How To Fit In Writing Time

Struggling to find/fit in writing time is something most if not all writers struggle with. I don't think there is a time when we don't struggle to fit in writing time because life is busy. We always have so much going on in our lives. We're always juggling our priorities.

So with everything going on in our lives, everything we're trying to juggle and accomplish, how do we fit in time to write?

Well, oddly enough that question has a very simple answer. What's hard is actually applying it, and implementing it into your life. What is this answer? Well, it's to actually FIT it into your day. You have to make time for it. If you're struggling to fit writing into your day you can't just sit around and hope it happens. You can't just hope there will be time to write. Because sweetheart, there will rarely, if not ever be available time to write. Something out there is always vying for your attention and time. Now, I understand that this might not always be the case. Maybe there are days when you will get thirty minutes - one hour of free time, and you actually sit down and write during that time. But, if you want to have writing time every day or every other day this is not always going to happen. As I said, something is always going to be fighting for your attention and time. These things could be good things, like school or spending time with family. But other times (and normally oftentimes) these things will be YouTube, social media, tv-shows, and movies. Now, what I'm not saying is that all of those things are bad. I'm not saying you have to give up all of those things completely. What I am saying is that these things often distract us and consume our time when that time could be used for other, greater, more productive things. Such as writing.

Now, it's not enough for me to just say you have to fit in writing time. Because as I said, actually fitting in the time is the hardest part of this process. So, to help y'all out, I'm going to give you some ways you can actively work to fit in your writing time.

1) Make it a priority

To fit writing into your day you have to make it a priority. It has to be important to you. To fit in writing time you have to first start with changing your mindset and making writing one of the top priorities in your life. Why do you need to do this? Because when we have those free moments in time when we're planning our day and figuring out what we have to do, the things we get done the most or do first are our top priorities. So by making writing one of your priorities, you're not only making a commitment to your writing but you're also more inclined to write.

2) Put it into your calendar

Now, the next thing you have to do is put this task of writing into your calendar. It's not always enough to have writing be a priority, you have to actually put it into your calendar and there are many ways to do that.

One, I would recommend (if it works for your life, or your season of life) to put writing into your month. When you sit down before the beginning of a new month and you plan out what you have going on, it's very helpful to put writing down as an event in your monthly view. On this monthly view write down what days you can / want to write, it is one of the tasks you have going on that day that needs to be accomplished.

Two, if the monthly is too much for you, then I suggest writing down the days you're going to write on a weekly basis. So before the start of a new week when you sit down to plan that week, you look at everything you've got going on and you mark the days you're going to write, where you're going to dedicate time to writing.

Three, (this one is the most important) whether or not you fit in writing on a monthly or weekly basis, you have to take it a step further and put it into your day. Almost every night before I go to bed I look at what I have planned for the following day and I plan it out. I like to use the method of Calendar Blocking (although I do it very loosely!) If you don't know what that is I highly suggest checking out Amy Landino's YouTube video where she explains the whole concept, it really helped me. The main concept of this idea is that you have to actively block out a chunk of time in your day and plan on/dedicate that time of your day to writing. You make the time.

3) Actually do it

Now, this is the hardest step! Because we all can sit around and make writing a priority. (honestly, writing is probably a priority for most writers struggling with finding writing time) You can sit down and put writing down in your calendar and block out the time in your day. That's the easy part. What's hard is actually doing it. Actually seeing that time blocked out on the calendar and sitting down and writing.

This is because there's so much going on and so many other things out there trying to get our attention. There are other things we want to be doing. There are YouTube videos we want to watch, Social Media sites we like to scroll, Tv-shows and Movies we want to watch and catch up on. There are friends we want to spend time with, family obligations we have. Sometimes, we just want to sit and do nothing.

This is life. And this is why fitting in time to write is so difficult. This is why you have to make time to write, you have to FIT in that writing time. It's a choice. And there are sacrifices you are going to have to make. You'll have to cut back on your social media scrolling. You'll have to spend less time with friends. Maybe you'll have to spend a night writing instead of watching that new movie that came out. There are sacrifices you have to make to make writing a priority. And I think that's where most people get stuck. Why do most people struggle with this the most? (I'm including myself in this too! I'm one of these people) We don't want to sacrifice these things. Most days we would rather spend time scrolling than sitting down and writing. That's why this step is the hardest. Because you have to force yourself to write instead of doing other things you might enjoy.

Now, let me be clear. What I am not saying is that you have to give all of these things up completely. I'm not saying you have to give up spending time on other things you enjoy, such as hanging with friends or family, reading books, or watching your favorite YouTuber. What I am saying is that by making writing a priority there won't be as much time to spend on these other things. And you have to be okay with that.

There will be times when you can spend the night with friends or watching that new movie. It just can't be all the time. And you can't let some of these things distract you from writing. Because let's all be honest, how many of us have only intended to take a 15-minute break on our phones that turned into a 2/3 hour break? Those are the things we have to avoid. Instead, when we have that time blocked out that we've dedicated to writing we have to sit down and write instead of going on our phones or watching that movie. That's the time we have to sacrifice.

Be aware though, there will be times life actually gets in the way, and that time you dedicated to writing gets used for something else. Maybe your loved one got in a car accident and you have to go to the hospital, you have a friend stop by to catch up, or your best friend needs your help. These are times when things come up where that writing time doesn't happen and that's okay. If something like this happens, don't beat yourself up about not spending that time writing. You have to give yourself grace in those situations. Just remember not to classify a new YouTube video coming out as an "emergency".

Show up for yourself and your writing when you set aside the time to do it. And the more you show up, the more frequently you actually sit down and write when you told yourself you would then it should get easier.

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This was my how-to for fitting in writing time. Hopefully, it helps! And remember not to be discouraged if you're struggling with this. I've been writing for 2 1/2 years and I still struggle with this. I think almost every writer does no matter how long they've been writing. So have faith and dedicate yourself to making the time to write. Because your writing matters! And only you can write what you have to share with the world!

If you have any thoughts or other tips on how to fit in writing time leave them down in the comments below.

And as always, if you have a question leave it down in the comments or contact me directly over on the contact page.

​I love you all and pray you have a very blessed day!

With Love, Kathryn Hawke