Dear Writer, You May Have More Time Than You Think
Categorize, Departmentalize, Prioritize & Deputize
“The truth is that when I’m writing, I write every day, workaholic dweeb or not. That includes Christmas, the Fourth, and my birthday (at my age you try to ignore your goddam birthday anyway).
~Stephen King
If there is one thing that can’t be put into the WRITEDAY subscription box, it’s more time. Yet, that is the item that most writers believe they have the least amount of. It may be true, and I’m not about to launch into any browbeating to make you feel guilty or inept. One of my mother’s mantras that still rings in my ears even after the dementia stole her ability to communicate was “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Some days I plain didn’t feel like being honey. I was vinegar because that’s what I thought the situation needed, but Mom was right. Despite the truth of maternal wisdom, I’m not going to sugar-coat this conversation. However, I will do my best to put a positive, practical spin on how a writer can discover more time to write without getting a divorce, abandoning their children, or moving into a hotel.
I’m also not going to reinvent the wheel. Here is a look at how the Time Management Matrix devised by Stephen Covey might help you find more minutes in your day to write.
Writers are visual learners. We enjoy seeing diagrams, maps, and illustrations of just about anything because it helps up visualize the worlds we create for our characters. It’s helpful to visualize a better way to schedule your time and keep that image handy. In a notebook, planner, digitally, or scrawled on the back of an envelope from the electric company bill, there are multiple ways to bring your daily schedule to life and have a tangible reminder that you’re on the right track and doing what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to be doing it.
Stephen Covey’s contribution to this concept was his Time Management Matrix.
My advice is to keep track of what you do for two to three working days. Forget weekends. They are eternally screwed up by everything from soccer games to weather to illness to family obligations. After making a list of everything you do from out of bed in the morning to back into bed at night, CATEGORIZE each item into one of four departments:
IMPORTANT AND URGENT
Daily chores and obligations that only YOU can complete include work, paying bills, feeding people, and meeting deadlines including getting the kids to school and practices on time. While much of this can also be delegated to helpers, sometimes only you can take of business.
IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT
This includes long-term benefit responsibilities such as household chores, working out, making plans, and setting up things like appointments. Some people say personal hygiene tasks belong here, but I disagree. I think bathing, brushing your teeth, and wearing deodorant are daily, important, and urgent activities that will not only make you feel more human, but you will also be more tolerable to the outside world when it intrudes.
NOT IMPORTANT BUT URGENT (Huh?)
Here is where some may think Covey’s system is oxymoronic and confusing. If something is not important but it’s urgent, how is it not important? The word urgent suggests that something is on fire as much as the important, urgent stuff, so how can it be unimportant? Simplify the question by asking what’s on your list that can be delegated to someone else. There is no shame in asking for help with the laundry, the dishes, errands, and the like. There may also be things on your list that you do too often such as checking email or texts. I agree that email and texts are important. Writers are communicators. The world of communication is our wheelhouse but consider scheduling specific times in your day to do these tasks. The point of not important but urgent is to clear the interruptions that interfere with getting sh!t done.
NOT URGENT OR IMPORTANT EQUALS TIME WASTERS
Things you do that you like to do but that aren’t totally necessary to your success as a writer like watching television, scrolling through social media, and unnecessary conflict. Just take a deep breath and walk away from all of these things or at least schedule them with strict limitations i.e., only 60 minutes a day of television.
Categorize, Departmentalize, Prioritize, and Deputize
Step 1: Track Your Daily Activity (Categorize)
If I could gift a writer with more time I would, but the truth is easier to swallow if you are honest about how you spend your day. You can do that by documenting all your activities from rise to crash for two or three days. This will give you a concrete picture of what you do each day and when. Here is a simple chart to use for that purpose.
Step 2: Transfer Your Activities to a Matrix (Departmentalize)
Use the matrix explanations above to departmentalize your activities then transfer each activity to the matrix.
Step 3: Make a Plan to Get the Writing Done (Prioritize and Deputize)
Once you have a daily activities list and a management matrix completed, follow through like I do by filling in a weekly planner with items from the matrix. The next step is to create a plan for achieving the word count you desire. I use different colored ink in my planner for different activities.
Red ink is important and urgent.
Blue ink is important but not urgent.
Black ink is not important but urgent.
Purple ink is not urgent or important.
Finalize the plan by deputizing (delegating) others to complete certain tasks that can be done without your direct involvement.
A Note About Word Count Goals
Many writers have a word count goal. This doesn’t always work for me. I have more time and inspiration on some days than others. I commit in my planner to write and then document in my book bible (that’s another blog) how many words I accomplished that day. I keep a running tally in the book bible so I always know the satisfaction of seeing progress regardless of how many words a day I write. They do add up! This creates a win-win situation for me because I know myself well enough to know that if I wrote down that I wanted to write 1000 words on a particular day and it didn’t happen, I’d get a little depressed. If I commit to write without a particular word count hanging over my head, then I’m happy with whatever the results are each day.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. My WRITEDAY is curated to provide you with more than a few moments of happiness and relaxation during the writer’s day. Who knows. You may someday open a box and find a magic time-turner. For now, however, mortal scribes must categorize, departmentalize, prioritize, deputize, and get the stories written!
Enjoy this oldie tune and listen to the lyrics for a reminder of what’s important in life.
My WRITEDAY subscription box launches in August with the first box shipping in September! Stay tuned for your opportunity to be an Early Bird subscriber and receive a special gift in your first box.
I hope your WRITEDAY is fantastic.
JEH
This post may contain affiliate links that may earn me a small commission by using the link.