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Write From Home
Kim Wilson P.O. Box 4145 Hamilton, NJ 08610 Tel: (609) 888-1683 E-mail: kim@writefromhome.com
| Making Time To Write Notice the title of this article; Making Time To Write not Finding Time To Write. If you wait to write until you have the time or find the time, chances are you'll be waiting quite a while. If writing is important to you then you need to MAKE the time. You need to take action and make no excuses. I know it sounds easier said than done, especially when you have children, a spouse, household responsibilities and perhaps a job outside the home. Here is a method and five tips to help you accomplish your goal of making time to write. List the 24 hours in a day in a schedule format. Now make a list of your primary commitments; things you know you must do, such as your job and appointments. Next, make a secondary list of commitments. These are things that take up your time yet are flexible. Some secondary items on your list could be cooking, laundry, cleaning, sleeping and spending time with your kids and spouse. Now, cross off the time slots for everything that is on your primary list. For example, if you work from 8:00 to 5:00 you might want to cross off 7:00 to 6:00. Once this is done go back and schedule your secondary commitments. Try cutting back the time you need for non-important secondary items. For example, spending time with your spouse and children is more important than cleaning, so you would cut back on the cleaning time without reducing the time spent with family members. If you're a night person try pushing your bedtime back an hour or two. If you're a morning person get up earlier. Now, schedule your writing into the free time that you just made. If your weekly schedule is so tight that you can't make time to write, try and schedule a time on the weekend that is exclusively yours. Some people don't like having rigid schedules. If this describes you here's a more loose approach to making more time to write. Pick a time, perhaps in the evenings that you want to write and make that time a priority. Try and avoid doing anything else during this time-frame. Treat it like the other items on your primary list. Here are five tips to help you create more time. 1. If you watch a lot of television, cut back. Decide which programs you can live without then use that time to write. 2. Recruit your children and spouse to help out around the house. If your children are at a "helping age" have them pick up after themselves and assist you with household chores. 3. Keep a running grocery list on your refrigerator. As you use items write them on the list. This will save you a lot of time when it's time to do the shopping. 4. Prepare for the morning the night before. Pick out the clothes you and your children will wear. Make lunches and prepare diaper bags and backpacks for the following day. By doing this you will save time and not be so rushed in the morning. 5. Accept help from others. If Grandma, friends or other relatives offer to babysit, let them. In fact if you and the sitter are willing, schedule a regular time on certain days or evenings, then use this uninterrupted time to write. Be creative when it comes to weeding out the not-so-important tasks in your life. When you take a hard look at where your time is spent you'll be surprised at how many things can be eliminated or reduced. If you're serious about making the time to write you will succeed. Remember, take action and make no excuses. Kim Wilson is the founder of Write From Home (http://www.writefromhome.com), a site dedicated to helping writers manage kids and clips under one roof. Kim is also a full-time freelance writer and coauthor of Living Miracles: Stories of Hope from Parents of Premature Babies. You may contact Kim by visiting her Web site or sending e-mail to kim@writefromhome.com Permission granted to reprint this article providing you: 1. Include my byline. 2. Make no changes to the article. 3. Include the above resource box. 4. E-mail me: kim@writefromhome.com informing me where it will be published. "Take action. Make no excuses."--Kim Wilson |
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