It takes a lot of time to write a book.
Time that must be allocated to work, family, friends, our social life, and our health life. Basically, time that it sometimes feels like we do not have. However, there are techniques you can use to pull time out of thin air, and as a consequence, be able to complete your book.
I must also add that it would not hurt to learn how to have an insanely productive morning, which will teach you a fool proof way of spending your new found time appropriately. So, how can you make time to write a book?
The best ways to make time to write a book is to either to split your writing time between activities across the day, choose a specific time where you will be extremely focused, and productive, and you could also choose to on your book while doing other things.
Basically, there are 2 things that you need to balance when writing a book; quality time spent with a book, and quantity time. You can focus on your book completely, and cover massive ground, but unfortunately you can only do this when you stop other activities, and sit down to write. Alternatively, you could spend the whole day writing your book in between tasks, and while simultaneously doing other activities. Unfortunately, you will only cover a few spaces in the book. The best way of creating writing time is by blending these two.
That was not as much of a mouthful. We are getting to that now. Here are 12 ways that you can blend these two and create the perfect productive, and expensive system of creating time to write your book.
1. Create A Writing Calendar To Write A Book
The first tip in finding time to write is to create a writing calendar.
At the beginning of the month, or beginning of the year, select a number of days that you will be free.
I said days not dates.
So something between Monday to Sunday, not dates like July 15 – July 25. This is so that it can become a weekly repetitive thing, but if you choose dates, you’ll have to do that every month, and if it is not repetitive, it will not become a habit that you just do naturally.
Think of it like this, every weekend as a kid, you always woke up and naturally remained in bed, because you were trained to associate weekends with rest days. Find days that you will train yourself to associate with work days.
Obviously, you’ll need to write all these on your phone so that you will be able to remember them.
Also, it would help if you were to fuse this one with the 3rd tip, and the 4th tip. Then you could add the 9th tip too. That’s how I always get time to write, but I will explain it in further details later.
2. Create A Writing Space To Write A Book
The second step you could use to find them to write is creating a writing space.
There are so many advantages to writing spaces, which are best covered her. But one of the advantages is that it allows you to associate the writing space with… well, writing.
You mind automatically falls into a writing phase when you are in your writing space. if you want to know just how to make your writing space, there is an article here.
For our purpose here, there is no point in setting apart time to write, if you’ll only sit there thinking about what you were doing before, and what you’ll have to do after. A writing space puts you in the mindset to write, even if it is just for 15 minutes, or even for 4 hours.
Having a writing space will also assist you with tip number 10, which is also nice.
3. Use The Clearing The Table Technique To Make Time
The third thing that you could do to write to create time to write is the clearing teh tabel technique.
Picture a dinner table. When everyone is done eating, you will have to first identify all that’s on the table. Dishes, plates, cloths etc. Then, you will have to take things back to their place. Finally, you’ll have to clean the table, and leave certain things on the table, like your grandma’s urn or the vase plant. Whatever.
The point is that there is a step by step process to it, and you can do that to your day to.
Using an app called Appblock, look at what you spend most of your time doing on your phone. Or, you could look at where you’ve been all day. The best thing about Appblock is that it gives you hours, so you can see just what you were doing.
So this is the first step. Identify what you were doing, and write it down. Then guess how much time you spent on each of the activities.
After that, look at which are necessary, ad which are just a waste of time. Or just fun. Such as watching YouTube videos, watching movies, reading a book, or any such unnecessary activity. Remove these.
Then look at the activities you can’t remove, such as eating, spending time at work, with family, with friends etc. Then rearrange these activities into the time slots from before. What you should be left with is at least 4 hours of free time. Everyone has at least 4 hours of free time when they do this technique.
4. Set time, and not word count
The fourth time saving technique you could use is counting time instead of words.
When you do get to writing, do not have a word count goal.
Instead, have a time spent goal. Aim to spend at least 4 hours on the book, though for full transparency, I can only barely manage 3 hours, and usually I stop because I finish writing the scene and can’t focus any further. But if you can beat me, then do.
