We
all have seen the question asked in many different writers groups, “What is
your biggest issue with writing? One of the top answers, time.
For
me, it a huge issue. Like many others, I work a full-time job. And those who do
not work have households to take care of fo and family issues to handle. Let’s
face it. Time is one of the most significant issue s we have with just about
everything we do.
There
is no simple answer on how to best utilize your time to take advantage of it
all. I am just as bad as everyone else at managing my time. To be honest, I am
bad at it. Work, commute, household work, kids, family time are just a few of
the things that get in the way of writing.
One
of the biggest things, I hear at work is time management is essential. We
typically have multiple projects running at the same time. For me, it is pretty
straightforward. I usually work on the same task all day, and when it is
finished, I move along to to the next.
But,
on a full daily view of all my required projects for life, it gets pretty
complicated. I never know from day to day what my wife is going to have me do.
We all run into those daily issues that need to be done, and typically those
cut into our “free” time.
Since
the world went insane this year, I have been working from home, which is a big time-saver for me, no commute. Time management to me on a daily macro level has
been far more comfortable to work out, Work, home items, family time, my relaxation
time, writing.
I
feel lucky that I have set this up and make it work for so long. Even after I
return to work in the office, I will have to adjust the actual times period for
each of these events, but I can do it. It
did take me a while to get my time set into a workable schedule. And I had to
stick to it, now it is a habit.
There
is no simple rule for any of us like they tell you in those time management
classes. Some people need a list, others can simply organize in their head,
others will never work out a plan. To me, I took the importance of my tasks. Work
and home commitments were essential Items. Those two also follow one another in
chronological order. The only other issue was how much time to a lot into each
spot. Again, work and family issues were pretty set in stone. The remainder of
my awake time was divided into the last couple of slots. It did take me a while
to get it all adjusted, but now things are moving along pretty smoothly. This
week, in particular, work did get messed up since I had to go into the office for
a couple of days. So, the missing hours with a commute and getting up earlier
hurt my schedule, but I will recover.
So,
set your priorities. What is most important to you? Then rank those. Look at
how your day naturally unfolds and put things in a logical order—set time limits
for your different activities. Then adjust as needed. It might take a while,
but you can do it. Remember to put the time in for yourself to do “nothing.”
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