In the end it all comes down to what's best for you and how much time you have.
Structuring your writing day depends on many factors including how much time you have to write every day, family responsibilities (school runs, young children, meals to prepare, etc) and wether or not you already have another job.
Personally I transitioned gradually into becoming a full-time writer. I went from full time work to part time work to writing full-time.
I also changed the way I live by moving from a large house in a city suburb to a small house in a small, coastal town. Doing this gave me more time to do the things I want to do because I now spend less time cleaning and maintaining the house.
Working as a writer has also changed over the years. I used to write for magazines and clients but now I work exclusively online, writing for my websites and writing ebooks. This means spending time updating social media accounts almost daily as well as doing constant online marketing. This is not how being a writer used to be.
At the moment, as I've mentioned before, I'm currently updating all my websites to make them mobile responsive. Not an easy task but it has to be done. It's extremely repetitive and boring because I'm mainly copying and pasting web page content onto the new responsive pages. Yawn!
Normally, I work the same way every day, although this varies depending on several factors. But on average my writing week goes something like this:
I cannot sit down and write until chores are done. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it nags my crazy, monkey-like mind if I have things to do which makes it difficult for me to sit down and concentrate. And secondly because once I start work I often don't want to stop and so the chores never get done.
So my days always start out by doing the things that are necessary like, cleaning the house, doing the washing, doing the dishes, cleaning out and setting up the fire (if it's winter) or opening up the windows (if it's summer). If I need to shop, which I only do once a week because I hate (and I don't like using such a strong, negative word) shopping - any kind of shopping whether it's clothes shopping, buying appliances, gift buying or grocery shopping. Yuck! Even online shopping is my kind of hell.
Anyway, whatever jobs need to be done, I always do them first. Some days there is very little to do so I get to work early. But whether or not there's a lot to do or only a little, I still sit down to work somewhere between the hours of 7am and 10am.
I then work through until around 2 or 3 pm, with a break for coffee and sometimes (but not always) a break for lunch. Some days I don't eat lunch until after I've finished work. And on days when I start work at 7am, I'm done by lunch time.
Usually I can get straight to work without giving much thought about what to do because at the end of each working day I write in my diary the things I have to do the next day, which includes anything I didn't get done that day. I also list them in the order they need to be completed. I usually list the small things to be done first, just so that I feel like I'm accomplishing things as I work.
I check my emails before I start work and also look through my RSS feeds. I only allow myself 30 minutes maximum to do these two tasks. Sometimes, I leave these things till coffee-break just so that I can get straight to work when I sit down, without being distracted by getting sucked into clicking on interesting links in emails or browsing articles in my RSS feeds.
I have a Mac computer and I use an app called RSS Menu, created by Jesus De Meyer, which sits in my menu bar and announces audibly whenever I get a new article in one of my feeds. It doesn't have to be audible but I've set it up that way.
I also have a little app called Mindful Mynah which chimes every 25 minutes to bring me back to mindfulness. I also have my computer clock set to audibly tell me the time every 30 minutes. All these things keep me on track.
And they're not the only things I listen to while I work. I also listen to MP3 audios.
One of my favourite ones is Brain Salon which has the "Razor Sharp Focus" track and "Creative Spark" track. I've set them up one after the other so that I get a whole hour of great brain entrainment while I write. You can download a free sample at the website.
I also listen to music, particularly (and almost only) The Celtic Collection by Adrian Von Ziegler which I downloaded from CD Baby. His music is very haunting and perfect to listen to while I write. I can really zone out while listening to his music.
I'm thinking of buying another couple of his albums. And by the way, that link to his CD Baby page is NOT an affiliate link. I'm just a fan of his music. You can click on the link and listen to a preview of all his tracks on his albums.
Listening to audios as I work is a must. It not only helps me to stay focused and keep writing but it also blocks out other noises.
But not all my working days are the same.
Sometimes, if I'm busy working on a huge project, I'll just keep going all day and won't stop. Sometimes I even forget to drink and have headache by the end of the day, and I don't use the toilet until my bladder's so full I can't sit still. I really have to watch these bad habits sometimes.
Also, if I'm in a huge window of inspiration then I'll just keep working and won't stop at my usual times, because these are golden opportunities and they don't happen every day.
Some days I don't feel nearly as inspired as others, and on those days I'll do more technical work or do research or something else first. But sooner or later I'll get back into my usual state of inspiration and then I can get back to writing. It's just that some days it's a little bit harder to get going. But just starting is a wonderful thing because once I sit down and start working, I keep going and get better.
And that is how I work just about every day.
But like I say, some days are different, depending on what else I have to do.
And it's different for everyone. No one person works the same.
But one thing is for sure, it takes a lot of self discipline to actually sit down and write every day.
It's different when you're at work and you have a boss to answer to and you have jobs that are your responsibility and you have to get them done by the end of the day or else you'll get fired.
At home, there is no boss or anyone to force you to get things done "or else!" So instead you have to rely on yourself to sit down and get to work every day, which is so different in so many ways.
It's such a solitary way to work, but I love it and I wouldn't want to have to go back to a 9 - 5 job ever again.
Working from home as a writer gives me the freedom that most people only dream about.
:)
-------------------------------------------
When you eat right you get better sleep, feel more energised and are more creative.
It's time you discovered the truth about food and how making the right choices will not only change your life but will also help the animals and the environment.
I've already signed up.
Won't you join me?
The 2015 Food Revolution Summit
I'm thinking of buying another couple of his albums. And by the way, that link to his CD Baby page is NOT an affiliate link. I'm just a fan of his music. You can click on the link and listen to a preview of all his tracks on his albums.
Listening to audios as I work is a must. It not only helps me to stay focused and keep writing but it also blocks out other noises.
But not all my working days are the same.
Sometimes, if I'm busy working on a huge project, I'll just keep going all day and won't stop. Sometimes I even forget to drink and have headache by the end of the day, and I don't use the toilet until my bladder's so full I can't sit still. I really have to watch these bad habits sometimes.
Also, if I'm in a huge window of inspiration then I'll just keep working and won't stop at my usual times, because these are golden opportunities and they don't happen every day.
Some days I don't feel nearly as inspired as others, and on those days I'll do more technical work or do research or something else first. But sooner or later I'll get back into my usual state of inspiration and then I can get back to writing. It's just that some days it's a little bit harder to get going. But just starting is a wonderful thing because once I sit down and start working, I keep going and get better.
And that is how I work just about every day.
But like I say, some days are different, depending on what else I have to do.
And it's different for everyone. No one person works the same.
But one thing is for sure, it takes a lot of self discipline to actually sit down and write every day.
It's different when you're at work and you have a boss to answer to and you have jobs that are your responsibility and you have to get them done by the end of the day or else you'll get fired.
At home, there is no boss or anyone to force you to get things done "or else!" So instead you have to rely on yourself to sit down and get to work every day, which is so different in so many ways.
It's such a solitary way to work, but I love it and I wouldn't want to have to go back to a 9 - 5 job ever again.
Working from home as a writer gives me the freedom that most people only dream about.
:)
-------------------------------------------
The Food Revolution Summit 2015
Sign up now. It's free.
Find out how our diet is causing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and more.When you eat right you get better sleep, feel more energised and are more creative.
It's time you discovered the truth about food and how making the right choices will not only change your life but will also help the animals and the environment.
I've already signed up.
Won't you join me?
The 2015 Food Revolution Summit
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share Your Comments