Where Did Time Go?
This morning I will work on the rewrite of The Jewel. Click here and click there and it’s on the screen. Well, before I get started I should check my email. Ah, several things to respond to here. Hmm. That took longer than expected. Best check on who won the game yesterday. Ah, good the Seahawks. So what is happening in the world? I will just check my news feed. Time!
Where did the time go? I had better work on my rewrite. Well, I do need to write a post for my website. But if I don’t get to that rewrite I will never get it done. Yet, I do need to write that blog. I wonder how many people checked out my website yesterday. It will only take a minute to check Google Analytics. And so it goes.
Time Management
Time is a gift from God. If you do not manage your time and discipline your time management, you will not get much writing done. You will waste a precious gift. However, disciplining one’s time management is easier said than done. The fella who gets in the way is a “pro” at it—procrastination! Overcoming the pro is a matter of disciplining your discipline until discipline of your time becomes a habit. I know, it sounds like double talk, but that is the way it works.
So, how do I discipline my time? One, I am not a tyrant. I allow for some flexibility. However, in general the first hour of the day is spent reading and reflecting on Scripture, prayer writing, journaling, and he next half hour to forty-five minutes dealing with email, news, analytics, etc. Then I write for an hour and a half to two and a half hours before taking a break to go hiking in the desert. I write two to three hours in the afternoon as well. I rewrite in the morning and work on a new book in the afternoon, or vise versa.
Website Content
I allow one to one and a half days of my writing time to work on website content. You would be surprised at how many hours goes into writing blogs, prepping pictures, etc. I usually do website content toward the end of the week, unless I have so gotten into my writing and rewriting that I let website content slip. Then I end up working catch-up early in the week.
Time Flexibility
I mentioned flexibility. There are days I just cannot get my mind in “writing gear.” For some reason the clutch is not functioning properly. When that happens I give myself freedom to work on some “shelf” project, a short story, planning marketing strategy, reading writing related articles, organizing pictures, or perhaps organizing my desk. But I make sure I discipline myself to keep with my time management schedule at least four days out of the week.
