But then you wake up every day with a whole list of all the amazing things you're going to do, yet find yourself spending time on other things instead, and you wonder why.
It's not a management of time that's the issue. It's time.
What I mean by that is, you need to give yourself time to get things done. Stop wasting your time being "busy" and instead spend time on the things you need to do. It sounds simple, doesn't it? So why do we never do it?
I've been looking at this for quite a while now, and what I've found is that there's an easy solution.
Turn off your screen.
That's it.
I don't know about you, but when I waste time it's always wasted online. And I've noticed that it's the same with almost everyone.
I see people walking down the street while staring at their phones and not even looking where they're going.
Parents ignore their children because they're more interested in their phones.
People in cafes look busy on their computers, but they're only scrolling on social media.
People wake up in the morning and immediately reach for their phones.
And don't get me started on time wasted playing computer games.
Screen time is a really sad addiction, especially if you're a writer who opens their computer, gets distracted online, and so never writes.
But you might ask, how can you get off your screen if you do your writing on your computer?
Get a writing computer. Use it only for writing. Nothing else. No internet on it ever. No apps except a writing app.
I've always had a separate writing computer, and because I don't use it online, I have to transfer my files to my main computer using a thumb drive, which also provides me with an extra backup of my work. I've never connected my writing computer to the internet, so I'm never tempted to go online while I'm using it.
I also have a Kindle Scribe that I use for handwriting because it has handwriting recognition to convert all my writing to text. I write everything by hand first. The Scribe only has basic internet for downloading ebooks and emailing my files to myself, so I can't use it to go online (unless it's to go to the Kindle website to buy a new ebook).
I usually (hand) write for a minimum of 2 hours a day (of actual writing, not doing other editing or admin work), and during that time I stay off my screens unless it's my Scribe. My writing computer is only for typing up my work because, as I said, I almost always write by hand first.
Limited screen time is a HUGE time saver, and it's so simple. And it works every time.
Give it a go.
