The Right Time to Write

If you are a writer or a blogger or both you might feel challenged to find time to write when you have a job, a family, and take care of a household.

Even at this time in my life, I must assign myself blocks of time to write. Otherwise, I would find excuses not to write, even though I love writing. It’s a discipline and I, like many people, make excuses.

Current excuses:

• Is American Idol on?
• Should I pull weeds from my flower gardens while the sun is shining?
• Should I be spending more time with the grand kids or visiting the folks?
• Do I need to mow?

Past Excuses:

• My kids need to go to ball practice, dance class, or a school function.
• I need to fix dinner.
• I need to help with homework.
• The house needs cleaning.
• I need to sleep. (I still do)

Good news! Did you know that you can squeeze several words out of only a few minutes a day? You may be surprised what you can do in 15 minutes.

With 15 minutes you can:

• Start learning the basics of playing an instrument.
• Clear out a dishwasher and load it back.
• Read a few pages of a good novel.
• Research for your writing.
• Write a few lines of poetry.

In 15 minutes (if you can type 30 words a minute) you could write 450 words. This could be a blog entry, short story, or part of a chapter – or a love letter to yourself. I’m just saying.

You don't have to be home to write. Try writing:

• In restaurants
• In waiting rooms
• Lunch time
• Break time
• Kids napping time
• After everyone is asleep
• Before your family awakes in the morning
• Before you go to work
• While your family is watching TV
• While you are waiting on your children
• Before (and during) seminars. Not that I would ever do that

A Few Tips:

• Before you begin, have an idea or direction in mind.
• use your 15 to schedule your 15.
• Always have a notebook with you.
• Don’t edit, just write.
• If your child is feeling neglected give he or she the job of timekeeper. Set an egg timer and tell them to come back when the timer goes off. Or give them writing materials and encourage their writing.
• Find your own space where you can write and not have to put away your things when you are done.
• Remember, when it's time to take a break- take it.

Later, you might even find an hour or two hour of uninterrupted time on the weekend or late Friday night to write. Think of it as treating yourself.

I write:

• 30 – 60 minutes every morning before I go to my job, Monday through Friday but not before I get my cup of coffee.
• 30 minutes after I get home- if I have have one brain cell leftover.
• 15plus minutes at lunch.
• Saturday a couple of hours
• Sunday- whatever I can get in. This is the day that writing is not on my list to do. If I get it done -great, if not that's ok too.

Here is what I did with only 10 minutes a day for one summer. I hadn’t picked up my guitar in years. But, I wanted to play again. During my vacation one summer, I decided I would commit 10 minutes of my day every.single.day to practicing the guitar. By the end of the summer, I was playing again.

And If you feel sometimes that the Internet steals your time away from writing, use a notebook to write OR do what Elizabeth Spann Craig did – go where your internet won't work. Read here about her really cool get-a-way.

What do you do when life interrupts your writing? What’s your right time to write?

THERE IS STILL TIME TO ENTER THE GIVE AWAY FOR THE PLAQUE AND EASEL. EITHER TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS  TO ENTER YOU OR YOU CAN EMAIL ME. 

Photo source: http://quangkhoi.net/learningcenter/