I have guest blogger Dale Mayer here today to talk about time management. I definitely need tips on that! She’s given some great tips here.
Thanks to Cindy for inviting me to her blog today. We’ve both been doing Nano this month and it’s amazing the kind of questions that we both get asked. As a prolific writer, who also works full time and is a single mother of four, the most common question for me is – How? How do you manage to get it all done?
The answer is really simple – but getting to the point of being able to say it isn’t. The answer is – I get it done because I have to.
Simple huh? The thing is coming to understand that life is all about priorities and you have to set your life into an order. Sure that order will shift from time to time, but the basis of your everyday life is going to be defined by the things you hold dear. Up at the top, behind my kids (lol) is my writing. My goal is to write fiction full time. In order to do that I have to produce saleable works now. That’s hard when I have a full life so I HAVE to fit it in. That’s not an option if in a couple of years I expect to be living my dream. So how do I fit it in, you ask?
Over time, I have found we waste more time than we utilize effectively. So the first trick is to find the areas where time slips by you. The obvious culprits are email, surfing on the Internet. As my life revolves around writing I will mention other areas where I have found time to write more – you can utilize these time slots for anything!
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• Texting and time spent on phone calls.
• Coffee time when you do nothing but could be putting down notes for your next scenes.
• Lunchtime at work. Did you know how easy it is to write five hundred words in twenty minutes? If you don’t, you should check out Write or Die by Dr. Wicked. This software can be used online or there is a desktop version to download.
• Many people sit down after dinner and turn on the television. Instead of turning it on right away, use it as a reward after writing 1,000 words.
• Sneak bits of time away. If you have appointments take a notebook with you.
• If you have a busy family, take a time out for thirty minutes in your room. Let everyone know this is your time and expect to have the same respect for your needs as you do for theirs.
• Get up a little early and have a half hour to yourself and your goals in the morning.
• Another trick is to take that half hour to yourself in the evening.
I taught myself to write in front of the television while it was blaring, to write while the kids are doing homework beside me and to write in snippets. A fifteen minute break is 500 words. I can get three or four of those in throughout a day.
The biggest trick to getting more accomplished in a day is to be HONEST about what you really want to do. In the case of writing – do you want to write a book – or do you want to be of those people who HAVE written a book?
Getting from one point to the next is all about time management.
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1. Make a list of where you waste time.
2. Then make a list of new opportunities of when you might recoup a few minutes of time.
3. Then be deadly honest here – make a list of what you want to accomplish. And be realistic about this list.
4. Then make a list of the baby steps you can do THAT day to start accomplishing these goals.
I find that by having a visual list to mark off each accomplishment, there is a real sense of satisfaction at the end of the day. I sleep well and I get up the next day wanting to get back at it. We’re all different. Finding out what works for you is what’s important.
How do you get things done in your day? Is it a mad scramble just before bedtime? Do you work better under pressure, or do you like to have spare time between you and deadlines? Are you happy with your system or are you always feeling pressure because you’re ‘behind’?
Dale Mayer
www.dalemayer.com
Writing for the Stars Finalist – Round 2 and counting! – check out Dale’s entry and vote for your favourite. I voted for Dale. 
Dale can be found on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/dalemayer or you can follow her on Facebook.
November 17, 2010 at 10:10 am
Great blog, Dale! I tend to let those little snippets of wasted time lengthen into hours! Time to quit trolling the blogosphere and actually write something!
November 17, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Hey Margaret! I tend to waste those little snippets too. But like Dale I’ve learned to write in front of the television. Otherwise I would never see my boyfriend.
November 17, 2010 at 10:43 am
I blogged at the end of October that this years NANO was about reclaiming time. I went from a mom of five to an empty nester and my writing had been done in snippets for YEARS. Well, now I have time and found I couldn’t write. So I think as with all things your writing will change with your life.
Some wonderful advice, Dale. And the best of luck on sales…
November 17, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Hi Lyncee. I’ve always had the time. I don’t have kids and I live with my boyfriend. We don’t have a pet (yet – we’re getting one next weekend!). So nothing should have been taking time away from my writing yet I hardly got any done. NaNo made me buckle down and actually do it. Now I know I can write 2,000 words a day.