For the sake of progress, focus on scenes instead of words. How many scenes will you finish writing? How many chapters by week end? Then do that.
This is more focused on quality of the time spent then quantity of the time. So, make sure you make use of this trick.
5. Create An Outline To Write A Book
The fifth technique you could use to create time to write is by creating an outline of your work.
This is again more of a quality plus quantity work.
With an outline that is detailed, you can spend less time focusing on the work. For example, if you outline details;
- where the scene is taking place
- what the central conflict is
- what the resolution is
- what are the specific actions that the characters will take
You could write this scene basically absent mindedly.
Meaning you could be dropping of your little sister at school, and you will still be able to write the story. You will just have to focus on the writing process.
6. Choosing A Time Period Which You Will Be Free
The sixth way you can create more writing time is by choosing the specific time periods where you will be free.
This one blends best with the 1st tip, and the 2nd.
Basically, during days when you intend on writing, select the time that you believe you will be free. This could either be in the night (around 10 pm to 2 am), or it can be during the morning before everyone wakes up (which is my preferred time, at around 5 am to 7 am, or 8 when I feel rather productive).
This is a technique used by Brandon Sanderson, who writes at night from the 10 pm to 2 am range.
7 Pick a job that has space for you to write
The seventh technique you can use to create time to write is by choosing jobs that allow you to write.
This is also another thing Brandon Sanderson did, where he chose a job that allowed him to write all the way into the night.
For me personally, I’m to young to be choosing a job. Instead, I chose to go to college. Here, I have my own room, and don’t have pressures to go to work at strict times. In fact, i can even sip some lectures. As long as I pass the exam, and hand in assignments, they really do not care.
Which is the point. I am free to write as much as I want.
So you too, select a job that gives you loads of time to write. Granted, this one is for people who are fully committed to making writing their job, and also for people who do not have a lot of responsibilities, so it may not be as easily accessible to people as the others.
8. You Can Get A Portable Device To Write Wherever You Are
The eighth technique that you could use is to buy a mobile writing pad.
This is one is fairly simple. It is a quantity focused technique, meaning it allows you to work at random times across the day at the cost of productive work.
You can counter balance that with the 9th tip, and the 5th tip.
Basically, just buy an iPad. With this, you can write wherever you go. At home, at work. Even when you are taking a break between driving. It is just that useful.
9. Hyper Focus In Small Short Bursts To Write A Book
The ninth technique you could use is the Roosevelt method.
This is a technique I read about from deep work.
Basically, Teddy Roosevelt was a very busy person. he spent his days working between a number of interests he had, and yet he managed to pass well at school.
The reason for this was, while he did only spend a short amount of time studying, it was time spent in the most supreme levels of focus. Deep focus. This allowed him to practice deep work.
This technique is a quality based technique.
Meaning it is when you have a limited amount of time but work with intense concentration. When mixed with the outline, the writing space, the time goal trick, and the clearing table technique, you will have created for yourself an extremely productive routine that will allow you to write a lot of chapters in just a few hours.
10. Let People Know You Are A Writer So They Understand When You Have To Leave
The tenth technique you could use is just informing people that you intend to write.
Before you can implement this one to its full extent, you will first need to inform people you are a writer the first time you meet. When you use your writing space, you signal your business to people.
Also when you ignore their request, and tell them to come back to you after 3 hours, because you are writing now. This is extremely powerful.
It will help people see your writing is serious, and they will learn to take it serious in turn. Then, they will start telling other people to not bother you when you write.
That would be a win-win for everybody. Thus, you’d create time out of seemingly thin air.
11. Vary Your Concentration Level
The eleventh technique you could use to improve you writing is to vary your concentration.
This has been hinted on, but there are different levels of focus with work. When you are arranging things in alphabetic order, or colors, then you are not thinking deeply. But when you must write an essay, do mathematics, or create plot events, then you must focus intently.
The best way to create time for yourself is to learn to switch in and out of deep concentration, consciously.
When you have mastered how to create time for your witing, you will have taken a hop towards mastering mastery.