Starting to write: Tips for finding time to write

I don’t have the time to write, I hear you say. When I started taking my writing seriously, I wondered how I’d ever find the time to get the words down.

With a full-time job, a health condition that requires a strict routine (no burning the candles at both ends!) and an enquiring mind that loves learning, I believed I didn’t have time for writing.

I’ve learned not to be too prescriptive, there is no perfect time to write, there is only what works for you.

Here are my top tips for finding time to write:

Work out what time you have

Grab a piece of A4 paper and a pen. Identify how you spend you time and see if there is any spare time for writing.

1.     Draw a box and split it into 7 columns representing the days of the week.

2.     Number the left-hand side from 1-24 representing the hours in a day.

3.     For each day, block off the number of hours (on average) you sleep. If you sleep 8 hours a night, you’ll be left with 16 hours.

4.     Now fill in the remaining hours with however you spend your time.

E.g. 7am-8am Breakfast/get ready for work. 8am-9am commute. 9am-12pm Work 12pm-1pm lunch break. 1pm – 5pm work. 5pm-6pm commute. 6pm-8pm housework/cooking/dinner. 8pm-11pm watch TV.

Prioritise

Be honest. How much time do you really spend doom-scrolling or half-watching TV? Does the living room floor really need cleaning every day?

No one is going to prioritise your writing for you, it’s up to you to find pockets of time if you really want to write.

There will be times when you’ll say no to seeing friends because your writing is going so well you’re on a roll and don’t want to stop. There might be other times when you reduce the time you usually spend on another hobby in favour of your writing.

Only you can set the priorities.

Learn to write anywhere

Although not suitable for everyone, through trial and error – and often necessity - I learned that I don’t need a perfect writing set up in order to write.

I’ve written in the break room on my lunch at work, scribbled in notebooks on the bus and spent hours in cafes writing to the clink of cutlery and coffee cups and the bubble of chatter.

I’ve proved I can write when I need to and that location is less of a problem than I thought.

I prefer to get the serious editing work done at home, where I can choose silence while I wrangle with grammar. I also love writing outside for the sense of freedom it gives me that always translates to the page.

Use blocks of time

My blog posts are often brainstormed and half-drafted after work when I can sit out in the yard and let my imagination fly. Sometimes after a full day’s work, my brain is too fried to string a sentence together so I don’t force it.

When I’m faced with a glorious full day of writing, I carve out blocks of time and set goals. Thinking I’m going to write for 9 hours always leads me to procrastinate so instead I trick myself.

I tell myself I’ll write the next 2 scenes over the first 3 hours of the day. I’ll take a break and then work on another chapter for 2 hours and so forth. In the afternoon when I’m less perky, I might brainstorm ideas or research instead.

When people tell me that they don’t have time to write or read or exercise, or whatever, I’m always curious as to how they’re spending their days. We might fill our days with stuff but is it time well spent?

Caring duties and health issues aside, of course, there will always be time to do something you really want to do. If you’ve decided that you really, really want to write, you will find the time!