Writing Schedules
Let's talk about scheduling. I know, I know, it sounds terrifying. But remember that massive goal of 50,000 words you set yourself? You're going to need help.
If you don't have a job or school, then awesome, maybe you will have time to sit and write all day, but a lot of us don't. And are you being efficient, sitting there all day? How much time are you wasting on social media and "research"?
Let's face it - having a schedule is going to help. Trust me. Set yourself a specific time to do nothing but write. No chores, no phone calls, no Facebook, no research. Just write. Every time you think of something else that needs doing, make a note of it and do those after. Make lovely big notes to yourself in your writing about things you want to edit or research later. But keep writing. Your time is precious, make it count.
Why? Because we all know how easy it is to put things off. "Oh, I just need to do one more load of laundry before I write." "Just one more episode before I write." "Oh I have plenty of time to hang out with my friends." The excuses keep piling up and then it's bedtime before you even get a chance to open your project. So you go one day without writing. Then two. Then three. And then, before you know it, it's November 20th and you've barely made it to 20,000. So yes, you need a schedule.
I'm not going to tell you when to write. That's up to you. Maybe getting up at 5 am is no problem for you, so rolling out of bed straight to your laptop and churning out a couple thousand words before work or school will work great. Not me. When the first alarm goes off at 5:30, I convince myself I really don't have to get up just yet. And I do this for every alarm till the one that gives me just enough time to do just what needs to be done before running out the door in the morning.
So for me, my writing time has to be in the evening. I took a good hard look at my current schedule and figured out I could spend three hours writing each day. And if life gets busy and other chores get in the way, I'll let it go down to two. I'm also hoping to carve out some extra time during my commute to and from work. I have roughly an hour on the bus, but it's often crowded so I have to stand or I have to make transfers and wait in the cold. So, maybe I'll get twenty minutes of frantic scribbling here. Or maybe I won't. Let's call it bonus time. Same with lunch at work. I've got half an hour to eat and do any errands that might arise. I might be able to get an extra ten minutes of writing done here.
That gives me a total of 3.5 hours of writing time. That sounds like a lot right? Right now it sounds like plenty, maybe even too much. But as November progresses and more and more distractions pile up, I know it's going to be harder to stick to that. So, here's to guarding our precious writing time! Let me know what scheduling works for you!
<3 Belle
If you don't have a job or school, then awesome, maybe you will have time to sit and write all day, but a lot of us don't. And are you being efficient, sitting there all day? How much time are you wasting on social media and "research"?
Let's face it - having a schedule is going to help. Trust me. Set yourself a specific time to do nothing but write. No chores, no phone calls, no Facebook, no research. Just write. Every time you think of something else that needs doing, make a note of it and do those after. Make lovely big notes to yourself in your writing about things you want to edit or research later. But keep writing. Your time is precious, make it count.
Why? Because we all know how easy it is to put things off. "Oh, I just need to do one more load of laundry before I write." "Just one more episode before I write." "Oh I have plenty of time to hang out with my friends." The excuses keep piling up and then it's bedtime before you even get a chance to open your project. So you go one day without writing. Then two. Then three. And then, before you know it, it's November 20th and you've barely made it to 20,000. So yes, you need a schedule.
I'm not going to tell you when to write. That's up to you. Maybe getting up at 5 am is no problem for you, so rolling out of bed straight to your laptop and churning out a couple thousand words before work or school will work great. Not me. When the first alarm goes off at 5:30, I convince myself I really don't have to get up just yet. And I do this for every alarm till the one that gives me just enough time to do just what needs to be done before running out the door in the morning.
So for me, my writing time has to be in the evening. I took a good hard look at my current schedule and figured out I could spend three hours writing each day. And if life gets busy and other chores get in the way, I'll let it go down to two. I'm also hoping to carve out some extra time during my commute to and from work. I have roughly an hour on the bus, but it's often crowded so I have to stand or I have to make transfers and wait in the cold. So, maybe I'll get twenty minutes of frantic scribbling here. Or maybe I won't. Let's call it bonus time. Same with lunch at work. I've got half an hour to eat and do any errands that might arise. I might be able to get an extra ten minutes of writing done here.
That gives me a total of 3.5 hours of writing time. That sounds like a lot right? Right now it sounds like plenty, maybe even too much. But as November progresses and more and more distractions pile up, I know it's going to be harder to stick to that. So, here's to guarding our precious writing time! Let me know what scheduling works for you!
<3 Belle
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