Strategies on getting writing done in a busy life

[jlivs]

Hi all,

like a million writers before me, there are times when life just seems determined to get in the way and disrupt my writing. I must admit I'm terrible for consistently putting aside a chunk of time every day for my writing seeming instead to wing it and wonder why I haven't reached my goal for the day/week/month etc.

I'm new to the forum so I thought I'd ask everyone here what their most successful approaches have been in making sure they get things done when competing with job/family time/staring blankly into the pit of despair...

Thanks everyone

 

[Steven Sorrels]

I feel your pain. As a full-time worker and father of two children, time seems to have abandoned me on a regular basis. Best advice i can give is, "Just keep swimming." Try to prioritize writing. And good luck!

 

[Phyrebrat]

It depends on your lifestyle and optimum use of the gaps you have.

For me, I'd convinced myself I could only write when I was in silence at home with either an evocative soundtrack in the background, and Scrivener on my app. But since Scrivener has been developed for iPad, I now write every day, syncing when I get home, opening Scrivener on my laptop and carrying on.

I'm quite easily distracted so I really found a binaural beats and white noise app great to isolate the outside noise when I plug my headphones in.

Now I'm writing at least 500 a day.

pH

 

[Toby Frost]

Well, my first answer is completely unhelpful: I'm single and have no children.

More usefully, I've taken to writing at times when there's nothing else to do - the lunch hour at work, for instance. Writing is quite a difficult hobby and is less immediately rewarding than, say, playing on the Xbox. Which means that (1) it helps to not have those easier entertainments nearby and (2) you need to really want to write what you're writing. That means, I think, planning what to write next and writing about something that's genuinely going to keep your interest. It can help to think about a story for a while before starting it, looking at stuff that will inspire you and working out the best approach.

It can be helpful to jump ahead when you get stuck or more to a different character, but I'm not sure I'd recommend that to everyone. Music helps (albums rather than individual songs) and I find it good to avoid the internet. I will just write "X" in the story where I need a real-world reference and come back to it later instead of looking it up immediately. But yes, it does depend on your lifestyle a lot and finding whether you need a regular slot to write and/or how you can fit it in and best get to work when the opportunity arrives.

 

[jlivs]

For me I think the things that have had the most positive results have been:

1- similar to what Toby has said, planning out as much as possible before hand. The current piece I'm working on has pretty much every story point noted down so I don't end up sat forever thinking about what comes next.

2 - Something that is eluding me at the moment - having the same chunk of time every day, devoted to writing. Even if it's just an hour.

 

[sknox]

I've retired for four years now, but started writing seriously about three years prior to that. I can tell you this much: having more time doesn't really help. I know it can be terribly frustrating trying to find time, and especially to create the mental space, to write. But the habit is far more important than the quantity. After years of really just screwing around, when I began to write seriously, the change was that I seriously carved out time.

At first it was literally nothing more than breaks and lunch hour. I got away from my desk, took a notepad with me (I draft by hand), and wrote. No music, no ambience, just time and a place. Little of what I wrote in those years wound up in anything, though I did learn a great deal about the mechanics of writing (mainly by doing it wrong several times). But the big thing that happened, which I did not even realize until after I retired, is that I developed a *habit* of writing.

That habit carried forward into retirement. Only now have I been able to have set times in which to write, and only after developing the habit of writing (it took a couple of years) am I able to be even marginally effective during those set times.

What I'm saying here is, develop the habit. Write every day, even it if is just fifteen minutes squeezed out of the lunch hour, or half an hour in the morning before everyone wakes up. Do this because the rhythm of your days will change over the years. When more time becomes available, you'll expand into it--if you've cultivated the habit, you'll do this naturally and effectively.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I have a crazy life. I have kids, one with additional support needs. I run a consultancy which is currently as busy as I've ever known it to be. I'm the chair of an organisation, on various boards. And somehow in 6 years I've churned out lots of books.

(The question I'm learning to ask instead of how I do everything is why, btw. If that why does not move me forwards then I will look up drop the task...)

