Finding Time to Write

Many people I know say that they find it really hard to find time to do their writing.

They say that between working, looking after their family and doing household chores, there is just no time left in the day for writing.

That's because there is no such thing as "finding" time. Saying that you'll find time to do something is the same as saying you'll do it later.  Later doesn't exist. There is no such time as "later" and you can't "find" time.

Instead you have to allocate time to write. And preferably allocate the same time every day so that you can build up a really good daily writing habit AND it will be easier to actually sit down and write if you have dedicated time to it on a consistent basis.

But how can you decide which hours of the day to dedicate to writing if you think your daily schedule is already full?

Here are three ways that really work. Try them all.

1. Do Less of What Doesn't Matter
We all have time that we spend doing things that really don't matter because they are not helping us move towards our life goals. These may be things like watching TV, gossiping, unnecessary shopping, social media, emails, web surfing, and more. If it's not moving you forward in your life to where you want to be then you don't need it.

2. Use Otherwise Wasted Time
There are plenty of opportunities to make use of what would be wasted time in a day. It could be a train/bus journey to work, lunch break, waiting for kids after school, or perhaps you could get up an hour earlier to write. When J K Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter novel, she did it while her baby daughter slept for 2 hours in the afternoon. Her second novel she wrote during her lunch breaks at work.

3. Keep an Accountability Diary
If you really want to know where your time goes keep a diary of what you do all day long. This can be a complete revelation into how you spend your time. It can also help you to stop wasting time when you have to write down how much time you spend doing everything. An accountability diary really helps to keep you responsible for every precious moment of the day.

We all have time for doing what is important. Yet we waste it on unimportant things, then wonder where all our time went.

But now is the time to turn things around and you have 3 simple ways to help you find more time to write.