Making time to write.
They say if you want something done, give the task to a busy person. Good time management skills are not common. Creative people in particular tend to struggle with organization. So, the idea of a fixed schedule is antithetical to right-brain folks who are doing writing as some ad hoc activity in addition to the other goings-on in their life. That's the thing. If scheduling is hard, isn't opportunistic discipline even harder?
It IS, but because writing is work... it's not the truth that's important... it's the excuse that gets us out of work that matters. NO EXCUSE EVER GOT WORK DONE So, it's not just writing. Whenever you catch yourself 'wanting' to do something, take aim at WHY you aren't already doing that thing you supposedly wanted to do. File this directive with things like the abandoned exercise bike gathering dust in the corner of the living room, the diet that just never starts, or the clutter pile that continuously grows rather than shrinks. When you make promises to yourself, do not accept lame excuses. Here's an example of a common excuse that triggers me big time.
The relative who is never heard from until they want a favor. When asked why they hadn't called in years- oh, "they didn't have time" to call. I bet 75% of the readers in the audience have heard this totally absurd claim. Really, X, in the last year you didn't have ONE free minute to call? Really? We all know that this is just bull malarky.
However, most of us are taught to be polite and let this kind of straight-up in-your-face lie pass. You can give your friends and relatives a pass on the 'I didn't have a free minute' in the last year thing... but DO NOT use it on YOURSELF. You DO have time. If you get ANY sleep, there's time. You can steal time from every activity in your schedule. You just have to WANT to do it and then EXECUTE on it.
I know writers, some of whom might even be reading this right now, carrying a job, pursuing a degree, and having a home life, who can still somehow manage to blast out six thousand words in two weeks. What's YOUR excuse? Find that excuse and set the damn thing on fire. Kill all lame excuses. Now, if you're living hand to mouth, you have special needs children, and have back-to-back tasking that leaves you exhausted every day and on weekends... that's not an excuse... that's just rough. STILL, I have had writers in my group going through that EXACT scenario and still bringing new stuff every week.
So, the opposite of excuses is adaptability and determination. If you truly love your art you will find a way. So, if you're not doing better at your craft, how much effort are you really making to improve? How much TIME are you investing? When I am doing other things, I often think about my projects and how to proceed. This, in the back of my head processing, means that when I do get an opportunity to work on my project, I sit down and don't waste cycles coming up with what to write.
I just do it. So, my Friday admonishment: Kill all lame excuses with extreme prejudice. Don't let your success be hamstrung by letting yourself off the hook for failures of your own creation. Making Time To Write