November 17, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Hi Margaret! Thanks. We get into a groove and do well – for awhile. Then we slip up and slip out of that groove and it can seem so hard to get back in! I find I have to build up again. I make a specific word count then add in 500 a day until I’m back to what I need and I stay with it again.
Thanks for stopping by!
Dale
November 17, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Hi Lyncee – I can’t imagine what life as an empty nester would be like. I’m single parent of four and that seems like a dream/nightmare come true! I know when I get a day to myself (yeah it happens although more like a few hours to myself) there’s that tendency to kick back because for once I don’t HAVE to do anything.
Our writing patterns will have to change as life changes, but if you’ve learned habits throughout then it’s easier to adapt to the changes going on in your world.
Thanks for stopping by!
Dale
November 17, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Dale! Thanks for guest blogging for me today. I really needed these tips. Maybe if I start using them I’ll be able to up my day count to at least 3,000 words a day!
November 17, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Hi Cindy! It’s me who should be thanking you! It’s always great fun to blog with you.
You’re doing so well this year with NaNo that at least you know you can do when you have the drive to do it. Now it’s a matter of carrying that knowledge into the other months in the year!
Dale
November 17, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Dale, I’m always in awe of what you accomplish in a day. Can you share a little about your daily routine? You write non-fiction for a living, so you must be writing most of your waking moments, right? How do you balance “work” and work, throughout the day?
Thanks for being here, and Cindy, thanks for having Dale blog here!
November 17, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Hi Bonnie,
I do work full time as a freelance writer and that often means I have to shuffle my day and work late to meet my deadlines. If I’m particularly stressed with deadlines, I get up at sixish and get started before the house wakes. The kids get up between 6:30 and 7:30, but it’s funny, if I’ve started before they get up then I can continue, but if I haven’t it’s much harder starting. I don’t get an empty house until after nine and sometimes I never get it. I work in shifts. I’ll work on a client’s job for three hours and take a break and do emails/blogs/news etc. Then often I’ll write a 1,000 words (a half hour) on my fiction. Have lunch and do another three hours on client work.
Again it depends on the work load if I work right up to starting dinner and have to carry on afterwards, but I always try to get a walk outside in – often after dark, but I love it then, and if it’s summer, I go to the beach in the evening. In winter, I snowboard/ski a lot with my kids so I have to fit that in.
Right now I’m doing Nano and find that I’m often staring my 3,000 words at 7:30 or 8pm at night. If it goes well – I can be done in 1.5 hours if not – 3 hours aren’t enough.
For me balances means steady progress and shifting from one thing to another to stay fresh! Then there are the days I get it into my head to make/bake a dozen pies over lunch!
Does that help?
Dale
November 17, 2010 at 2:24 pm
This was a great reminder, Dale. So often I convince myself that 30 minutes isn’t enough time to “get into” by story, so then I just don’t write. But you’ve clearly trained yourself, like an athlete, to perform even under adverse conditions. You will be well-prepared when you sell that first book (followed by many more thereafter!)
November 17, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Dale, great blog! I actually did all these tricks when I first wrote while working full time. Now that I’m making writing my full time job, I’ve actually fluffed off. Thanks for reminding me that I should be utilizing my time better.
November 17, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Hi Amy – I think if people would chunk down time into blocks – they’d be amazed at what they could do. You know for yourself that you can write out 300-500 words in 15 minutes. A half hour is anywhere from 500-1000 words. If you only do a 30-40 minutes a day, you can add some serious word count to your project! We often look and think, “Oh, there went ten minutes. Now it’s too late to do anything.” And it’s not true. Those are sabotaging techniques where we shoot ourselves down before we ever start!
We are all so very capable – but we often can’t get started because we won’t get out of our own way!
Dale
November 17, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Hi Edie – writing full time is actually harder (I know people want to throw things at me for this!) but you have to be 100% responsible for your time when you are home. You can’t blame the loss of your day on a job – the only one to blame is you and that can be a hard thing for people to deal with.
The thing is – you already know that so it becomes more of a case of prioritizing and goal setting for you. I like to set big goals (Duh, like you didn’t know that!) and then back track the steps I have to do to reach them. If you aren’t under any great pressure, then you can make those steps as big or as small as you want to!
