How to Make More Time to Write

Most of us are struggling to find time to write amidst the myriad of other life responsibilities. We barely have time to write, much less comment on blogs. In the last post we discussed ways to make more time for commenting. Click here if you missed it.

But how do we find more time to write, especially when blogging and other social networking pulls at our limited time?

Some writers participate in Unplug Week--one week a month when they shut off the internet and focus more on their writing. I'd love for some of you who participate to share whether you think you've gained more writing time as a result.

For me, productive writing time has to do with my self-discipline or lack of it. Whether I have three hours a day to write or five, I can easily squander my time and end up with the same word count in both situations.

My oldest son is participating in a basketball camp this summer. He's required to practice a page-long list of dribbling drills five days a week. Some days his list takes him three hours and some days only one.

When I questioned my son about this disparity, I learned that on the days it takes him longer, he stops his dribbling to shoot around. In other words he dilly-dallies. When he's focused and diligent, he gets his drills done in a timely manner. When he lacks self-discipline, his work takes him three times longer.

Lesson? If we have limited writing time, then we need to make the most of that time. Maybe we're asking ourselves the wrong question when we ask: how can we gain more writing time? Instead, maybe we should be asking ourselves: how can we make the most of the time we already have?

Words like self-discipline, diligence, and focus are the dirty words of our modern American, feel-good culture. Many of us weren't taught to work with all our energy. We never learned to focus on a task and stick to it until it's completed. And we certainly don't know what it means to deny ourselves instant gratification.

As I struggle to teach my son diligence in his work, I battle to learn the lesson too. If I can force myself to make every moment of my limited writing time really count, then perhaps I won't need more.

What do you think? Do you need more writing time? Or do you need to make better use of the time you already have?