How do I do it? Um... I'I scarily focused so I have to watch the old work-life balance thing. But I make sure I have a time to write - for me that's late afternoon. I take shortcuts to safeguard that time - dinner will often be something in the oven with quick accompaniments. Cous cous and roasted veg, I salute you. I also use time sitting around to do things - so while kid 2 plods around on a horse I do my critting on the iPad.

So, yeah. Time management. And learning how to write with chaos all around (I've ran the consultancy from home since the kids were in nappies, so they're used to being shoved a biscuit and told mum's on a work-call. In fact, a key survival moment was when they realised I couldn't stop them snaffling another biscuit. Or 3.... )

Oh and Alchemist who hasn't been around for a long time wrote this blog for me with good tips in it:

writing: The Time-Master

 

[Flannery]

I'm one who is driven to distraction constantly. When I'm on the computer, I would be surprised if I didn't check off every box for some adult ADD checklist. I'm easily distracted, I procrastinate, whatever. And I will whittle away hours doing that.

What's worked for me to get myself going is to use timers. It's called the Pomordoro Technique. It's nothing new. You don't have to even buy anything. Grab an egg timer from your kitchen and set it for 25 minutes, and the only thing you can do for the duration of that 25 minutes is write. If you're like me, you'll be surprised at how motivating that is when the clock is ticking down. Don't have 25 minutes to spare? Set the timer for 10 minutes. Thing is, it's an uninterrupted block of writing time for the duration of the timer.

When I started out doing timers, I would peck out about 600-800 words. Now, in a 25-minute timer, I easily do 1200+, I think because I've trained my brain to shut down on everything except writing for the timer I have set. And you can do this for anything: outlining, drafting, freewriting about your project.

It becomes a way of negotiating with yourself too. I write every day, but there are plenty of days that the last thing I want to do is sit down at the computer to write. I usually end up telling myself, "just 25 minutes. That's all. Then, if I want to quit for the day, I will." So, I'll sit down, set a timer, and I'll write. And usually that means I end up sticking around past the 25 minutes. But, if not, that's okay. That's the deal I made with myself. At least I got some writing done.

For other ideas about forming the writing habit, these are some great books about carving out time to write:

Rachel Aaron's 2K to 10K - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NKXAWS/?tag=id2100-20
Chris Fox 5KWPH - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XIQKBT8/?tag=id2100-20
Chris Fox Lifelong Writing Habit - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014V7PXV8/?tag=id2100-20
And, if you're not sure what to write, this is a fantastic (and quick) outlining book that also has some time-saving steps in it: Libbie Hawker's Take Off Your Pants - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UKC0GHA/?tag=id2100-20 (It's a writing book. I promise. )

 

[Vaz]

Its easier if you are single, have no offspring, and are a bit of a misanthrope.

Also, I recently sold my television. So, if I'm not writing I'm either thinking about writing or napping.

Having a writing cave is another plus.

v

 

[The Big Peat]

For me, it comes down to forging a habit, and of being able to write where ever possible. Laptop on the tube is where I'm getting most of my work done at present.

 

[Phyrebrat]

@The Big Peat Peat, could you write on a tablet or phablet? Isn't it a bit risky carrying a laptop on the tube and typing? And don't you just love when people eavesread? I have had some fun typing 'certain things' when I notice people nebbing into my business - but @HareBrain can expand on that.

Anyway, although I often have my macbook in my bag, I prefer to write on the iPad on the tube just in case.

pH

 

[night_wrtr]

These days my routine has no vacancies for my writing, so I have to sacrifice sleep. Recently, I've been writing for about an hour or so after the rest of the house turns in for the night. I can't write unless I am alone with my thoughts, and this is the only way it happens.

 

[The Big Peat]

PB - It may help account for how fast I go through laptops, wear and tear of being in a bag. But, eh, laptop is what I'm used to. Haven't found any other downside though, what you thinking of?