Dale
November 17, 2010 at 2:41 pm
I’m right there with Edie. When I’m pushed for time, I’m the most productive. I used to often write in 15 minute increments, but I’ve gotten lazy and need to get back into a more productive routine. Thanks for the tips and sharing your thoughts on time management.
November 17, 2010 at 2:53 pm
And you can do it Bonnie. We tend to slide out of a routine so easily! But we can re-establish one again without too much effort.
It is hard to write in 15 minutes if you’re not loving what you’re writing – if you are loving it – then you start looking for those moments where you can get back into it.
Dale
November 17, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Dr. Wicked? I will indeed, Dale! Hi, Cindy. What a relevant productive post. I’ll go one step further then Dale’s You will because you have to. When Hank Phillippi Ryan complained to her mom that she had doubts about finishing a book, her mom said, “Well, honey, you will if you want to.” Throw desire in with all of that and that’s a heady combination. Congratulations, Dale on all your successes. I can honestly say you’re one of the most driven women I have the pleasure to know.
November 17, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Hi Donnell – I so remember that blog with Hank Phillippi Ryan and she’s right. You do what you want to do and in your case add in deadlines and it’s amazing what you can do!
I am driven – the question is whether that’s a good thing! LOl Thank you for the congrats but my successes are nothing to your own. Donnell, you have have done so much and achieved such a major step in your writing world – I’m so proud of you! And here a month or two ago you were trying to figure out what you write! Now you know one thing – you write WELL!
Dale
November 17, 2010 at 11:54 pm
You didn’t mention the time sitting on the throne daily. Though I keep a book in there, every writer needs to read. But, it’s another place to carry your notebook. Hugs on all the suggestions you did manage. You continue to amaze me Dale.
November 18, 2010 at 12:12 am
Hi Donna!
So glad you could stop by. The throne huh? Maybe I should stash a notebook there – you never know what kind of ideas come out! Lol.
I don’t do enough reading. I usually write, then read, then write again. I prefer to reread old favorites before I go to bed. It always make me go to sleep with a smile on my face.
Dale
November 18, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Great blog on time management.
I did a challenge with Jungle Red Writer in September where you had to write a page a day before you went online. It was one of the most difficult and frustrating things I’ve even done! However, I knew I was spending too much time online so I signed on anyway and what a surprise…I did more writing in those five weeks than I had all summer.
I wrote anywhere from one to five pages a day. But even better, I kept the chart I created and have continued to use it. Did I slip a couple of times…sure, but I always went back to making myself write that one page first. Yes, there were days where I only wrote that one page, but not many.
Now during NaNoWriMo, I am writing an average of 2000 words per day. Did I have some slow days? Yes, I had a couple at the end of week two. But I always have trouble at the end of week two or the beginning of week three. How do I know that? This is my 7th NaNoWriMo. If nothing else, NaNoWriMo pays off in teacher you about you the writer and how you work.
I also can write with the TV on, but not with something I have not seen before. Did you know you can write 1800 words while making homemade vegetable soup? Just have everything cut up and ready to go, then set the timer for each addition to the pot and write in between time. Crockpots are a writer’s go-to during NaNoWriMo or any other time you’re on a deadline. No Crockpot, just put the food in a Dutch oven or a large pot and put it in your over on 250 or 300 degrees and forget about it. Set the time for loads of laundry and while you are folding the clothes, plot your next scene in your head. As soon as the clothes are folded, write away.
I agree, it all comes down to what you want and how bad you want it. My writing goals are ploted until the end of December right now and as soon as NaNoWriMo is over, I will be planning for 2011.
November 18, 2010 at 6:41 pm
I love your planning system! I think being organized and staying on top of things going on in your life are paramount for time management. It’s all about what you want and how badly you want. I’m doing NaNo as well right now (my name is the same if you want to find me) and I set the goal of 3,000 words a day. Sometimes it takes me until 11 pm – but I get it done!
I’m so going to have to time how many words it takes to make things now. Hmmm spaghetti sauce for a 1,000 anyone?
Dale