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	Make Time To Write
	by Susan Molthop

Revised: August 3, 2007

It isn't easy, but you CAN bully a few more minutes out of your day.

Pay Someone Else To Do It.

Not your writing, of course, but hire someone to do some of those long, boring tasks that sap your creativity. If you could pay a kid, relative, or neighbor to weed, mow, do laundry, wash cars, or whatever it is you hate most, it would buy you more time to write. This has the added benifit of "guilt incentive" -- if you're paying for the time, you'll be obligated to sit your butt down and WRITE SOMETHING!

Swap Services.

Think up ways to trade your writing for non-writing services. Most small businesses could benefit from a newsletter, procedures manual, press releases, etc. Try swapping your writing expertise for housecleaning, yard work, bookkeeping, day care, or even cooked food. It may not be exactly what you want to be writing, but any kind of writing keeps you in practice.

Claim the Early and Late Minutes.

Last thing before bed and first thing in the morning are QUALITY writing times -- claim them for yourself. Even if you can only afford 15 minutes on each end, you'll find this to be much more productive than an equal amount of time taken from the middle of a busy day.

Walk and Talk.

A long walk every day is good for all of us. If it's physically impossible, then try to sit outside or at least by a window, where you can look out. This "quiet time" is great for brainstorming ideas for your next book or article. It also works on many exercise machines. Take a portable tape recorder with you, or, afterwards, take an extra five minutes to write down your ideas in the notebook you ALWAYS have with you.

Eliminate the Negative.

Analyze every activity and see how it ENHANCES your writing life. If it doesn't, see if you can get rid of it. You may have to keep a day job, BUT, could you find one closer to home? Could you switch to one that uses more of your brain and less of your back? Are you constantly searching for a job where you could use your writing skills? Could you switch to a career field that's related to what you want to write about?

What about the rest of your life? Are you involved in relationships that drag you down? Do you pick up too much of the grunt work for other family members? Be certain the people you live with understand the importantance of your writing. YOU must take it seriously, if you expect THEM to. Once they buy into your dream, they should help you free up at least another half-hour a day. The time you gain this way, should be really productive, because you'll know it was given with love.

Is your yard too labor-intensive? Do you have too many pets to care for? Are you involved in too many organizations? DELEGATE and free up some more writing time.

Do boring tasks take FOREVER? This trait carries over from our childhood. Remember how it used to take hours to clean our bedrooms? Set timers and deadlines for busy-work. Challenge yourself to get it done faster and more efficiently. Apply the saved time directly to your writing -- you've earned it.

Here is a link to some personal time management hints. Some of these are job-related, and none are specifically writing-related, but they're all good.

Thirteen Timely Tips for More Effective Personal Time Management
This one is by Kathy Prochaska-Cue, Extension Family Economics Specialist, for the University of Nebraska.

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