daily and list what you wasted the time on. Is there a pattern to those days and times? Are your time wasters the same each day?

Search deep. Were you truthful when recording your time, especially the time you squandered? When you uncover the enormous amount of time blown, don’t let guilt freeze you from taking action. Instead, rejoice for the uncovered nuggets of time you now have to spend doing something you love. Writing.

IDENTIFY YOUR WRITING TIME

Use the days and times you squandered to write.
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If no, why not? If you answered no, chances are fear is blocking you. Go back to the fear spreadsheet you completed and review the points you wrote for overcoming your fears.

If you said yes. Congratulations! You uncovered the coveted writing time you thought you didn’t have. Get excited! You’re embarking on an amazing journey to write and those words are headed into the world-or at least on paper or on the screen. Let that excitement prime you for next month’s blog. Creating a writing routine.

Have you identify the time you waste? What did you discover about yourself and the time wasted?