 

[Steve Harrison]

I used to get very frustrated trying to carve out writing time, but after a while I surrendered to reality and I'm a much happier writer.

I try to have one three hour writing session on a weekend. Sometimes I manage to write more often, sometimes less and sometimes I don't write for weeks. I don't have any word count goals. I just see what happens and I don't sweat it. The writing gets done over time. Usually a long time!

However, I spend a lot of time thinking about my WIP while I'm working and commuting and lying in bed at night and a lot of plotting and editing is complete before I sit at the keyboard, which makes my sessions pretty efficient.

 

[zmunkz]

But since Scrivener has been developed for iPad, I now write every day, syncing when I get home

^^this.

I think at this point, of every 1000 words I write, 500 were punched in from my phone, 450 were scribbled on my ipad, and only about 50 actually happen on the laptop. Never imagined that would work for me, but when lost in the desert, one must take what water is offered.

 

[Dan Jones]

I agree about Scrivener. I use it on my laptop, not on a tablet, but because it organises things for you, it's very easy to open up the laptop, see exactly where you are in the text and crack on. There's no need to scroll back up a monstrous Word doc to remember what the hell's going on. I wholeheartedly recommend Scrivener for all writers of complex, long-form pieces.

I'm a member of the parent club, with girls of 4 and 1, and my job involves an odd combination of lots of working from home and a fair amount of travel around the UK and internationally. This means I've learned to write in whichever setting gives me enough time to write a reasonable amount, be it my desk at home, or on trains or planes or hotels. I used to be rather precious about sitting down on my own with nice music on etc, but it's just not feasible. It means that long periods can go by where I'm not productive, but it also means that I get periods where I am quite productive. I've managed around 55-60K words since the turn of the year on the two projects I've worked on, which I think is a reasonable turnover for a busy lifestyle.

 

[aThenian]

Getting out of the house - usually that means a coffee shop for me. At home there are too many distractions: the kettle, the phone, house stuff and the internet (even though I could access the internet in the coffee shop, somehow I don't).

Freedom - the programme which switches off access to the internet on my mac.

Having said that, really wish I could be more efficient at home.

 

[TWErvin2]

Making writing a priority is important. It doesn't have to be the main/top priority, but it can't be constantly bumped to the bottom of the list, or writing will never take place. What that means is that often things that might be 'fun' or 'interesting' will be set aside so that writing can occur.

I watch very little television, and to supplement reading time 'lost' I now listen to audiobooks when driving or doing mundane things.

 

[Martin Gill]

I agree on the iPad. It goes everywhere with me. I write more on my laptop but I hammer out ideas on the iPad as I have them. I use Evernote for that. I've also learned to work non-sequentially. I plot my whole story, then start writing at the start, but leap around when I hit a block or need a change. I'll write up descriptions of locations, or of characters that may or may not get used. I write down things I see, usually people traits or scenery descriptions - little snippets that will get cut and pasted later. I jump POV character if I'm getting sick of one character. I sketch descriptions, dialogue etc in rough in down time between meetings, or often early in the morning. I work from home so I have an advantage of no commute, so when I'm head down in writing more its no problem for me to carve out an our a day early in the morning. I also work for a US firm and I'm based in the UK so my mornings are quiet. I can give myself 8-9am most days and that gets me 500 to 1000 words depending on how in the flow I am.

Right now I'm plotting my next thing and am totally distracted with about 4 different ideas. I've got time, but no focus

 

[crystal haven]

@The Big Peat Peat, could you write on a tablet or phablet? Isn't it a bit risky carrying a laptop on the tube and typing? And don't you just love when people eavesread? I have had some fun typing 'certain things' when I notice people nebbing into my business - but @HareBrain can expand on that.

Anyway, although I often have my macbook in my bag, I prefer to write on the iPad on the tube just in case.

pH

I'm wondering about what to use when writing away from the house, myself. Do you use the screens keyboard or carry a physical one? I'm thinking of maybe getting a very small laptop with a proper keyboard? I don't find it easy to type on the actual screen of a tablet.