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Easy Ways To Find More Writing Time

By on January 26, 2017
Easy Ways To Find More Writing Time - Writer's Life.org

We’d all love to have more time to write. However, it is not always easy to find it. Most of us write in our spare time, but often life can get in the way. We’d love to be able to stick to a strict writing schedule, or have hours each day to kick back with a pot of coffee and work on our writing, but when it comes to jobs, kids, maintaining a house and having a social life, writing often ends up taking a back seat.

However, if you are reading this, then it’s likely that writing is important to you, and, like me, you probably feel guilty if you don’t do enough of it. If this is true then now is the time to do something about it, start making time for your writing today!

Here are some quick and easy ways you could find more time to do your writing

In the morning

OK, you may not want to hear it, but just setting your alarm 30 minutes earlier would give you time to write each and every day. You may not be a morning person, but you don’t know until you try. If you feel that there is no way your brain would be engaged enough to write at this hour, then you could also use this time to do another activity i.e. ironing, cleaning, taking the dog for a walk, which then frees up time for you later to sit down and write.

Evening

Whether it’s as soon as you get in from work or just before you go to bed, finding half an hour to do some writing is not that hard for most people. Getting your family to help you is a great way of making sure everything gets done, so you really have no excuses. Can the kids help get things ready for tea, or do the washing up? Could your partner agree to cook three nights a week? Could you do without watching another episode of [insert excellent Netflix series title here]?

Travel time

Use travelling time to write. This could be your daily commute or if you go away on holiday or business trips. Travel time is a great time to get some writing done. You are away from the distractions of home, can stick some headphones on and get to it. Even if you have a short commute, doing this three times a week can really make some progress with your writing.

Lunchbreak

If you get a decent lunch break why not use this time to do some writing? You could make life easier for yourself by bringing a homemade lunch into work, so you don’t need to go out and buy something. If your office is too noisy or busy why not head out and find a quiet bench or cafe to write in?

Cooking time

Give yourself the night off from the kitchen a couple of occasions a week. You could either make something super quick and easy, order in, or delegate to another family member! Often cooking ends up taking a lot longer than we think it will, so finding ways to make quick and easy meals could free up some time to write.

It is important to remember however, that you shouldn’t give up the things you enjoy to make room for writing. If you do this it will feel like even more of a sacrifice and chore, and you are so much less likely to keep it up. Besides, it is important to find time to relax and do fun things with your free time, you don’t have to be productive for every second of every day! Just by making little tweaks here and there, however, most people can find a chance to write every single day, and if you do have that urge to write, you’ll feel so glad when you do.

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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